Desulfators?
- Thread starter oscaryu1
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^ Really? That's what I've been doing for the past year. Works fine, I have the 1.5 and 2/4/6amp Sch...thingie WalMart charger. Works fine. The 1.5 is more of a AGM charger, and the 2/4/6 more of the automotive charger.
I'm working on one also from an OLD junked UPS (As in... "Holy crap that looks like it came from the 80's). Really. I plugged it and turned up my adjustable 0-32V power supply, and it took a charge - slowly, and increased.
However, it got sizzling hot - like yours. Injected some fridge water (maybe lost some acid?), and then did a continuous charge - overcharge - desulfate cycle for a couple times. Rose from a sad "full and hot" charge of 10.38V to a 11.7V ish.
Tomorrow we'll see again - this time she barely measures 12V - after a nice overcharge.
BTW - What is this "120V" cord you're talking about? 120V DC or AC?
I'm working on one also from an OLD junked UPS (As in... "Holy crap that looks like it came from the 80's). Really. I plugged it and turned up my adjustable 0-32V power supply, and it took a charge - slowly, and increased.
However, it got sizzling hot - like yours. Injected some fridge water (maybe lost some acid?), and then did a continuous charge - overcharge - desulfate cycle for a couple times. Rose from a sad "full and hot" charge of 10.38V to a 11.7V ish.
Tomorrow we'll see again - this time she barely measures 12V - after a nice overcharge.
BTW - What is this "120V" cord you're talking about? 120V DC or AC?
ZnsaneRyder
Crazy Guy on a Bicycle
It's 120V DC. There's a schematic in this thread. That's why it has the bridge rectifier, to turn the AC to DC so you have a proper positive and a negative, and using the lightbulb as a series resistor on the AC side, to limit the amperage to make it charge slowly, and safely dissipate the waste heat from the voltage drop.
Just like your 32V supply, it basically takes a higher than normal voltage to make a flat battery take a charge again. That's nice you can adjust your 32V power supply, so you don't cook the battery too quickly.
It's all about making the battery conduct electricity again, and that's the beauty of high voltages. I like how the 120V works even with dirty terminals, lol. I've had the best success rate with the regular liquid lead-acid batteries.
Warning, this 120V DC desulfator cord may shock you, especially without a load connected, so for safety, I recommend unplugging the cord each time before connecting, or removing it from the battery terminals. I've been shocked a couple times already, so I know from experience, lol. As long as it's not plugged in when you touch the terminals, it's just fine, and no shocks.
Just like your 32V supply, it basically takes a higher than normal voltage to make a flat battery take a charge again. That's nice you can adjust your 32V power supply, so you don't cook the battery too quickly.
It's all about making the battery conduct electricity again, and that's the beauty of high voltages. I like how the 120V works even with dirty terminals, lol. I've had the best success rate with the regular liquid lead-acid batteries.
Warning, this 120V DC desulfator cord may shock you, especially without a load connected, so for safety, I recommend unplugging the cord each time before connecting, or removing it from the battery terminals. I've been shocked a couple times already, so I know from experience, lol. As long as it's not plugged in when you touch the terminals, it's just fine, and no shocks.
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Got my bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid today, and my first burn!
It turned my black pants red, hardened it, seeped through it onto my knee, turned my knee red, and upon washing it, turned corrosion-like blue.
Anywho, this stuff is AWESOME! That little white battery that always got hot (from the old UPS) had 12.9V right off the charger after a few drops from that stuff, and then settled at 12.7-12.6V. A 12.4V 5aH battery went to 12.6-12.7V after a few seconds of charging...
...and a 12.22V (A very healthy 12.22V, worked great, charged great... but it was OLD, it was just... "dying" from use. It came with my chopper - the one I found).
I gave each cell (6) a little dropperfull of that acid, and she bumped to 13.02V (?!?!)! Looks like she was a bit low, I expect that to lower down to 12.8-12.9 overnight though, like I said, it's a big difference, but it's a 4-6 year old battery that was used continually (but recharged, so barely and trouble with sulfation). That acid does the trick!
However, it failed on sulfated batteries. Didn't make a difference. It has to be de-sulfated batteries in need of new acid.
It turned my black pants red, hardened it, seeped through it onto my knee, turned my knee red, and upon washing it, turned corrosion-like blue.
Anywho, this stuff is AWESOME! That little white battery that always got hot (from the old UPS) had 12.9V right off the charger after a few drops from that stuff, and then settled at 12.7-12.6V. A 12.4V 5aH battery went to 12.6-12.7V after a few seconds of charging...
...and a 12.22V (A very healthy 12.22V, worked great, charged great... but it was OLD, it was just... "dying" from use. It came with my chopper - the one I found).
I gave each cell (6) a little dropperfull of that acid, and she bumped to 13.02V (?!?!)! Looks like she was a bit low, I expect that to lower down to 12.8-12.9 overnight though, like I said, it's a big difference, but it's a 4-6 year old battery that was used continually (but recharged, so barely and trouble with sulfation). That acid does the trick!
However, it failed on sulfated batteries. Didn't make a difference. It has to be de-sulfated batteries in need of new acid.
eBay.
And today I learned NEVER to leave a dropper that fell into that acid to hope nothing happens - it turns it yellow... and black..
So I wasted virtually $30... Stupid 87 cent WalMart acid droppers... grrr....
On the other hand, I learned why it's Acid to Water, and not Water to Acid.
It was a weird lesson. Lungs full of baking soda and sulfuric acid and a melted plastic bucket. **** I didn't know that sulfuric acid could get that hot offa tap water.
And today I learned NEVER to leave a dropper that fell into that acid to hope nothing happens - it turns it yellow... and black..
So I wasted virtually $30... Stupid 87 cent WalMart acid droppers... grrr....
On the other hand, I learned why it's Acid to Water, and not Water to Acid.
It was a weird lesson. Lungs full of baking soda and sulfuric acid and a melted plastic bucket. **** I didn't know that sulfuric acid could get that hot offa tap water.
kibble
I banned myself
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There's a saying I learned in one of my chemistry classes at college:
Do as you ought-er,
add acid to water!
It's kinda cheesy but easy to remember.
ZnsaneRyder
Crazy Guy on a Bicycle
Got my bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid today, and my first burn!
It turned my black pants red, hardened it, seeped through it onto my knee, turned my knee red, and upon washing it, turned corrosion-like blue.
Anywho, this stuff is AWESOME! That little white battery that always got hot (from the old UPS) had 12.9V right off the charger after a few drops from that stuff, and then settled at 12.7-12.6V. A 12.4V 5aH battery went to 12.6-12.7V after a few seconds of charging...
...and a 12.22V (A very healthy 12.22V, worked great, charged great... but it was OLD, it was just... "dying" from use. It came with my chopper - the one I found).
I gave each cell (6) a little dropperfull of that acid, and she bumped to 13.02V (?!?!)! Looks like she was a bit low, I expect that to lower down to 12.8-12.9 overnight though, like I said, it's a big difference, but it's a 4-6 year old battery that was used continually (but recharged, so barely and trouble with sulfation). That acid does the trick!
However, it failed on sulfated batteries. Didn't make a difference. It has to be de-sulfated batteries in need of new acid.
EXCELLENT RESEARCH!! So the batteries that take a charge, but won't get proper voltage need more concentrated acid! I'm impressed to say the least.
So we need to desulfate them first to get them in working condition, then add acid. Amazing.
Where do you get concentrated Sulfuric acid?
kibble
I banned myself
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The first word in post #66
ZnsaneRyder
Crazy Guy on a Bicycle
Should say, but orly? O'Reilly?
Well it lowered a bit more than I thought (13.02 -> 12.6-12.7), but still an improvement none the less.
And I just destroyed a couple batteries by accidentally hooking them up at 36V and charging with a 48V charger!
Heh...heh
Well it lowered a bit more than I thought (13.02 -> 12.6-12.7), but still an improvement none the less.
And I just destroyed a couple batteries by accidentally hooking them up at 36V and charging with a 48V charger!
Heh...heh
ZnsaneRyder
Crazy Guy on a Bicycle
I just got another dead (slightly swollen) car battery to play with, but I tried something a bit different, and it's working so far. I took 36V (3 car batteries in series, way over 100A of current) and used them momentarily on the dead 12V battery. At first there was hardly a spark at all, but once it was on there for about a minute, the battery bubbled fiercely, and the battery would make a big spark if I reattached the terminal. After that, I put it on my battery charger, and it's taking a charge. That was using 36V at over 100A to get it going, and it's now taking a steady 10A charge. I'll report back on how this battery turns out.
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