oakleyb
Well-Known Member
Just noticed that i've allowed my batteries to almost run dry - can they be recovered ?
oopps Dry batteries
- Thread starter oakleyb
- Start date
pvb
Well-Known Member
Refill them with suitable water and see what happens.
AngusMcDoon
Well-Known Member
Even if you get some life out of them they'll never be much good again.
TradewindSailor
Well-Known Member
As long as the plates haven't dried out entirely you may have a chance of recovery.
Top the cells to just cover the plates. NO MORE or you will kill the batteries. Charge the batteries up until the will except no more charge and then top up again to the correct level .... bottom of the fill tube usually.
Use only distilled or deionised water. DO NOT USE RAIN WATER .... there are too many impurities in it!
Top the cells to just cover the plates. NO MORE or you will kill the batteries. Charge the batteries up until the will except no more charge and then top up again to the correct level .... bottom of the fill tube usually.
Use only distilled or deionised water. DO NOT USE RAIN WATER .... there are too many impurities in it!
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
If the plates have dried out completely and have buckled, probably no chance of recovery. Do as Tradewind Sailor suggests. Look farther to see if the problem is in the charge regulator, if you're certain the loss of electrolyte is not down to neglect.
grafozz
Well-Known Member
you could go to a battery store and buy some bottled 1280 sulphuric acid from them , same as they use in dry charged batteries kept on their shelves .
then totally empty yours , rinse through with de-ionised/ distilled water , top them up and trickle charge 48 hours .
I,m no chemist but have restored a large battery this way , successfully .
then totally empty yours , rinse through with de-ionised/ distilled water , top them up and trickle charge 48 hours .
I,m no chemist but have restored a large battery this way , successfully .
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
Can you use melt water from your fridge (after removing frozen peas)? Or water from a de-humidifier?
GrahamP
Well-Known Member
Please excuse the thread drift, but I have a related problem.
New to me boat had an insecure battery tipped over which has leaked. I have cleaned up and topped up with deionised water to cover the plates.
Should I replace the fluid with new acid?
What is likely to happen leaving the diluted acid as is?
Should I determine the SG of acid first?
(I estimate about 100 mL of acid lost, 85 Ah battery)
Please share your thought and ideas
Thankyou
New to me boat had an insecure battery tipped over which has leaked. I have cleaned up and topped up with deionised water to cover the plates.
Should I replace the fluid with new acid?
What is likely to happen leaving the diluted acid as is?
Should I determine the SG of acid first?
(I estimate about 100 mL of acid lost, 85 Ah battery)
Please share your thought and ideas
Thankyou
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
are you joking?
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
I can't see any reason why not. Both are effectively distilled.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
You could drain and flush the battery (flush with deionised water or very diluted baking soda BUT be careful of explosive fumes hence do it outside) and fill with ready made for batteries sulphuric acid dilution; charge up very slowly for 3 days but make sure the battery does not boil. In theory, if the battery plates can be descaled and provided that they have not been damaged, the battery should be as good as new.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
De-ionised water is metal free water which means is very "hungry" for metals and minerals and it will pick up ions from anything that comes in contact with. Melt water from the fridge or water from the de-humidifier is "contaminated".
Modulation
Well-Known Member
+1. I did the same (faulty charger didn't turn off) and though I got them to take a bit of charge, they never held it fo very long. My advice would be to try all the suggestions here, see which battery performs worst, then replace that straight away. Then you will have at least on reliable power source.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
I think you may be overestimating the hunger of water for ions. Anyway, where are these ions going to come from?
By what? Stick the ice in a clean container and let it melt.
RichardS
N/A
De-ionised just means that the water has been passed through and ion-exchange column which has removed any contaminent ions, effectively the same as distilling the water. Melted ice water from the fridge is fine providing it is ice which has formed from water vapour. Just run it through a funnel and filter paper / piece of kitchen roll if there is a small amount of particulate matter suspended in it.
Water from a dehumidifer is also fine but does sometimes contain a lot of fluff and other particulates which are not desirable and would definitely need careful filtering. In my experience, fridge water is usually cleaner.
Richard
