DIY Lead Battery Refurbishing

Seems like batteries are moving into the $100-$150 range for just a 24F size now. I've seen some articles on battery reconditioning/refurbishing that suggest this could be done to extend or reuse a typical 12v lead-acid battery. I always thought that at least the plates inside had to be replaced. Is it possible or practical to refurbish a battery in your shop and would it cost less than buying a new one?

I don't know what he considered refurbish but I worked with a guy that did that part time. He supplied used car lots with batteries
and took their old ones in trade to refurbish. One of the main problems is scale in the bottom shorting out the plates. Funny on
that one is that it seems the better the CCA rating for a given dimension battery (size) the longer the plates and that means they are
closer to the bottom of the case and the scale flaking off can short them out easier than low CCA for that size which have shorter
plates. He also poured out the water acid mix and installed new acid. Then a little spit and polish and wala, a newly reconditioned
battery.

On that account, one day he comes to work and half his face is burned with circles around his eyes where his glasses protected
them. We all got a big laugh out of it and he was a good sport but we were tacky in acting like we did. He had hooked a string of
these restored batteries in series across utility supplied 120v ac line voltage in the shop (used a rectifier to get DC) and had them in
a closed room charging at a pretty good clip. He came into the room sometime later and accidentally bumped the string and one of
the clip on connectors came off and made a big spark.......with a room full of Hydrogen Gas......guess what!

it was winter time but none the less after that he left the windows open and a big fan bringing in fresh air. I bought several from
him at a great price and they ran good for me.

You might do a lot better buying "blem" batteries from a big store like an interstate battery store. The new, never used batteries that set on a store shelf for 6 months to a year and are never sold, are taken back to the main interstate stores, stripped of the interstate logo and sold with a 30 day warrenty. A good battery man at the store will load test any battery you are interested in to make sure it meets or exceeds the cranking amps stated on the battery. If you are satisfied with the result, he will (or did last year) sell you that new battery for $40.
I have them (GRP 31) in both my 2 Steiger 4WD tractors and one semi tractor (7 batteries) for going on 8 years now. No problem, they work and last like the new batteries they are.

Whoa! His guardian angel was watching over him that day!

At best you will be left stranded with a machine that won't start.
If burns and a hydrogen explosion, burst ear drums, your eyes and lungs filled with sulfuric acid. And the surrounding equipment corroded with acid. If that costs less than a new battery...............?

Its luck of the draw.

1) not all bats that are turned in are bad you may get lucky and get one that was good.

2) I have seen my fair share of them that taxed the charging system heavily for some reason the battery can not be satisfied. Is it worth it to over work a generator to you.

When a battery is giving off gas as it is charging it not only is emitting hydrogen gas but also the correct amount of oxygen need to the hydrogen to re-combine back into water. You couldn't ask for a much better situation to support an explosion.

I have cut open batteries to satisfy my curiousity as to what's inside and it is nothing rebuildable.Even the lead plates don't look like lead.

(quoted from post at 08:07:39 08/13/15) I have cut open batteries to satisfy my curiousity as to what's inside and it is nothing rebuildable.Even the lead plates don't look like lead.

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worked at a mom and pop auto parts store back in high school. You would be surprised how many good batteries there are in the core pile. I use to take the load tester in the back every couple of days and load test the core batteries. If they passed I would buy them for core price and charge them up and sell them to buddies for $20. Never had a problem with any that I had. Lots of people just replace the battery first thing when the car won't start.

Something like that. He is smart enough to know better. Must have had his mind occupied elsewhere.