Walmart Car Batteries

[GnatGoSplat]

I keep my old car batteries and just recondition them myself.

 

I empty out the electrolite, attack a light to the battery to help kill any charge that may be left - fill it with vinigar/baking soda, let it sit for a couple hours, empty that crap out, rinse it out with water a few times, and then fill it with clean electrolite. (real cheap by the gallon) and they end up holdin' a charge for a LONG time after that, and I've had no problems with them.

 

Does that completely restore an old dead battery that won't hold a charge?

Also, what exactly is this electrolyte you fill it with, and where do you get it?

 

Would this trick work on old Delco batteries with the hydrometer?

[DaveFromColorado]

yup, sure does ... just make sure you fully recharge the battery on a 1amp charger till you have a FULL charge before you start to use the battery as it will only have 80% charge when you first add the electrolyte.

 

for one example - I've got a 13 year old car battery in my Mustang, it's been holding a charge on the car for the past (at least) 30 days, without having been touched.

 

I know that Electrolyte is sold at Checker (Shucks/Kragen/csk whatever it is in your area) I haven't priced it out lately, but I was gettin' it for 3.99 for a 30 oz bottle a couple years ago when I re-con'd my current Mustang battery (about $17.00 per gallon plus tax). The CSK part number is "Exide HC32ACID" for the 30 oz bottle.

 

be aware, the electrolyte will very quickly rot out any cloth it gets on, and it will burn your skin (mostly cause a really bad itch that will eventually start bleeding if not washed off) and use safety glasses, this is one of the only fluids from a car that's never been in nor will ever be in my eyes.

 

--Dave

[WhiteOut]

The electrolytic solution is esentially sulfuric acid and deionized water with some potassium salts mixed in to enhance conductivity.

[Brian P]

yup, sure does ... just make sure you fully recharge the battery on a 1amp charger till you have a FULL charge before you start to use the battery as it will only have 80% charge when you first add the electrolyte.

 

for one example - I've got a 13 year old car battery in my Mustang, it's been holding a charge on the car for the past (at least) 30 days, without having been touched.

 

I know that Electrolyte is sold at Checker (Shucks/Kragen/csk whatever it is in your area) I haven't priced it out lately, but I was gettin' it for 3.99 for a 30 oz bottle a couple years ago when I re-con'd my current Mustang battery (about $17.00 per gallon plus tax). The CSK part number is "Exide HC32ACID" for the 30 oz bottle.

 

be aware, the electrolyte will very quickly rot out any cloth it gets on, and it will burn your skin (mostly cause a really bad itch that will eventually start bleeding if not washed off) and use safety glasses, this is one of the only fluids from a car that's never been in nor will ever be in my eyes.

 

--Dave

 

I have to ask though, these aren't SEALED batteries, but serviceable batteries that you do this to, right?

[sonyman87]

whiteout

 

i was putting it in lamens terms -->"just put together in a diffent proccess and amounts.." amounts meaning yes the Cells(plats) if you will. they all have the same chemicles in them some more chemicals then others the voltage comes from the surface area that connects the chemicals not how much chemical is in there. and Yes there is a quality difference between brands but most are hardley noticeable. There is are are such things ass Deep cell, Standard cycle, and Light duty.

[WhiteOut]

whiteout

they all have the same chemicles in them some more chemicals then others the voltage comes from the surface area that connects the chemicals not how much chemical is in there.

 

Whoa there. Absolutely wrong. Chemical concentration has a direct correlation to voltage output, and the number of plates or cells determines the amount of current or amps the battery can supply. I'm a chemistry major and I just took electro chemistry last semester so I've got a pretty decent idea of how a galvanic cell works.

[sonyman87]

[edit]

[sonyman87]

Both car batteries and deep cycle batteries are lead-acid batteries that use exactly the same chemistry for their operation

Battery Chemistry: Voltaic Pile

The first battery was created by Alessandro Volta in 1800. To create his battery, he made a stack by alternating layers of zinc, blotting paper soaked in salt water, and silver, like this:

 

 

 

This arrangement was known as a voltaic pile. The top and bottom layers of the pile must be different metals, as shown. If you attach a wire to the top and bottom of the pile, you can measure a voltage and a current from the pile. The pile can be stacked as high as you like, and each layer will increase the voltage by a fixed amount.

 

The pile can be stacked as high as you like, and each layer will increase the voltage by a fixed amount

 

more surface area can increase Voltage meaning more plates = more total surface area

 

i dont question your experties. i just have a different view on the same theory.. and my wording probably isnt the best,

[WhiteOut]

Car battery plates have grouping of x amount of plates in series producing 12V, and the 12V cells are then in paralell with one another to provide adaquate current draw. So, my original argument stands. Altered chemical concentration will make the number of plates within a cell increase or decrease accordingly to produce the 12V potential required.

 

I suppose your saying the same thing, just in a round about way. By decreasing the concentration of the electrolytic solution you have to increase the number of plates per cell in order to produce a constant 12V. I'm just saying it doesn't make sense from a cost effectiveness point of view to skimp on the sulfuric acid (the most common and one of the cheapest industrial chemicals in use today) at the cost of adding more lead plates per cell to keep a constant 12V potential. Also, conductivity doesn't keep increasing with electrolytic concentration, it reaches a maximum from which point it begins to drop, so the amount of electrolye has a fairly narrow concentration range it needs to be in for the battery to produce an effective 12V potential.

[sonyman87]

Thats a paralell arangement, car battery plates have grouping of x amount of plates in series producing 12V, and the 12V cells are in paralell with one another to provide adaquate current draw. So, my original argument stands.

 

just like this

 

im just saying there is a bunch of stacks like that and i agree with your theory your just not seeing what im trying to say.. i wanted to keep this simple so everyone can understand 8)

[WhiteOut]

Thats a paralell arangement, car battery plates have grouping of x amount of plates in series producing 12V, and the 12V cells are in paralell with one another to provide adaquate current draw. So, my original argument stands.

 

just like this

 

 

Exactly like that.