Questions About Batteries

[imp]

Back when I learned about lead-acid batteries, talk was about a "sulphated" battery, highly discharged, and how to go about bringing it back. My old F-700, sitting for 4 years, last started up about a year ago, 1998 model, EFI, PCM drained battery to dead.

Yanked it out today, wanna sell the truck, finally, put it on slow charge first, after many hours battery voltage came up to a bit over 11V. Charging voltage is 15, so 4 volts over batt. voltage is pushing only 3amps. through the battery. 4V over nominal on a good battery should cause big current flow, maybe 20, 30, or more, not 3A. Should I up the current setting? Give up on it?

Anybody know batteries real well, can give me advice? Appreciate it! imp

 

[BrooklynBay]

Don't overcharge it or charge it too fast. Keep it on a slow charge of 2 amps or less per hour, then shut it off after an hour. Check the voltage with a voltmeter, and see if it retains a minimum of 11.5 volts after several hours.

 

[imp]

Don't overcharge it or charge it too fast. Keep it on a slow charge of 2 amps or less per hour, then shut it off after an hour. Check the voltage with a voltmeter, and see if it retains a minimum of 11.5 volts after several hours.

@BrooklynBay

Thank you, Sir! imp

 

[shucker1]

If I give you my IMP you are just gonna trash me.

Wanna shoot a game of pool?

So whatever.. Here goes.

From a chemical stand point sulphation is a process where deposits are laid on top of the lead plates in a battery thus inhibiting electron flow during discharge.

If the battery is healthy the only way to "Knock" the deposits loose would be some type of "frequency charger". It takes time to get them off.

Best idea is just to replace the battery if it is more than 4 years old.

 

[shucker1]

 

[imp]

If I give you my IMP you are just gonna trash me.

Wanna shoot a game of pool? Why, hellfire yes!

So whatever.. Here goes.

From a chemical stand point sulphation is a process where deposits are laid on top of the lead plates in a battery thus inhibiting electron flow during discharge.

If the battery is healthy the only way to "Knock" the deposits loose would be some type of "frequency charger". It takes time to get them off.

Best idea is just to replace the battery if it is more than 4 years old.

@shucker1
I shoot my best game of pool on a 4-1/2X9; the guy who showed me the game, a Canuck who swam the Detroit River at 16, was awful damn good. I saw him clean up shooting over 2 racks without missing in "straight pool", as he called it. He could "throw" an object ball locked to another about 5 degrees, making shots absolutely impossible for others to even dream of. I never learned how much was hype in the Minnesota Fats, Mosconi trade, did they "English" balls where it was near impossible? Always doubted it. Only in that last, desperate attempt, I thought.

What in the fu^k is a "frequency charger"? Ever rip apart a battery case? A guy might be able to salvage what lead is left....Ah, hell, I knew the batt. was junk, but hate giving up. How does one know if a batt is healthy, as you put it?

I'm goin' off to build the biggest Tesla Coil I ever did, then I'll come back to sell this truck! I want over 5 foot streamers......imp

 

[shucker1]

A good article on battery sulfation. Explains the frequency charger theory as well.

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/charging-articles/make-the-bad-sulfation-go-away.html

Ever rip apart a battery case?

Yes, a time or two. I have on purpose and I have done them as the unexpected outcome of the situation at hand if you understand what I mean.

 

[imp]

A good article on battery sulfation. Explains the frequency charger theory as well.

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/charging-articles/make-the-bad-sulfation-go-away.html




Yes, a time or two. I have on purpose and I have done them as the unexpected outcome of the situation at hand if you understand what I mean.

@shucker1
Thanks for that link! On the other consideration, ......hydrogen gas explosion?? imp

 

[shucker1]

Yup.

Blew the top off of one of my deep cycle boat batteries.

Figured it would be safe to let it sit on a trickle charger in my garage while not in use.

Bad idea, it must have ran dry and arced out.

Spattered battery acid all down the side of my 71 MGB which is another restoration project. No major damage, it's going to get repainted anyway.

Needless to say we don't let batteries sit for extended periods without adult supervision anymore...

 

[imp]

Yup.

Blew the top off of one of my deep cycle boat batteries.

Figured it would be safe to let it sit on a trickle charger in my garage while not in use.

Bad idea, it must have ran dry and arced out.

Spattered battery acid all down the side of my 71 MGB which is another restoration project. No major damage, it's going to get repainted anyway.

Needless to say we don't let batteries sit for extended periods without adult supervision anymore...

@shucker1
Ha! Jeez, this happened when you were a child??? Must have been more precocious than me, even! I was fu3king with explosives in the 8th. grade, hoping to ease up the drudgery of excavating a "cave" out of the side of a ravine on my folks' property in Michigan. The "Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas and Recipes" had a chapter titled "explosives". "Berge's Blasting Powder", it said "triturate together", best I could find for definition was triturate = mix completely; Potassium Chlorate, sugar, wax, sulfur. I shaved the wax in, started "triturating", in my big porcelain mortar and pestle, about the third stroke, FWOOSH, immense heat, orange color, dropped the pestle, knew my right hand was toast by the amount of heat, the hand and arm must have saved my eyesight, 2nd. degree burns on face and hand, long story shorter, missed about 6 weeks
of school, returned with my face looking like a purple plum, the ******* kids who had been my friends called me Frankenstein! Just at that time when puberty was kicking in, girls looking God-awful so good..,.. High school was a waste, eventually I healed physically, even my beard grew in OK, but the Dick yearned for what it couldn't get. So, I wrapped myself up in cars and High-Voltage ****, built a good Tesla Coil using twin-triode transmitting tubes Sophomore year, couldn't enter Science Fair, as I was not in General Science, but College Prep, my buddy won first prize with it.

At 18, I went back to Chemistry again, bought a case of Ditching Dynamite at the Baroda, Michigan hardware store, jeez, did we have fun with that! Hey, guy, thanks for reading. You encouraged me with your battery work-up. If you might be of a mind to go further, take some spare time to talk some more. I know you are a working man, pressed for time a lot, I am an old fart who chose to not father any kids, so I have no one to teach all the **** to that I accumulated in my young adulthood. I'm not lonely or anything like that, but would enjoy talking, if you care to. This place ain't the right one to do it; PMs ain't PM, ya know? jack.brady39@yahoo.com