Battery Desulfators

[glenn kangiser]

I'm sure lot of us have that battery that has set around for too long.

The battery desulfator will break down the sulfate crystals that build in batteries and restore them to good life in most cases -- possibly increase the life of the battery 3 times or so.  These claime to work up to 1000 amp hours 6v to 16v

I ordered 2 - will try to remember to report back.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=330199412010

by

http://www.wizbangplus.com/

I checked reviews -- some waited 4 weeks - reasonable time for desulfation - and reported that they worked well as stated.

[MountainDon]

I will try to remember this too.....   could be good to have

[glenn kangiser]

I picked them up at the post office yesterday - attached clips to the two wires and they are happily buzzing away as per plan.

2 of them allows me to cover 4 L16's - series on 2 each.

They are very small - measuring appx 1"x1.5"x4" - and come with no documentation so get it from the site.  For $25 each I'm not complaining if they do as the reviews say they do.  If so I have decided to get more - maybe run all the time - they use only very little power as it comes from the battery and is put right back in in a different form - only the 2 wire connection - I assume timed coming and going.

[BiggKidd]

Hey Glenn,

  I bought one off ebay a while back it does seem to work. BUT they do draw more power than you would think. I used it to get my old golf cart batteries back up after sitting over a year discharged. Its just a little thing but it does seem to work. I have brought several batteries back only had two batteries that it didn't help but one was about ten years old and the other was the original battery out of my boat (1988). But half dead batteries its brought everyone back to life. A friend who works at IPS (intergrated power systems ) just laughs at it and tells me its junk. I told him the proof was in the results!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck with yours and let us know how it works for you.

Larry 

[glenn kangiser]

Sorry to disappoint him, Larry but I agree with you.  They do work as far as I can see.

A total dead battery they can't clean up as there is no current flow.  Anything with a bit of flow may come back.  I can see visible changes in the cleanness of the plates and storage capacity on my L16's. 

I hope the three times the life is true.  That would amount to thousands of dollars savings for us.  Soon to have 16 L16's at a current price of about $280 w/tax each at the manufacturer.

I wonder if the tax scum can figure a way to tax me on the increased life?  hmm

[MountainDon]

I wonder if the tax scum can figure a way to tax me on the increased life?  hmm

How about an annual license fee? A user tax?

Like the Brits used to (maybe still do) pay for owning a telly. (TV in American)

[glenn kangiser]

I have little doubt.

[glenn kangiser]

Xtreme Battery Chargers and desulfators.

I am currently testing the Xtreme battery chargers and desulfators.  The chargers have a pulse desulfator built in and while not miracle workers, they do seem effective in many cases.  The smaller units are pretty low cost in chargers/desulfators or plain desulfators.

I am testing the Xtreme Recovery Charger/Desulfator now.  The Recovery charger is a 20 amp unit and pretty expensive - about $800 list but the batteries I am recovering now were around $3000. 

The company I am testing for claims that they will increase battery life up to three times average.  A friend of mine is the wholesaler for them and I am trying to get him to set up special pricing for us if testing proves beneficial.  They must be good as the military has been using their products for years.

Currently I am recovering big batteries(L16's) that were destroyed by low charge and sulfation.  Recovery is slow but they are greatly improving.

It seems that it may be a good idea to run one of the permanent mounted ones all of the time to prevent build up of sulfate on the battery plates.  They use the battery power and put it right back into the batteries so power loss is minimal but benefits can be great.

They use a high frequency pulse to break up the sulfation, around 800mhz IIRC.

[glenn kangiser]

Note on the Wizbang units.  They seem to work fine on small batteries but I found that a splash of water when cleaning up around the batteries will destroy them.  Not sealed.

[pagan]

Glenn,

If using these on a battery bank would you then no longer need to perform regular equalization charges? Likewise, if regular equalization charges are performed is this even necessary?

[glenn kangiser]

I believe that both are necessary. 

The desulfators will prevent much of the buildup of sulfate crystals but the size of the plates and abuse - low voltage - lack of enough equalization etc can cause more problems than they can keep up with.

On the other hand - equalization while extending the life and quality of life of the batteries, may in my opinion do some damage also.  The desulfators can prevent some or maybe most of that damage by minimizing equalization time and intensity, preventing heat and chances of warping plates or boiling dry destroying the batteries.  Water levels must be kept up for long battery life.  Old batteries need more water.  Equalizing batteries need more water and water must be monitored and added as needed during the equalization process.  Rainwater or distilled is necessary with tap water used only in extreme  emergency - it may shorten the life of the batteries through added mineralization.

All cells are not created equal.  Actually they are rather simple and crude.  Lead Antimony (deep cycle-heavy duty) plates separated by dividers of one sort or another then a charge applied and stored.

A bit of variation especially in series parallel systems - mostly the parallel part can cause lower cells to drop out of service unnoticed.  Like watering the garden - multiple ditches and one gets a gopher hole.  Most gets water but some doesn't - one section goes out of production.  The gophers unchecked will eventually destroy the whole garden, but if taken care of every so often, the garden will recover - too long and it is gone. 

Finding the hole in the rows is what we are doing.  The hydrometer with the numbers - -example  1100 to 1300 SG  - not four colored floating balls - is key to battery health for a cheap price.  Variation between adjacent cells is the indication of a problem - ie: sulfation or a shorted cell.  As more sulfation is removed battery life and ability to retain a charge improves.  The better it gets the better it stays.  One bad cell in a series string can knock out the entire string.    It will throw more load to the other batteries it is paralleled with while providing little power itself.

[pagan]

So you would recommend using a hydrometer?

[glenn kangiser]

Absolutely. 

The hydrometer is one of the only ways of determining which cell has a problem and monitoring if it is coming back due to equalization and desulfating.  If all show low SG then likely it could need a charge - ..... or be totally all sulfated.  This is where your knowledge of battery life, health, care - visual of clean plates through the acid etc all comes together - improvement of SG  when equalizing and charging indicates a good battery.

Note that the Xtreme desulfators have been in use by the US military for years per their information.

[MountainDon]

The hydrometer, a good one, should be bougt at the same time as the batteries, IMO. Also keep a log book, number the batteries and cells and keep track of the readings over time.

[glenn kangiser]

I use voltmeters to monitor equalization - a necessity - relatively cheap for a decent one.

The Hydrometer is a number one required and necessary tool as Don points out.

[glenn kangiser]

I keep thinking and forget to mention that I have started checking out the hydrometer readings then equalizing the batteries in half sets - 12 volt portion at a center tap point where the other two batteries have all good cells.  Again - I am using a constant voltage welder - slowly bringing up to full charge as indicated by the load on the welder then raising the voltage in increments keeping from overheating the batteries and cables until I get to 16 volts or so no the 12v pair. 

If monitoring, this works with the 12v constant current also but seems easier to keep on the CV as the voltage doesn't increase past the set value as easily.

Note that I can't guarantee you won't damage something trying this - sparks must be kept away from the heavy charging and hydrogen emitted or acid showering explosions can occur destroying the batteries and possibly your fine features such ad your face.   I can't even guarantee that for myself.

Heavy charging or discharging for that matter can cause heat to the point of fire at loose or corroded terminals, melting insulation or battery tops and connections.  A loose terminal can cause a spark if wiggled blowing the top off of the battery and spraying acid all over.