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EXTENDING BATTERY LIFE

The following article is from a group of booklets distributed to farmers and handymen back in the
70's. A lot of it is still valid but be warned that many of the procedures listed below may have
unpredictible results. It is included in this homepage for information only, if you perform any of the
procedures you do so at your own risk. I do not recommend placing batteries in parallel, if one cell
goes short circuit the other batteries will begin to discharge through the faulty battery, this will cause
the good batteries to go flat.

"Battery life can be extended by an extra one to two years by dissolving sulphation. This can be
accomplished by the addition of certain chemicals to the battery."

"When a battery is fully charged the positive plate turns into lead peroxide, and the negative plate
turns into sponge lead. When a battery is discharged both positive and negative plates change into
lead sulphate, it is in this state that they are prone to chemical reactions causing sulphation."

"A battery kept in a fully charged state will have a much longer life than one which is mostly in a
discharged state. However, batteries are made to be used. So during their use, particularly in a home
power plant, they will be discharged quite heavily at times, and it is not always convenient to
re-charge them immediately. Under these circumstances sulphation is inevitable, so the following
facts and formulae may at some stage prove useful to you."

"Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) - Can be bought at either the chemist or supermarket. Add a
slightly heaped teaspoonful into each cell. Fully charge it with a slow charge, then discharge it (use a
car headlight), then add another slightly heaped teaspoonful to each cell. It will take about a month
for the Epsom Salts to dissolve the sulphation and increase the battery's capacity to hold a charge."

"Caustic Soda - Drop a small pinch of caustic soda into each cell when the battery is flat. As it
charges and heats up, the caustic soda will foam and dissolve the sulphation."

"Power Additive No1 - Sodium Sulphate (salt cake) 15 parts, Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) 10
parts, and Magnesium Oxide (Calcined Magnesia) 5 parts. Mix all together (by stirring), then add 2
heaped teaspoonsful to each battery cell. It may be necessary to repeat this treatment 4-6 months
later."

"Power Additive No2 - Aluminium Sulphate (also known as alum cake, papermakers alum and pearl
alum) 88 parts, Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) 4 parts, and Cadmium Sulphate 1 part. Dissolve
the Epsom Salts and cadmium sulphate in water. Then add the aluminium sulphate. Use only enough
water to make a smooth concentrated solution. Use 3 teaspoonsful every six months."

"Miscellaneous Hints - Sludging can be reduced quite substantially (up to 50% ) by adding very
small amounts of vanadium and chromium to each cell."

"When sludging has occurred it can be reduced and battery life increased by operating it in a warmer
area (hot if possible), reducing both current draw and charge rate, and adding more water than normal
to each cell (overfilling each cell)."

"Lighter loads will increase battery life. If you have a heavy current draw hook up two or three

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batteries in parallel. This still gives 12 volts, but the capacity is doubled or tripled. This means what
was originally a heavy current draw on one battery now becomes a light current draw in several
batteries."

"Always add distilled water to batteries. Impurities in water, such as minerals and iron, can cause
reactions within the battery and reduce its capacity."

"Do not add additional acid to a battery (unless it replaces some which has been spilt or emptied from
the battery). Adding additional acid to a battery will do more harm than good and excess amounts
will quickly destroy the battery. It is fine while the battery is flat and the liquid in the cells is mostly
water, but with additional acid having been added the higher density creates adverse chemical
reactions within the battery. Your hydrometer reading would always be wildly inaccurate because of
the extra acid density (a flat battery would be showing up fully charged if enough acid was added)."

"Dissolving Sulphation with Distilled Water - Empty the electrolyte from each cell, and in its place
put distilled water. Allow to stand for an hour or so, then put it on a slow charge of about 4 amps.
The sulphate crystals will gradually dissolve (they are more soluble in pure water than acid/water)
and turn into sulphuric acid. A combination of battery charging and chemical reaction will cause a
rise in temperature within the battery. If it reaches 45° - 50°C turn the charger off and let the battery
cool down."

"Keep the slow charge going while the 'specific gravity' reading is increasing. If the specific gravity
goes over the normal figure of about 1.300 it means someone has added acid to the battery. The best
move then is to tip it all out and start again with fresh distilled water. When the specific gravity
reading stabilises tip it out, then refill each cell with a fresh acid solution, then run the battery
through two or three charge/discharge cycles and check your specific gravity reading."

"The fresh acid solution is made up of sulphuric acid and water. If you cannot buy a ready-made
mixture, then mix a small amount of acid and water together (Caution: Always add acid to water - do
not add water to straight acid. If you get acid in your eyes, flush them for 15 minutes with fresh
water)."

"With the mixture in the battery, and the battery fully charged specific gravity should be 1.650 to
1.850 in summer and up to 1.300 in winter. If the reading is too low add more acid."

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