Reviving Dead Batteries

super99 · May 21, 2020

There are several videos on You Tube on how to bring a dead battery back to life with distilled water and epsom salts. Has anyone done this and did it work or is it just a waste of time??

miner09 · May 21, 2020

I tried it and didn?t work. Plus got holes in my jeans

Janicholson · May 21, 2020

Wast of time. The reality is that a battery that is toast is not worth the expense of time and materials to get a month of unreliability out of it. Jim

DeltaRed · May 21, 2020

I've also heard if you drop a dead battery from a hight of about 6 inches onto a concrete floor it will jar the corrosion from between the plates. It will work afterward. Never tried it,and sceptical as well

JK-NY · May 21, 2020

I have heard that too, if it is dropped too hard you risk cracking the case and/or breaking the connectors between the cells then it will really be junk.

Steve@Advance · May 21, 2020

Not worth the frustration.

Or the danger!

Messing around with a battery with a bad cell or a broken internal connection can result in an explosion!

rustred · May 21, 2020

I know its a waste of time but wonder what all is involved in these recycled rebuilt batteries they are selling.

C.Amick · May 21, 2020

We need to invent a large ultrasonic cleaner unit to set batteries in that will vibrate the coating off the plates.

buickanddeere · May 21, 2020

Those foolish youtube posts should be deleted before more people get injured with batteries.

guido · May 21, 2020

Hello super99,

Bet you none of those guys make a living rejuvenating batteries! The aging process is irreversible, as with time and use, flakes start to come off the battery plates. They also become brittle, which increases plate deterioration. Then this reduces plate surface which diminishes plate capacity.

Its just a matter of time where capacity is no longer adequate for the application. No magic machine can bring the flakes back to the plates. Flushing the battery and using the magic potion, or fresh electrolyte does seem to make the voltage on the treated battery come up, but the new electrolyte is what raises the voltage. It I does NOT add capacity to the battery, and it is short lived.

Remember the measured voltage is a potential, NOT capacity. A load test is needed to confirm that,

Guido.

Russ from MN · May 21, 2020

I tried that 45 years ago, didn't work then, I doubt if it will now!

fastfarmall · May 22, 2020

There is a big battery grinding place in Eagan Minnesota, south of Saint Paul,they grind em,drain off the acid, and it separates the the outside, from the lead plates, and the wood pallet they set on when they go up the conveyor belt. Then it's got to let it sit on old trailer's that arnt road worthy for a while,with the back doors open, and where the material goes from there, somewhere to make new battery's! I tied that VX-6 when i was a teenager, it never worked !

dzc3 · May 22, 2020

Lots of negative responses. So I will tell you about my success and expect to be shot down by a chorus of negativity. I agree with Guido, the information he offered is correct, and accepted. I have revived 6 batteries that were "dead". I use baking soda and Epsom salts. It does take a while, and you have to charge and discharge the battery several times. I am not sure how long these batteries will last. They are load testing near or at CCA stamped on the tag. In the meantime I will continue to use these batteries. The alternator does not work overtime trying to "charge" a depleted battery. So that's it.

dzc3 · May 22, 2020

One thing I would like to add about this site, is that at one time the attitude was different more optimistic, and "what if" a person tried this. EVERY idea doesn't require unanimous agreement. I think this is a reason a lot of people with perhaps a different perspective quit posting!

Butch(OH) · May 22, 2020

Tried? Yes.
Worked? No, as expected.

My wishful thinking side wants a $2 fix for dead batteries but my practical thinking side suggests to me that if it was possible to convert bad batteries into good batteries via some process that involves little money or effort that more than a few entrepreneurs would be buying them up, fixing them and resellling them instead of them being scrapped, and turned back into new ones??

Since that isnt happening and the best we can due is get $10 for the clunker when we trade it on a new one my guess is that Epson salt won't fix dead batteries any more today than it did 25 years ago when JC Whitney sold it as VX6?? But again thats just an educated guess,,, LOL

Billy Shafer · May 22, 2020

In my job we were never allowed to do such tricks. Some ones life could depend on a unit starting.

Will it work. Maybe.

Will you risk a life on it. NO.

Janicholson · May 22, 2020

The lead sulfate bridges that form between positive plates and negative plates are derived from the sulfuric acid of the electrolyte, the lead dissolved from the plates, and oxygen derived from the water in the plates as hydrogen is driven off. This conductive material shorts the plates because it grows toward the potential voltage between them. Sponge Lead sulfate is what one plate is made from (today) and sponge lead is the other. (when charged) when discharged both plates become covered with lead sulfate, making only a very damped chemical reaction. Dropping them has a small chance of breaking the "bridge" off of the plates, or exploding the battery right in front center of a human being. Really dead batteries from 70 years ago (I've seen them) had buildup under the plates so thick that the plates were shorted by the sludge in the bottom. Newer batteries have reservoirs under the plates to "store" flaking PbSO4 (lead sulfate). Jim

dzc3 · May 22, 2020

Not risking my life or anyone's else. These batteries are going into old farm tractors not the space shuttle. Just saving a little money in the present

dzc3 · May 22, 2020

Butch I guess I will have to throw away my load tester, which is showing CCA about the same as rated on battery and it must be showing volts wrong too. Any idea who sells a decent load tester? This only has to work for me, and it does.

Billy Shafer · May 22, 2020

Nothing wrong with trying to save a little money.Clean the tops and post off. Good luck. My dad took an old battery. Cleaned it up put it on a charger.Got three more years out of it.Don't let baking soda into a battery. That will kill one.

dzc3 · May 22, 2020

Billy I did not mean any disrespect to you, I know you are talking about your experience which is way up the ladder from anything I will ever do. I read all of your post and respect everything that you contribute. I just get a little tired of all the naysayers, who tried something 30 years ago with poor results. Reminds me of the local farmer who until a few years ago swore no till or minimum till corn didn't work, because he tried it once in bad drought year, second time during one of the wettest years on record

Blackhole49 · May 22, 2020

Probably to late for your battery, but I add 1oz of hydrogen peroxide per cell per year to my 50 plus batteries each year to extend their life. I have gone from 5/6 life on my deep cycles' to 10+ years. For me, if I can get the caps off it helps. When mine are dead, they are beyond help. I would try it, nothing to loose.

Butch(OH) · May 22, 2020

I did not reply to you but answered the question by the OP as with my experience. But since your experience trumps mine or the other so called nay sayers on here may I suggest that you buy all the junk batteries you can afford and make your yourself a million reselling them before the Chinese find out and start doing it for a nickle?

David G · May 22, 2020

I have seen the results of a battery explosion, never again will I mess around nursing a battery.

Janicholson · May 22, 2020

I side with Billy. The process was given a continuous field test for many years. There is such little ROI in time money or good to go battery that the bad experiences out weigh the good by a massive ratio. Even at 20 to 1 it would likely fail to be a successful produce, or safe and effective remedial process. How many batteries have you seen lately with removable caps.
The min Till farmer probably tried it by not tilling, and using tillage based equipment, and poor or zero burn down, etc. In reality it is just too dangerous. Jim

fdt860 · May 22, 2020

I have seen special battery charger with a "cleaning" mode and an "impulse" mode to charge them, but I do not have one.

Riggs rigs · May 26, 2020

I watched the videos, went and got some distilled water, dumped the acid into a large bowl, filled the battery with said distilled water, shook the battery vigorously, then dumped the blackness out. I repeated until cleanish water came out. (3x) then I replaced the acid and charged the battery.
I’ll never get that time back. It was wasted.

Reviving Dead Batteries

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