Battery Desulfation
Battery Desulfation
Find out how to desulfate/desulphate and rejuvenate lead acid batteries
storageBattery sulfation takes place when a
Lead Acid Battery discharges. The lead from the plates combines with the electrolyte (dilute sulphuric acid) to make lead sulfate. When the battery is recharged this process is reversed however, some of the lead sulphate will crystalise on the lead plates. The deeper the battery is discharged, the more the lead sulphate is likely to crystalise acting as an insulator and reducing the plate area in contact with electrolyte. Over time this build up of lead sulphate crystals will kill the battery.
The lead sulphate crystals are firmly attached to the lead plates and so it is not easy to remove them and recondition a battery. As more and more crystallisation occurs, the voltage required to shift the crystals also increases. But, if you were to put high voltage through the battery it would overheat and potentially explode. However it is possible using high voltage
pulse conditioning to dissolve the lead sulphate back into the electolyte. By pulsing the high voltage, only the sulphate crystals are affected and the battery does not heat up.
Every lead acid battery has a
resonant frequency if around 2 to 6 megahertz. If a pulse of sufficient energy electricity is sent into a lead acid battery, rhythmic beating of the plates will cause the crystalline deposits to be broken up and the sulphate returned to the electrolyte solution. This process can take a matter or weeks during which time the battery must be trickle charged (in parallel with the desulphator). Strangely the voltage measure across the battery terminals will drop as the desulphation takes place as the internal resistance of the cells is reduced by the clearing of the crystals on the lead plates.
The following PDF document contains plans, instructions for making a
Lead Acid Battery Desulfator which has been made by tens of thousands of people.
Desulphation will not return batteries with a shorted cell, or worn out plates back to their former glory, but it is a valuable tool for anyone depending on battery storage for power or who cannot afford to buy new batteries.
See also:
Introduction to Battery Desulfation.
Article Last Modified: 11:25, 26th Mar 2008
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