I was taking my 2 year old dead battery to recycle it at Costco when I saw a youtube video on renewing a dead battery. It said to mix up magnesium sulfate which is MgSO4or common Epsom Salt with distilled water and pour 3 tablespoons of the mix into each cell, then put it on the slowest charge you can. It is supposed to give it another 4 years of life. I can remember times when I wasn't as flush as I am today and could have really used that info. So I am giving it a try on my dead battery. Right now it will not charge up enough. So lets see if it can be salvaged.

 

The Epsom Salts trick will get a couple extra starts out of it, then it completely breaks down the plates and you've got a new wheel chock. No getting around having to replace a bad battery. ~Bill

 

The mix they are talking about ends up creating a mild acid, which as was said may give a few more starts. It isn't nearly strong enough to do the job long term, certainly not 4 years.

No way, no how.

The internet strikes again..

oh wait, THIS is on the internet. What to believe what to believe..

 

Well I got out my distiller and as most projects go, found out that I have to have running water through the condenser to distill water otherwise all that comes out the business end is steam. So I have to set up a pump and a bucket of water to act as a condenser.So as I find this day and age, one project can't be done, because another project can't be done. et cetera. I needed distilled water to complete this experiment.
And I am not going to pay $5 a gallon for Pep Boy's distilled water! Remember the tail for want of a horseshoe a kingdom was lost? The guy who wrote that must have had a truck!

 

It was something like 50¢/gal at the grocery store last time I remember buying it.

 

But then so was gasoline LOL

 

Yeah, $1 at the Piggly Wiggly will get you a gallon.

 

I saw that video and in the "related videos" section was one titled "Home skin grafts using dried Jell-O pudding skins to fix acid burns".

There are battery desulfators that use high frequency pulses to desolve the sulfation instead of just breaking it up. Battery Minder is one. Been meaning to get on because I just use Battery Tenders and have had a battery or two not last as long as it should have even when using the Tender on it. Check some of the Amazon reviews...

Also, a local scrap yard gives you more than twice as much per battery as the core return that stores give you so any of your dead ones I WANT 'EM!!!!

 

All batteries, cranking and deep cycle, lose material every charge cycle. Industrial SCR type chargers will clear the plates at every charge. Your alternator won't and for good reason. But industrial batteries have room at the bottom of the case for the debris to collect. Car batteries don't have that extra space. When it builds to a certain point it begins to short the plates and goodbye battery. Industrial batteries will raise the positive plates to compensate-look at an older deep cycle battery and you can see the positive post visibly taller than the negative.

FYI I get .25-.30 a lb for batteries at a scrapyard in my area. A midsize forklift battery can weigh 2000 lbs. Nothing goes to waste in my world ~Bill