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Post Info TOPIC: Getting Cheap and Safer Batteries
Esperian


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Getting Cheap and Safer Batteries
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Here is some of my personal experience with batteries:

I bought a 100 Amh (Amper-Hours) deep cycle Flooded Acid type  battery at the, Supercheap Cars, for 220 AUD, some 3 years ago. It served me working without any serious problem till about May this year, and after even 48 hour time recharge on smallest amperage, with my battery charger with battery renewal thing inbuilt, she stopped holding a charge for anything more than few minutes, and Inverted screamed like crazy when I tried to use it. And it was only a small 300W inverter and just laptop use. I used that battery very intensively during all that time, though. The warranty on it was only 6 months, so it isn't really something superb, but still she lasted me for some 2.5 years of intensive use, and before that, for some 6 month of occasional use.

What happened is that, in May this year she has gone totally bad. Fellow from NRMA here in Lightning Ridge, checked this battery out, and sadly told me: look mate, your battery is a goner. I can't do nothing. You must buy another one.

I recalled then about the movie I saw on You Tube some time ago, and I went there to check what I can do.

In the result, I abstained from blowing out my money (something between 220 to some 380 or even over 400 AUD) for new battery and bought instead a packet of Epsom Salts. I got an old pot and dissolved Epsom Salts in the distillate water, that I bought long time ago for batteries, preparing a Saturated Solution. This means, you keep steering the mixture, adding the salts slowly  to the water till you will see that it doesn't dissolve any more, and some of the Epsom Salt stays on the bottom. Than take a Table Spoon of that mixture (at that stage it out to be about as thick as a syrup) and poor it into each cell of your battery, and recharge it on a slow charge. Nothing else...

It may not catch immediately full power, but after second and third recharge it is already strong as new, and afer a third recharge, with normal high amperage from a car, in my case, it became actually better than it ever was, even when it was new... So I got no more problem, and serious money saved.

I recommend this highly. I tried it I use it and I'm happy with it even more than with two new batteries I bought earlier to my caravan. The repaired batery I talk here about is of my dual battery system's house battery in my towing vehicle.

But here's even better deal:

At present I wait to next week, till I'll get my supply of Alum (Aluminium Phosphate) for about 7.8 AUD a kilogram, which is coming by Post, and in the meantime I prepared my 200 Amh acid flooded electrolyte type deep cycle battery, that I just got from local second hand supplier for the Grand Price of 10.00 Aussie Bucks. After charging it previously to the maximum possible charge - it still can't hold charge for any long time - I got out all the acid from it, flashed it out with water and let it dry out.

Next step is preparing the mixture of plain alum with distillate water in the proportion of 1:10. This means, that I add 100 grams of Alum to 1 liter (= 1000 ml), of distillate water. (or multiplication of this if need would arrive). The mixture will be poured into the battery as acid electrolyte would be done with, and the battery recharged. It is really just that simple. After I did the battery revival before, I fully trust this system. Add security is a great benefit, as the battery will not be anymore unsafe if electrolyte got spelled. It is only harmless alum, used actually in the food industry as one of ingredients in the food conserving. The battery will have somehat lower voltage, but can be discharged as low as 0.5 Volt with nne whatsoever bad efect on it, and will recharge with no problem at all. Additionally, EVEN IF IT CHARGES TO SOMEWHAT LOWER VOLTAGE, (11.8v - 12.8v) IT WILL KEEP GIVING ITS FULL VOLTAGE ALMOST TO THE END WHILE USING IT.  NONE ACID-ELECTROLYTE BATTERY CAN EVER DO THIS!...

The other thing is: Such transformation into the alkaloid battery out of an acid one makes that battery into a Deep Cycle one, too. So, it ia alway perfectly suitable for using in the solar installations.

If you would like to know where to buy Alum online, here is an address: https://aussie-alum-supplies.com.au/1kg-aluminium-sulphate.html

In the case one needs just to revive old battery without complete transformation, use the system as I wrote above, but using Alum instead of Epsom Salt. The results will be identical.



-- Edited by Esperian on Tuesday 23rd of September 2014 05:21:11 PM

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Phil C


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When I was in the RAAF I worked for way too long in the battery shed. We serviced lead acid and nicad batteries (in different parts of the building of course).

When we received a new DRY lead acid we would fill it with 1380 acid and let it sit till the SG went to water, we would then charge it at the 5 hour rate and that bugger would last for years, we would take them out of aircraft when they hit 80% on a capacity test and put them in ground vehicles (GSE). Im not sure they let people get dry new la batteries anymore but when I could I did this and the battery would last for up to 10 years on my car. The deal was if you charge too high the plates would buckle and eventually short out.

If we wanted to "save" a battery we would empty all the sh1t out of it (flaked lead etc) fill it full of distilled water and boil the daylights out of it (about 100 amps) for a few hours, this would give it another 6 months mostly in our cars. This of course is false economy and a little dangerous, but any port in a storm (we werent paid that well).

I must say I have never heard of your technique esperian but if it works all power to you, sounds like an electrolyte transplant. I have lost my battery theory books so I cant check the validity of that one, again if it works go for it.

Very interesting post.
Hope you are well.

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P B Crockart EX RAAF Electrician,

Aircraft Avionics tech. Senior high school teacher.

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Simple Life


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This is the guru of alum batteries...

www.hho4free.com/bedini_alkaline_battery.htm

Flocculents are available in plenty of places, the pool section at bunnings, rural supply stores (we use it to clear dam water) and I have tried this method a few times and can vouch it will work but... You want to drain the batteries first, use baking soda to clean the batteries (drain and flush more than once) then replace.

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Cruising Cruze


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This is really interesting

I will try to get a second hand battery and give it a shot

Can you use a normal charger ?? to do this

 

John



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Simple Life


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Hi John, I can't answer that sorry but I suggest you check this out, I am sure someone here can tinker something up or I can put you on to someone who can.

open-source-energy.org/

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Esperian


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Cruising Cruze wrote:

This is really interesting

I will try to get a second hand battery and give it a shot

Can you use a normal charger ?? to do this

 

John

 Yes mate. I use normal charger, and it works just fine. You may wish to set yours, as I do initially on lower voltage (usually 2.00 Volts) and after some time change to higher. It will charge great in dual battery system in cars, as it does in my. And, of course, you will need to wash it with the Soda Bicarbonate solution, after discarding the acid. Before you discarde the acid and wash it, you will need to charge it as much as much power it will be able to take, to enable to replate the lead plates with the lead contained in the lead sulphides and oxides that form the read and gray deposit in bad battery. After that, the wash with Soda Bicarb solution, at least twice, and slow, than normal recharge.

 

And one more thing: If the battery has a short, it will probably not work, or if will, than only with very limited power and voltage. So, it is a god idea to check the oldies and other seconds for shorts when bought, or gotten from friends who'd discard them as worthless.



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Simple Life


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Important that safety precautions are followed during, make sure protective clothing is worn, gloves (do not use latex) and eye goggles are definitely a must!!!

Tip the old solution into a poly container as it won't eat through it.

Dispose the old acid solution properly, you don't just tip it down the drain or on the garden...


While it is true that the new fluid is non corrosive, be aware that the gassing while charging IS still explosive as it is oxygen and hydrogen, we all know this can go bang...

One thing I have found is the 1 to 10 alum ratio seems to work for car battery conversion but I have only used this on big ah deep cycle conversions and from experiments and research found that 50 grams to a litre is best due to the water only accepting x amount of alum before reaching saturation.





-- Edited by Simple Life on Saturday 4th of October 2014 09:05:02 AM

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Cruising Cruze


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That will leave me out ,got only a 15 amp Ctek and a 40 amp charger

no variable power setting on both  of them

Thanks  anyway  Zbigniew  for the reply

 

Cheers John



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Esperian


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Cruising Cruze wrote:

That will leave me out ,got only a 15 amp Ctek and a 40 amp charger

no variable power setting on both  of them

Thanks  anyway  Zbigniew  for the reply

 

Cheers John

 Don't worry too much about it John.

If you have a dual system in your car, it would be charging battery with at least 30 amps, or even 100. My car has a 100 Amps alternator, and the house battery works fine. I mentioned there only an ideal situation (I forgot to mention that: it would be ideal if...) I use at present 16 Amps with my battery and so far it works fine. Variable charger is not a necessary thing.

 

Zbigniew



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