I am not a Tech but electronics is a hobby of mine. Has been for many years. I am a (full call) licensed Amateur Radio Operator and to pass these exams you must have some knowledge. I buy radios not working and repair them when I have time.
For years I have been making battery desulfators. Do they work ?...yes they do. It might take 4-8 weeks depending on how bad they are. There are no moving parts.
What is battery sulfation ? Batteries get a white coat on the lead plates called sulfation. The white substance comes from the battery liquid or electrolyte. (sulfuric acid)
On a new battery get a small torch at night and look inside ...most times you will see the white substance already on the battery plates. Over time this gets worse and eventually the battery fails. The sulfation slows the charge rate and also the discharge rate. ie car wont start. This is the number one cause of batteries failing.
So for a battery to fail to start a car there can be other reasons like a shorted cell, not enough lead left on the plates, sulfation etc.
A desulfator works by using a small current of 50mA from your battery. It has what is called a Mosfet inside of it firing pulses into the battery at a very fast rate to disrupt the Ions on the battery plates returning the sulfation back into the solution from where it came.
Its not new technology but has been around for years. So it cleans the battery lead plates only and will not fix a shorted cell.
Batteries that sit a long time like a farmers battery in machinery or auxiliary batteries in RV's are most prone to the effects of sulfation.
Companies will tell you do not let the voltage of your battery drop too low as it will damage the battery. This does bring on sulfation at a very fast rate. A desulfator on a battery removes this problem.
My experiments have resulted in me recovering many batteries to near new but have also shown me that it is best to have a desulfator installed when the battery is new. It then stays clean inside all the time. SPOTLESS !
While leaving the desulfator on the battery will discharge the battery eventually.
On my campervan I have a desulfator on each battery. I regularly discharge my batteries to 8 or 9 volts between trips but they always come back up in normal voltage when charged.
You can buy commercial desulfators but they do turn off at less than 12.6 volts. This means many batteries particularly for auxiliary batteries they are useless unless driving or traveling all the time. They also have inferior parts and cannot be repaired as they have been covered or filled inside with epoxy resin.
Have ever wondered why you do not see desulfators for sale in a battery store ? I have been told the battery industry in OZ is worth $50 million a year.
A desulfator just clips onto the battery only, that is its power source. A desulfator installed on test batteries in cars on average extends the life by 12 months on cars. It may be longer on auxiliary batteries as there is not such a constant starting requirement to send small amounts of lead off your plates to the bottom of the battery. On my 4WD I get 6-7 years life from my batteries.
There are other experiments and findings I have made but they are still ongoing.
Hope this topic is of interest to fellow Grey Nomads.
Dry cells are really a wet paste or gell. Gell sells lose power also because of air bubbles on the plates.
I have a friend who has a desufator on an alarm battery that is now 8 years old and still working well.
I bought 4 x 100 amp hour S/H ex Telstra batteries from a battery dealer for $35 each for a weekender. They were 15 years old. I was told I might get 1 year out of them.
I got another 8 years out of them before they became deceased due to age with a desufator on them.
The more times you turn your key and start your car the less life you get from your batteries as a small amount of lead drops to the bottom each time. That is why a taxi only get a six month warranty.
If your battery died from sulfation you could get longer than the time you said.
This topic can be complex due to many variables. This includes the quality of the battery, whether used in the country (not so many car starts) or many more start and stops in the city, overcharging, cranking time to start, engine heat effects on the battery etc.
When you buy a cheap 12 month warranty battery you will find many times the distance between the bottom of the lead plates and the bottom of the battery is at a minimum. As the sediment builds up in the bottom there is more chance of a cell shorting out. The build quality is designed to get past the 12 month warranty. Its about maximizing their profit nothing else. This is the same for all businesses.
The more expensive 24 month warranty batteries are made better to again get past the extended warranty period.
When you get into Solar batteries the build quality again goes higher as the cost does. These have to last their 10-15 years.
A taxi is constantly starting and stopping many times in a day and some go 24 hours in a day. That is why their battery warranty period is greatly reduced.
You will find many good comments on the net about desulfators from those who have experimented. If you get an old battery look inside at night with a small torch you will see the white sulfate on the plates. Install the sulfator and in 3-4 weeks look again and see the difference. The proof is in the evidence for all to see.
-- Edited by Retiredatlast on Friday 28th of October 2016 10:27:31 AM
I only buy cheep N70ZZ batterys for my vehicle & its used every day, mainly short runs aprox 7Ks & occasional 500K round trips. Found the $100 batterys are quite good for 6 to 8 years. Current one is now 6yrs old. Its more how you look after the battery.
