In the industrial world we frequently repair batteries. 48 volt 1,000 A/H batteries get real expensive. We replace cells and yes we perform acid adjustments and various charge cycles to correct sulfating and other issues. However except for neutralizing spills I would never add baking soda to a battery. More importantly for car batteries the time and trouble just isn't worth it. A $2,000 to $10,000 battery or bank you try to fix. A battery that costs about the same as a tank of fuel just isn't worth any effort. Especially if it can mean getting hurt or even left on the side of the road. The tow will cost more. Dennis -----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of David Clarkson Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2013 1:19 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: 12 volt battery rejuvination/restoration Has anyone on the list seen the youtube videos on rejuvenating a 12 volt battery and tried this. I am a bit skeptical of what could be a backyard chemistry experiment that becomes a potential ticking time bomb. The poster on youtube drains the exhausted 12 volt battery of acid and flushes it out with a solution of water and baking soda. Okay, makes sense so far. Then the battery is filled with a solution of alum and water and set to charge. The poster later suggests that a bit of salt may be added to prohibit the battery from freezing in extreme temperatures. I would hate to rejuvenate a battery in this way if it might pose any sort of hazard with electrical damage, seepage, excessive offgassing or some other more disastrous consequence. I hope this is not considered a Friday topic since a lot of our vans are second or third vehicles and do not get enough battery life by potentially sitting so much unless kept on a constant trickle charge. Any chemists or electrical gurus on the list have any input on this. Here is the URL for the video I watched with a healthy degree of skepticism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Supe1a3LW2U David Clarkson Equipment Consultant Southern Automotive Garage Equipment sageautoequipment.com dvdclarksn@aol.com |
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