Battery Life Expectancy ?

[Gale Hawkins]

Reconditioning lead acid batteries for optional use in a reverse operational mode - US Patent 5652497 Description

I found this info a couple days ago and started applying to the first battery yesterday. It is a battery that is only good for a core charge so if I do not kill myself it may be a learning experience. :laughing:

It is a major paradigm shift for my old brain to accept as a possibility.

It seems like China is making the product described in the second part of the patent application today.

 

[Markcuda]

How long will you live?
When will your truck tranny go out?
Will you get married/divorced?
Will your grand father get altimers?
See where I'm going here, no one can tell you how long any battery will last.

 

[DAY]

My diesel guru (about a hundred pieces of equipment- a fleet of trash trucks, 18 wheelers, tracked excavators, etc) says five years. On equipment that sits idle over the winter (anybody? Buehler?) he installs a "kill switch" that disconnects the battery from everything, so it is at full charge that first warm day, when the tractor fever hits.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

For those would just wanted the summary on the process in this patent to get 25 years out of a 5 year battery here it is. :thumbsup:

This is beyond the skills of most so read all the warnings before thinking about starting the process.

SUMMARY

The invention seeks to overcome the disadvantages related to secondary batteries, and to provide an enhanced form of electrical power source.

According to the invention, there is provided a method of charging and recharging secondary batteries. In a lead-acid battery destructive lead sulfate crystals are dissolved by a reverse charge. The electromagnetic field is reversed 180 degrees, and the crystals are dissolved. It is believed that the dissolved material is amphoteric lead sulfate and lead sulfite.

A first aspect of the invention relates to Reverse Polarity Recharge ("RPR"). A first step in RPR is to discharge the battery as much as possible. A 12 volt battery, for example, should be discharged to about 0.5 volt. This can be done by an external load or by charging another battery at a lower voltage. This charging or recharging of the battery is then done in reverse by switching polarities. The term "charging" or "recharging" is used herein interchangeably and synonymously. The anode of the battery being charged becomes the cathode. The cathode of the battery being charged becomes the anode. The positive pole is connected to the negative conductor and the negative pole to the positive conductor.

The partially corroded original anode is protected by lead sulfite and lead sulfate and stops corroding. The original cathode, which is intact, becomes the new anode at substantially full surface capacity. The lead sulfate crystals rapidly dissolve and the porosity of the insulators is restored. "Dead" cells, where conducting lead sulfate crystals have short circuited cells, can be rehabilitated. Cells are substantially revived and take on their original capacity for electrical energy storage.

The RPR process is accelerated by exercising the battery, by providing alternating several strong charges and discharges. Although it works on dead batteries, RPR should, optimally, be applied periodically before the battery develops severe lead sulfate crystallization and dies. A lead-acid battery can be subjected to RPR multiple times, thereby keeping it at substantially maximum capacity.

A second aspect of the invented process acts to destroy growing lead sulfate crystals continuously. This method relates to Reverse Pulse Charge ("RPC")..........

 

[Markcuda]

On the count of 3, lets all say snake oil.:laughing::laughing:

 

[Transit]

I don't buy it. If a 12 v battery is discharged below 10 v or 1.6666 v / cell or to 0 v. that's the end.
There are Smart chargers that use pulse to restore batteries and I have used Charge-it when first putting a battery into service. I have batteries 10-12 yr old that are going strong. If this widget works, show me.

 

[jonyyuma]

On the count of 3, lets all say snake oil.:laughing::laughing:

1,2,3, discharge completely???Againest all odds...Let us know how it turns out....this really been run up the pole.....Jy

 

[Gale Hawkins]

The hard part is getting them to discharge below 1 volt. With the posts connected with 6 gauge battery cable all night after getting it down to 4 volts with head lights it was still reading 2 volts.

There seem to be a lot of battery myths out there for sure. This practice has not been used much since WWII due to plenty of cheap batteries.

It is interesting to me because all it takes is a VOM and good manual battery charger.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

While I just started in the polarity reversing project I have noticed one thing. There was space between the plates and insulation because in places I can see down between them. They were all crammed together before when the + post was the + post. Now that the + post is becoming the - post the space is starting to open up.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

CR4 - Thread: Battery Polarity Reversal

Well some of these posts make me feel better by knowing I was not the only one ignorant about battery facts.

Markcuda, Transit and jonyyuma four days ago I to was clueless too so I spent my 60th birthday setting up this test.

I think I am going to get the polarity reversed finally. This morning all four after 13 hours of no charging were still reversed. After the third night one was at 11 volts and three others after two nights were just under 2 volts each.:thumbsup:

Now all four are accepting the full charging ability of 40 amp B&D three stage automatic battery chargers. Today are are all charging at 10 amps and I think the chemical burn off is behind me. When that was in progress I found I had to keep adding water even though they were not on the charger because the heat from the chemical reaction was making them drink water like crazy. The battery posts were too hot to hold very long.