Battery sulfation :( can a charger really fix this

[Smoove]

I found this interesting thread on another site. Who are the battery guru's

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2546865

No they don't work. Electrical snake oil. They pop up in my industry(industrial motive batteries) every 5 years or so. when unscrupulous companies try convince people these miracle devices when retrofitted on there charging equipment will save their $2-5k battery.

Simply put, you effectively desulfate a battery every time you recharge it. Batteries sulfate when you discharge them. the sulfation or essentially an oxidation of the active material is what produces electrical current. You reverse this process when recharge the battery.

Doesn't matter if the AGM, Gel or Flooded. The recharging process is the same.

Now if this is a trickle charger with a fancy name, that would work well, as others have said. Trickle charging, if you have the time is better because can avoid damaging a battery over gassing caused by high voltage and heat.

[rockFord_Expedition]

good read

[islandpride684]

they claim their product works and its the most safest and effective way or 100% money back plus a 5 year "no hassle" warranty

http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/charging-articles/make-the-bad-sulfation-go-away.html

the products

http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/brands/battery-minder/

[Smoove]

I didn't realize this was a claim since the 70's.

And then this guy did actual testing

"I measured the battery capacities before, during and after applying the desulfator over several months. done properly, it can work. I never achieved full rated capacity but I was able to take cells that had ~20% remaining capacity and reach about 60-70%. Some cells... no joy. BUT... it took months, 24x7, with some cycling in the middle."

With these claims I am starting to think that it's not the so called de-sulfcation process the battery chargers claim keeping batteries good. It's the regular charging people are learning to do because they believe the in the suflication process.

[Smoove]

Really? No experts adding knowledge

[Bump4life]

i agree with you that the plates sulfate when discharge and the process is reversed with charging. a specific device claimed to be a desulfator only, kinda gimmicky. but a charger that has a recondition mode such as my ctek charger or other high level chargers hit the battery with different waves and pulses of voltage/current which in my opinion can help aid the charging "desulfation" process better and get the battery back to as close to new as possible vs just a straight charge.

[SnowDrifter]

You know how I like to do it? Charge, drain to 10.5v, charge. Rinse and repeat 2-4 times

[Bump4life]

You know how I like to do it? Charge, drain to 10.5v, charge. Rinse and repeat 2-4 times

thats a good way to do it seriously.

[n8ball2013]

I dont think there is a charger alive that is capable of restoring a battery neglected to the point of total discharge or 20 percent. but if you have a battery that floats at 12.4 or so it certainly is possible. blanket statements suck in this case because not all cases are created equal. We can test this though this spring. I just so happen to have a bank of optimas that are a few years old but have been well maintained. I also happen to have a brand new big daddy XS intellisupply with the recondition mode. I'll bet I have one battery at least that floats a bit lower than what it should. I bet I can bring it back to full

[Bump4life]

I dont think there is a charger alive that is capable of restoring a battery neglected to the point of total discharge or 20 percent. but if you have a battery that floats at 12.4 or so it certainly is possible. blanket statements suck in this case because not all cases are created equal. We can test this though this spring. I just so happen to have a bank of optimas that are a few years old but have been well maintained. I also happen to have a brand new big daddy XS intellisupply with the recondition mode. I'll bet I have one battery at least that floats a bit lower than what it should. I bet I can bring it back to full

i have brought 2 batteries back from the dead. it was a small one used to start my moped, literally below 3 volts (12v batter) and my old oem mercedes battery. resting at 11.8 and did not start the car, popped it on my charger recondition mode and boom both batteries still function to this day. been going for a year so far.