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Step 7How well does it work?
At this writing my circuit has only been in operation three days on a 95AH sealed car battery that a friend gave me almost two years ago. Its fully charged no-load voltage has climbed several tenths of a volt in those three days, which I consider a good sign. When it is ready I plan to put it in my wife's car and remove her battery so I can test the circuit on it in my relatively protected but unheated hobby shack. Therein lies a problem. Lead-acid batteries (and desulfators and chargers, for that matter) work best when the battery is warm. A cold day can sap 50% or more of the charge out of your battery. Because I don't have a warm garage I may just have to wait until warm weather returns before I can fully do the circuit justice in testing it.
My Internet sources tell me that batteries may take a month or more to reverse the effects of heavy sulfation. However, they also say that heavily sulfated batteries are fully restorable and that patience will be rewarded with a battery that can be put back into service instead of on the scrap heap. This site offers some tips on the general use of desulfators. Use these tips at your own risk!
This page has a wealth of info on similar designs and a link for a peak detector circuit that can help you plot your battery's improvement over the course of treatment. I've not tried this circuit so can't comment on how well it works. The page also has a link for a FAQ that can help you answer some basic questions about desulfator circuits in general.
Dsiclaimer:
Please be aware that I present this instructable to you to use with an Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike license. Use it at your own risk! While the circuit is not particularly dangerous, you will be using it around lead-acid batteries and relatively high voltages and currents. Deeply discharged batteries have been known to explode in the presence of sparks due to high hydrogen outgassing. Similarly, a battery accidentally or deliberately shorted can be extremely dangerous! I take no responsibility for your use, misuse, or accidents resulting from or involving any attempt to use this information.
Good luck with your desulfator! I invite your comments. If you build one, send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!
My Internet sources tell me that batteries may take a month or more to reverse the effects of heavy sulfation. However, they also say that heavily sulfated batteries are fully restorable and that patience will be rewarded with a battery that can be put back into service instead of on the scrap heap. This site offers some tips on the general use of desulfators. Use these tips at your own risk!
This page has a wealth of info on similar designs and a link for a peak detector circuit that can help you plot your battery's improvement over the course of treatment. I've not tried this circuit so can't comment on how well it works. The page also has a link for a FAQ that can help you answer some basic questions about desulfator circuits in general.
Dsiclaimer:
Please be aware that I present this instructable to you to use with an Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike license. Use it at your own risk! While the circuit is not particularly dangerous, you will be using it around lead-acid batteries and relatively high voltages and currents. Deeply discharged batteries have been known to explode in the presence of sparks due to high hydrogen outgassing. Similarly, a battery accidentally or deliberately shorted can be extremely dangerous! I take no responsibility for your use, misuse, or accidents resulting from or involving any attempt to use this information.
Good luck with your desulfator! I invite your comments. If you build one, send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!
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Only one thing, in my company we have evaluated "de-sulfators" in detail and found that they have little or no effect. Time on the charger is the only thing needed to de-sulfate a battery.