How to extend the life of my old 6v batteries

mikestock wrote:
Do you just top off the cells with acid as needed or do you turn them over and dump the old acid? I wouldn't be surprised if these 4 batteries held more than a gallon of acid. I have used over half a gallon of distilled water just to top them off and no plates were showing.

I just use distilled water. Unless your batteries boiled over you did not lose acid.

My boat batteries are 10 years old and still strong. My rv batteries are 4 years old and I keep them topped up.

"Equalization session"? Sorry about not understanding.

To increase their life, you should send them to me and replace with new units. One man's trash is another man's treasure. ;-)

If they've been on a steady diet of float charge, a good equalization session may put some more life back into them.

A good hydrometer will let you know what the state is pretty quick and is a good tool to have for battery monitoring.

EDTA RESTORES SULFATED BATTERIES. EDTA tetra sodium salt, $16/lb. plus $8 S&H for 1st lb. or $10 S&H for 2-10 lb. Trailhead Supply, 325 E 1165 N, Orem, UT 84057, (801) 225 3931, email: trailheadsupply@ webtv.net, info at: www.webspawner.com/ users/edta • HP13508

I would say that 1 teaspoon of EDTA added to each cell is sufficient. In Home Power Magazine issue #20 and 21, they where working with L16 batteries, 350 amp hour 120 pound 6 volt huge battery. They used 1 tablespoon per battery that was already in poor condition. The one battery recovered much of it's original capacity after several weeks, then about a month of charging from a rarely used trailer with a 5 amp solar system on it. That battery was actually put into the main battery bank at Home Power Headquarters, when they had a 11 year old battery fail.

Fred.

This guy has a more positive outlook on EDTA, and how it is used to prolong a battery.

Quote from Home Power Magazine:

EDTA RESTORES SULFATED BATTERIES. EDTA tetra sodium salt, $16/lb. plus $8 S&H for 1st lb. or $10 S&H for 2-10 lb. Trailhead Supply, 325 E 1165 N, Orem, UT 84057, (801) 225 3931, email: trailheadsupply@ webtv.net, • HP13508

Fred/

Pro and con opinions on EDPA. This one is con.

Do you just top off the cells with acid as needed or do you turn them over and dump the old acid? I wouldn't be surprised if these 4 batteries held more than a gallon of acid. I have used over half a gallon of distilled water just to top them off and no plates were showing.

mikestock wrote:
I give up. What is EDTA?

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

I give up. What is EDTA?