De sulphonating

[ghostlymoron]

I've read somewhere that its sulphonation that kills batteries. I assume that's lead sulphate coating the plates. Is there anything that dissolves this? I was thinking that one could empty the acid (sulphuric), fill with suitable solution, swill it round to dissolve the sulphate,rinse out and refill with acid. Job done, clean plates, capacity restored. Or isn't it that simple?

 

[LadyInBed]

Let Google be your friend
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/sulfation_and_how_to_prevent_it
for example

 

[xeitosaphil]

I was under the impression that the coating needs to be blasted off, which is why some of the modern Muti stage chargers like my Ctek M300 hits it with 16v when in Recon Mode.

Could be wrong though?

 

[vyv_cox]

The link says it all I think. Equalising the batteries by applying a voltage of 15 plus converts the lead sulphate back to lead and sulphuric acid but also causes gassing, which is why it cannot be used for sealed batteries.

 

[xeitosaphil]

which is why it cannot be used for sealed batteries.

My user manual also advises to isolate sensitive electronics also as a precaution.

 

[ghostlymoron]

The link says there's 2 types of sulphonation - hard and soft. The soft kind can be removed by pulsing high(ish) voltage using an automatic charger with restoring function. The hard kind can't. So is there anything that will dissolve the hard kind?

 

[Plevier]

The link says there's 2 types of sulphonation - hard and soft. The soft kind can be removed by pulsing high(ish) voltage using an automatic charger with restoring function. The hard kind can't. So is there anything that will dissolve the hard kind?

No.
If the battery is treated properly, soft sulphation won't be a problem it will disappear in normal charging. The active material becomes lead sulphate in every discharge and reconverts in every charge. Pulsing cycles etc may help a bit with a neglected battery (while tending to cause other damage such as corrosion) but a lot of battery industry people are sceptical (including me, oh you guessed!). It's more promoted by charger manufacturers (including the one that sponsors battery university).
Hard sulphate does slowly build up for various reasons - much quicker if the battery isn't recharged thoroughly and promptly after any significant discharge - and is ultimately fatal (if something else isn't first).

Edit - I have to say the battery university item is very fair, and is itself pretty sceptical about black box desulphators. It even mentions the risk of accelerated corrosion.

 

[ghostlymoron]

How about this? http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread705577/pg1

 

[charles_reed]

How about this? http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread705577/pg1

One used to do this when an impecunious car-owning student - sometimes worked for as long as 4 weeks, before you had to finally replace the battery.


But that was back in the days of the Festival of Britain and when MG TCs were considered the ultimate sports car.

 

[Plevier]

How about this? http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread705577/pg1

I've heard of clutching at straws but ....