I know a lot of us have moved to the LiFePo batteries and I'm sure I'll get those for my first scratch build. This question is for those of you who still do and did use lead acid. Did you ever have it go bad and try to revive it with Epsom Salt? Trying to ask experienced attempt persons because the youtube videos have a wide variety of results. I'm looking into this because it was suggested when my truck battery ran dead. It really just won't recharge and was sitting at 6v, 44% charge. The guy that came over to help me with my truck suggested using epsom salt to try and revive it. I figured I can't lose. It wasn't charging so it was just a core anyways. I picked up some Epsom Salt and Distilled water. I boiled the water and mixed the salt in as much as I could before it wouldn't dissolve anymore. All this per handy man directions. I did find a measurement later but whatever. With a few minutes of shaking outside on the concrete, the battery already read 7 volts. Other videos I watched had meters in use to show the CCA that were being drawn. I didn't see these increase a whole lot. I did see the volts go up depending on the method. Adding the mix, shaking the battery, and letting it rest for a few days is the most successful method I've found. One individual added quite a bit of salt and water (did not say what kind, I assume tap) and then found the battery voltage above 12.5 by that evening after shorting the battery to play with a piece of wire (made it glow, yay). Either way, I'm on day 1 and have 2 batteries I'm doing this with. I do believe one battery has a ruptured cell and the other has 2 ruptured cell but hey... a bag of epsom salt and distilled water per week or less often is almost comparable to buying a brand new deep cycle... $189.... One video I saw suggested using the method only about once in a blue moon and reported his battery to be in it's 11th year and repeating the process again. Admittedly, his battery appears to be in much better shape in terms of load testing and visual on camera. I may go ahead and break the bank but we'll see. I have a refund coming 3 different ways so there's no pressure. Would be nice if this works as well as I need it to. The 6tl battery is sitting at 3 volts and the Oreilly battery is at 7. It's a race to 12! If you don't mind, lemme know if you want updates on this. Maybe it's good news for the hobby? I doubt it since LiFePo seem to outperform Lead acid from everything I've read. Just lemme know. Also, I searched epsom salt before posting. Hoping I'm not negating past threads.
We use sealed batteries. No user serviceable parts inside. Has the handy benefit of being orientation agnostic and not caring about being sunk. (lets see if your truck battery enjoys being sideways and submerged)
Lol. Didn't think that through when I posted. Could be fun to sink. It's not doing anything right now... None the less... Anyone have experience with this outside the hobby?
I've heard all sorts of things that supposedly can recover a battery, but why risk having something go wrong and having damage to your vehicle or yourself? Sealed batteries used in well any application aren't meant to be opened.
Our SLA's are not 100% orientation agnostic. Do not charge them upside down! There's vents on the top of the batteries that vent hydrogen when charging. If upside down they cannot vent properly.
A fair point. Can't say I've ever had the thought to charge them upside down, bit of a pain since the terminals the charger clips to are on top
using Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4) aka Epsom salt to boost SLA? SLA process: Pb(s) + PbO2(s) + 2H2SO4(aq) → 2PbSO4(s) + 2H2O(l) Note it's lead, lead oxide, and sulfuric acid on one side and lead sulfate and water on the other. Throwing magnesium in there to play with the water means interesting times may be ahead. I think I'd rather pony up the $$ for a new battery. Especially if (as you said) the old one already has shorted cells.
They're not supposed to be venting anything... if you vent the H2, it can't recombine to form H2SO4 when you charge the battery. They only vent if you charge them hard enough (i.e. go high on voltage) that they build up overpressure.
