Trickle battery charger

[rScotty]

All flooded cell batteries produce lead sulfate without exception and that is why a quality battery has it's plates spaced off the bottom of the case because the flaked off lead sulfate will drop to the bottom of the battery case and over time, will contact the bottom of the plates and short them out (lead sulfate conducts electricity). I don't get the 'desulfation' deal at all. All flooded cell batteries will eventually expire from it (lead sulfate shorting). What determines that is only the spacing of the plates from the floor of the case. The best way to avoid it is, replace the battery in a timely manner which is something most people don't do until they fail. Myself, I 'rotate' my starting batteries every 4-5 years maximum. Don't matter if they load test good or not because the 'end of life' can come at a bad time. It's also a falsehood the flooded cell batteries fail more in cold weather more than hot weather. The only reason why they fail in cold weather is the cranking amps demanded by a cold engine is much greater than during warm weather and a battery on it's last legs in cold weather will fail. They fail in warm weather as well.

Batteries have to be the most neglected part of any engine driven equipment.

Correct - at least the part about the conductive material falling to the bottom and shorting the plates.

When I was a kid we rebuilt car batteries at the garage I worked at. Basically you take the top of the batter off, lift out the plates, scrub out the crud that was shorting them out. Then reassemble and add acid. That will often bring them back to new. If that didn't work, that batt went onto the scrap lead pile.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Raising the voltages in the circuits in a battery powered device is easy electrically. Some processes just work better at higher voltages. So the input voltage is not the limit.

I was wondering about that. But even if an add-on like Canadus can create higher voltage spikes, so far I've only seen high frequency pulses mentioned by the manufacturers.

 

[rScotty]

I was wondering about that. But even if an add-on like Canadus can create higher voltage spikes, so far I've only seen high frequency pulses mentioned by the manufacturers.

Pulsing the direct current input is the first step in generating a different voltage.
Maybe their advertising got the terrms confused.

Bottom line is that any time you use a battery to output a different voltage, you do so by pulsing the basic battery voltage. That unavoidably makes that different output voltage pulse at the same frequency. Both frequency and voltage can be made to be anything wanted.

I don't know about the desulfation process, but it wouldn't surprise me if the specific voltage and frequency to break down sulfated lead is something that has been known a long time.

 

[John_Mc]

FYI desulfation mode only runs periodically, it doesn't run continuously, it would overcharge the battery as it has to raise the voltage to do it. generally it jumps between float and desulfation.

That depends on the brand.

BatteryMINDer desulfation runs any time it is connected. Since they use brief high frequency pulses, rather than high voltage pulses, they do not overcharge the battery.

NOCO charger run their desulfation circuit only during the actual charging process. Once the charger switches to float mode, the desulfation feature is turned off. At no point in the process is the battery overcharged.

Desulfation should not be confused with equalization, the latter is a process where banks of batteries are intentionally "overcharged" for a specific period of time. This is done to bring a low battery in the bank up to snuff. When the equalization process is done any batteries that are over voltage drift back down to their desired voltage. It should not be done for an extended period as it will boil off electrolyte. It's also recommended that non-sealed flooded lead-acid batteries be topped off with distilled water after an equalization charge.

 

[5030]

All sounds good if you want to run a battery util it fails. I don't. I replace mine every few years if the load test weak.

 

[Advil]

Yep. Different stokes for different folks. I like getting 10 years out of a battery if it'll do it and the desulfating minders will keep some batteries going what seems like forever.

Another tech that had been good to us are lifepo4 starter batteries. I have one on a generator and one on our big riding mower and both have gone over 5 years so far no problem which means the extra cost is long since paid. Tiny and light too.

 

[LittleBill21]

lifepo4 starter batteries

which ones are you using, most lifep04 aren't rated for starting. are you cycling them at all, or are they sitting on a float charger, they need to be cycled from time to time.

 

[John_Mc]

All sounds good if you want to run a battery util it fails. I don't. I replace mine every few years if the load test weak.

I replace my batteries "on condition". It's usually pretty obvious to me when a battery is getting weak. I've had this tractor 23 years. I've been caught with a battery that wouldn't start the tractor exactly once. That was when the tractor was 4 or 5 years old and the OEM battery faded. I jumped it, did what I needed to get done that day, and bought a new one. Since then, if I won't be running the tractor for an extended time, it goes on a battery maintainer.

The battery currently in my tractor (an Optima Yellow Top AGM) has been in there for 8.5+ years and is doing just fine.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I bought a new pu in 2012, it still has the original battery in it and it's working fine.

SR

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I find it interesting that some claim that desulfation doesn't work.

My first experience with that technology was solar powered PulseTechs used by the military. Not that something used by a government agency is proof of that it actually works, but it did pique my interest as I was doing battery testing at the time.

Later, having several discussions on the subject with the chief electrical engineer at PACCAR (Peterbilt and Kenworth) who made me aware of the Canadus units I went all in. If somebody with that kind of knowledge is praising the technology, I'm listening.

Over the years since it sure seems like desulfation does work, and quite well, based on my own experience. Does that mean people should believe me? Of course not, but please do try to keep an open mind and learn about what's out there.