Battery reconditioning maintenance
Revive your old and used batteries with a battery reconditioner. Sulfation of lead-acid batteries is the main reason for capacity loss and battery malfunctioning. With our REPLUS battery reconditioning technology, you can now offer a second life to your batteries.
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Expand the lifespan of your batteries: lead sulphate is removed by the electrical high-frequency pulsation process of the battery reconditioner.
Battery Monitoring System: perform individual voltage measurements of all cells during a complete discharge and receive a perfect battery evaluation and a clear overview of the performance of each cell!
Discharging is an important part of battery testing. The time it takes to discharge shows you how healthy your battery is. It lets you know how well it will perform.
The built-in Thermal Imager design quickly identifies hot spots without contact. The device has a large LCD display and a long work time with a li-ion battery.
Specific gravity testing is easy and efficient with this refractometer.
Perform individual voltage measurements of all cells with this multivoltage 80 V battery.
Portable battery discharger with a precisely controlled current.
This battery capacity tester measures resistance, voltage, current and temperature.
Reduced testing complexity, a simplified workflow and an intuitive user interface provide a new level of ease-of-use in battery testing.
The 279 FC is a full-featured digital multimeter with integrated thermal imaging and is designed to increase your productivity and confidence.
What does Battery reconditioning mean and why is it useful?
Lead-acid batteries mainly suffer battery sulfation. This phenomenon occurs when the battery is completely discharged, but returns to normal when you recharge the battery. However, the natural processes are not 100 % efficient. Sulfate parts attach to the plates, affecting the total capacity of the battery. energy is needed to charge and the temperature of the battery rises, which reduces the battery life. This is a result of the charging technology not being entirely efficient.
A battery reconditioning treatment or subsequent procedure may recover or lengthen the battery life. Previous analysis provides information about the status of the battery and enables us to diagnose if it is possible to recover the battery. This service will allow the battery to last longer, which will be financially beneficial for the employer.
We have the tools to retrieve battery forklifts, golf carts, boats, trains, telecommunications, distribution companies and power generation, etc. Our battery reconditioner removes lead sulfate by the electrical high-frequency pulsation process.
Battery reconditioning is also called battery regeneration or battery desulfation.
How does battery reconditioning work?
1) Annual maintenance reduces capacity loss caused by battery sulfation
When the capacity of a battery is reduced, it is probably due to sulfate crystals that have gradually built up on the electrodes. This prevents the battery from effectively delivering current, because the crystals ‘suffocate’ the battery.
Lead sulfate increases the internal resistance and decreases the electrolyte density. The process of sulfation build-up is unavoidable. Worse yet, after 3-4 years, the process substantially accelerates (hence the Rapid fall of your battery’s productivity). If your battery suffers from this type of sulfation, our battery regenerator will be very effective.
If you service your battery once a year with our battery regenerator, battery sulphation will never stand a chance!
2) Cleaning analysis battery repair
Prior to the battery desulfation process it is very important to make sure that the battery, the battery connections and battery box are free of defects. We also need to make sure that the battery surface is neutralised (AQ Steam) so that sulphation build-up on the connectors doesn’t affect the battery performance. An untreated battery surface may cause leak currents which will have a negative effect on the battery life.
When all connections have been checked and the surface has been treated, we can continue with the regeneration process itself.
3) Lead–acid battery reconditioning with Energic Plus
The battery reconditioner runs 2 cycles of charging, equalizing and discharging. During this process, lead sulfate is removed by the electrical high-frequency pulsation process of the battery regenerator. This has the following results:
If the battery regenerator is combined with our Battery Monitoring System (BMS-system), you can even perform a complete analysis of every battery cell. A truly unique feature!
4) Battery analysis after the battery reconditioning process
Once the battery reconditioning process is finished, the condition of the battery is reanalysed. The improvements are processed and all cells are checked, to see if any of them need replacing. Reports on the battery condition (in pdf, Word or Excel) and reports of the BMS-system (in pdf, Word or Excel) are generated so that you know exactly what the current condition of your battery is.
5) Putting the lead-acid battery into operation
When the battery desulfation process is finished the battery can be put back into use! Stop wasting money, start using the Energic Plus battery regenerator!
What is Battery Reconditioning
Battery reconditioning means bringing back the healthy life of a battery, that is, full charging capacity and standard electrolyte level. This is important because whether you have a regular car or a luxury type, low charge, and acid stratification are the typical concerns among owners.
Every time a battery discharges, lead sulfate crystals are formed around its plates. The massive buildup of these crystals affects the charging and discharging capacity of your battery.
Some of the batteries which can be reconditioned include AGM, 12v car battery, gel batteries, golf cart battery, lithium-ion batteries, prius battery, NiCad, and NiMH rechargeable batteries.
Having practical knowledge of reconditioning batteries is excellent so that you’d be able to keep your battery at optimal performance.
Who Benefits From Reconditioning Dead Batteries
Knowing how do you recondition a dead battery is practically beneficial to the owner and the environment.
For the car owner, gaining that knowledge and skill would save you a few bucks and the hassle it brings when the battery dies, and you are in the middle of nowhere.
Aside from that, for those who want to have a few incomes. You can practically charge a few bucks from people who wish to their battery reconditioned. Perhaps, you can recondition some of your old and dead cells in the garage and resell it for a reasonable price.
over, the environment also benefits from battery reconditioning as a lesser amount of lead-acid solution is disposed of in the surrounding. These chemicals, when not cured before disposal, can pollute the soil and groundwater, which causes several health consequences.
Safety Tips for Battery Reconditioning
When reconditioning batteries, safety measures must be kept in mind to avoid accidents along the way. Be reminded that the electrolyte inside a lead acid battery is corrosive and harmful when in contact with skin, eyes, and garments.
These are some of our tips you can follow to maintain safety during battery reconditioning:
- Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the acidic electrolyte solution
- Wear goggles to protect your eyes from any splattering
- Wear an apron to protect your clothes from the corrosive liquid
- You can prepare a weak basic solution made from baking soda and water to neutralize any spills of the acidic electrolyte solution.
- Work in a well-ventilated area so that the harmful fumes and heat from the electrolyte solution will be readily dissipated — likewise, a lesser chance for you to inhale much of the vapor. You can also use a disposable mask to filter the air you breathe while doing the whole process.
We highly emphasize prevention over cure. Be careful in preparing and transferring electrolyte solutions to your battery.
How to Recondition Batteries
Are you still there? Now, we are here for the meat of the article on how to recondition old batteries. Just read through the whole process, and in no time you would grasp the entire concept.
Materials Needed
So, here are the necessary things you will need for the entire procedure.
- Funnel
- Distilled water
- Baking soda
- Epsom salt
- Voltmeter
- Screwdriver (flat head)
- Goggles
- Disposable rubber gloves
- Apron
- Bucket
- Battery Reconditioning Charger
STEP 1 Prepping the Battery
Before you prepare your battery, make sure you are wearing your safety gear: goggles, rubber gloves, and apron. Likewise, ensure you are working in a well-ventilated area which is also near to a water source in case you would have spills or splashes on your skin or clothes.
In preparing your battery for reconditioning, make sure its terminals are clean and free from corrosion or any salt buildup. The battery must be removed or detached during the whole reconditioning process.
You can prepare a DIY baking soda solution for cleaning some corrosion in the battery terminals. The ratio for baking soda and water can be either 1:1 or 2:1. The corrosion or salt buildup in the terminals is slightly acidic, and so this basic cleaning solution can help in the removal and neutralization.
Mix baking soda and water in a container until you reach a gritty or paste-like textured solution. After, take a clean or used toothbrush and dip it in the solution and then rub it on the battery terminals.
Meanwhile, for heavy corrosion on the terminals, we recommend the use of a steel brush, steel wool, or a fine sandpaper grit. The extra abrasive texture will provide better scraping performance in removing corrosion.
STEP 2 Check Voltage Level of Your Battery
After the prepping, you need to check the voltage level of your battery if it is in good condition or not. It would be best if you had a reliable voltmeter in doing this one which can be readily bought in electronic shops.
The voltmeter has two wires with one metal clip at both ends for each cable. One wire is color black for the negative terminal, and the other wire is red in color for the positive terminal.
Connect the clip of the red wire to the positive terminal of the battery and the black coil to the negative terminal. If it’s a car battery an indicator to know if your battery is already in good condition and fully charged is the reading must be 12.6 volts and above. When the battery is inside the car, and the engine starts, the reading must be between 13.7V to 14.7V.
If the voltmeter reading is below 12.4V, then your battery needs reconditioning. Write down the details of your voltage reading for reference.
STEP 3 Remove the Old Electrolyte Solution and Wash Battery Plates
Before doing this, you need to have your bucket ready for receiving the old electrolyte solution and some weak baking soda solution to neutralize some spills while emptying the battery.
Take your flat head screwdriver and remove the battery caps. After, secure your battery caps in one container and slowly lift the battery and pour out the old electrolyte solution into the bucket. For any spills, pour a substantial amount of the baking soda solution on the affected area to neutralize it.
To neutralize the battery acid solution inside the bucket, you can add 1/2 pound of baking soda powder into the bucket. Another option is to make a 3:1 baking soda and water solution to pour into the bucket for neutralization of the acid. Once neutralized, do not dispose of this yet.
For cleaning the battery plates inside, prepare a baking soda and water solution with a ratio of 1:1 or 2:1. After making the baking soda solution, fill each battery cell to the full level, and close it back with the battery caps. Lift the battery and do some shaking for like 30 seconds to 1 minute, then you can let it sit for another 1 minute to allow some reactions to happen. After, open the caps, empty the battery and pour the baking soda solution into the same bucket.
Check the bucket for a neutral pH level between 6.8 to 7.2 before disposal. You can contact Earth911 for further details on the proper disposal of battery acid solution.
STEP 4 Bring it Back To Life: Reconditioning Batteries
The next step is to replenish the electrolyte solution in your battery. For this, you can use Epsom salt and distilled water to create a new battery solution.
The concentration of Epsom salt solution must be around 1molar. This is created by dissolving 120 grams salt in 1 liter of distilled water. You can slightly warm the water to ensure all salts are dissolved.
Reconditioning Car Batteries at Home. Recommended or Not?
Well, there are several ways to recondition a car battery at home.
One of the ‘most famous’ methods which is applicable ONLY to wet/flooded batteries include removing sulfuric acid from the battery, cleaning the cells with baking soda and then adding custom electrolyte based on the Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) and distilled water.
To do this at home, one requires open area (it should not be done inside, no matter ‘how well’ the area is ventilated. ), protective gear (gloves, goggles, etc), chemicals etc.
But, personally, it is not recommended for many reasons:
For short: not recommended, to say the least!
However, there is a much simpler and much safer method of reconditioning a car batteries at home, regardless of the type (wet/flooded, AGM, Gel-Cell) and charge/discharge level (even if the battery is fully discharged, down to the cell reversal) etc get a Smart lead-acid car battery charger. It is that simple.
Features and Specifications of Smart Lead-Acid Battery Chargers
Smart lead-acid battery chargers are microprocessor controlled devices that analyze the battery condition and charge it according to:
Note: Never, but really never charge lithium batteries with charges not designed for such batteries.
If you have wet/flooded battery, be sure to check electrolyte level prior charging and if required, add some distilled water. Also, check maximum allowed charging current of your battery and be sure to use battery charger that features maximum charging current lower than the battery’s maximum allowed charging current. charging the battery with too strong currents may destroy it easily, especially AGM and Gel-cell batteries.
When charging process starts, Smart battery chargers analyze the battery and start with the recovery/charging (depending on the settings/model of the Smart battery charger):
Note: some battery chargers even feature ‘Force Mode’ allowing the user to override microprocessor and to ‘force’ the charge into the (almost) dead battery. This is not recommended charging mode, but if the battery is (almost) dead, this mode can bring it back to life.
Connecting the fully charged battery to the battery maintainer or to Smart battery charger is recommended method for wintering the lead acid batteries, although with newer batteries with 3% or less monthly self-discharge rate there is no need for maintainers at low temperatures for months.
Smart battery chargers also come with many safety features like overcharge/over-voltage protection, reverse connection protection, short circuit protection etc.
But, no matter how safe modern Smart battery chargers are, be sure to read their instructions/manuals and to act accordingly. Stay safe!
Long Story Short: If you want to recondition/rejuvenate your car battery and prolong its operating life, get a good, thoroughly tested in real life conditions Smart battery charger, take the battery out of your car (if allowed by the car’s manufacturer due to many onboard electronic systems powered by the main battery even when the engine is turned off), place it on flat, firm surface in well ventilated area, set the battery charger, connect it and let it do its job.
Again: reconditioning a car battery using baking soda, Epsom salt and similar chemicals. big no, no. Be Smart and stay safe!
How to Revive a Dead Car Battery
Benjamin Jerew is an ASE-certified Master Automobile Technician with over a decade of experience in auto repair, maintenance, and diagnosis.
Every time a driver turns the ignition key or presses the “Start” button, the starter motor is expected to crank the engine. This mechanism is caused by the 12-V flooded lead acid car battery, which is standard on virtually every vehicle on the road. Some cars carry a second battery, and trucks and RVs may carry a battery bank, linking several batteries. Similar batteries can be found in tractors, power equipment, motorcycles, powersports machines, snowmobiles, four-wheelers, and solar power backup systems, to name a few.
Car batteries tend to last for several years, but lifespan depends on how they are used. The typical car battery, driven every day, properly charged, and never deep-cycled, could last upwards of 7 years, but that’s a best-case scenario. Most maintenance-free (read: replace on death) car batteries tend to last 4 to 7 years. Short car battery life, less than 3 or 4 years, can be related to several different problems, such as lack of use, corrosion, excessive deep cycling, electrolyte evaporation, damage, or charging problems.
How Does a Car Battery “Die?”
The are several things that can shorten the life of a car battery, and most of them are preventable. Now, we’re not talking about that “dead battery” that you get when the dome light was left on or the car hasn’t been driven in a month. Usually, a jump start, booster pack, or battery charger is all that’s necessary to revive the car battery and get the car back on the road, but the damage has already been done. It’s the accumulation of damage that leads to the untimely death of the car battery, at which point it simply will not start the car. Car battery death, for the purposes of this article, refers to the battery’s inability to hold a charge, usually caused by sulfation.
At its most basic, a car battery is constructed of alternating plates of dissimilar metals, usually lead and lead oxide (Pb and PbO2), in an electrolyte bath, usually sulfuric acid (H2SO4) in water. When discharging, the “battery acid” facilitates the flow of electrons, from the Pb plate to the PbO2 plate, generating an electric current, which can be used to start the engine or illuminate the headlights, for example. Because of this chemical reaction, both plates become more chemically-similar and converting fully-discharged car battery plates to lead sulfate (PbSO4), wherein lies the problem.
So-called “soft” battery sulfation occurs practically every time you discharge the battery but, because it is usually immediately recharged, electron flow easily forces the opposite chemical reaction, resulting in dissimilar Pb and PbO2 plates. If the car battery is left discharged for long periods of time, “hard” sulfation occurs, the formation of lead sulfate crystals. As PbSO4 crystals form, they gradually reduce the available surface area for chemical reaction, reducing the capacity to charge and discharge the battery. Eventually, PbSO4 crystal formation spreads, leading to cracks and short circuits within the battery, rendering it useless.
Ways to Revive a Dead Car Battery
Unfortunately, it is impossible to reverse hard sulfation, but it does one good to note, regarding products and services claiming to reverse sulfation, there is no real proof to back up their claims. Still, if you have a dead car battery, there are several things that you can try to get yourself back on the road, even if it’s straight to a repair shop or auto parts store for a new battery. Vehicles started using these methods should not be shut off until a new car battery can be obtained, and a couple of these methods will finish off the battery, anyway.
- Jumpstart: Jumper cables and a second battery, battery booster, or second vehicle might be enough to jumpstart the vehicle. The dead battery won’t accept a charge, though, so don’t shut the engine off! Note: Do not attempt to jump start a frozen battery, as it could explode. Thaw it out and attempt to charge it, first.
- Distilled Water: If the electrolyte level is low, adding distilled water might be enough to fully-submerge the plates and enable a bit more reaction area. This might be enough to give the engine a few more turns.
- Epsom Salt: Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate or MgSO4) can readily be found in grocery stores, home gardening centers, and drug stores. Adding a stronger acid to the electrolyte mix, such as Epsom salt, might be enough to tip the chemical balance, delivering enough charge to start the engine. Dissolve 1 part MgSO4 with 3 parts warm water, then add to each cell until the plates are covered by ¼” to ½” electrolyte.
- Aspirin: Imagine a vehicle out in the middle of nowhere, a remote camping trip, and all that’s available are a couple bottles of water and aspirin. Believe it, or not, Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid or C9H8O4) can be used to chemically alter the electrolyte mix. Crush and dissolve 12 Aspirin tablets, 325-mg or 500-mg, in about 6 oz of warm water, and add equal amounts to each cell. Add additional water to make sure the plates are covered.
Prevention is the Best Medicine
It’s always better to prevent damage than repair it, and in the case of the car battery, “replace it.” The only way to deal with car battery hard sulfation is to prevent it in the first place. To prevent sulfation and failure, always recharge the battery immediately after use, make sure the vehicle charging system is functioning properly and put an unused car battery on a float charger to maintain full charge.