I think this battery has passed its time, my dad had it for years before me in a motorhome, but has been good up to now. Its a numax, and i notice that when i look in the cells, cant see any water. probabl;y too late, but can i put pure water in the cells, to just cover the visible bits, and then use it half hour later? have just had it charging all night, it has been cleaning a couple of houses and then dying, treading 11.8 or so, but then an hour or two later you measure it and its gone back up to 12.5 but not able to work, strange.
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can I top up battery with pure and then clean an hour later?
- Thread starter ks789
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You should top it up with pure until the water just covers the plates. Then charge it again.
If you want to give it a bit extra life, make a saturated solution of Epsom salts into some pure water by heating 1/2 cup of pure and stirring in 1/2 cup of Epsom salt until completely dissolved. (Any crystals left over may short the battery)
Put 1 tbs in each cell, then top up the cells with pure.
Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate and it helps dissolve the lead sulphate that will have built up on the plates. This will now require charging until full (even if you've just used pure)
The longer it accepts a charge for after doing this the better as it is increasing its capacity.
If you want to give it a bit extra life, make a saturated solution of Epsom salts into some pure water by heating 1/2 cup of pure and stirring in 1/2 cup of Epsom salt until completely dissolved. (Any crystals left over may short the battery)
Put 1 tbs in each cell, then top up the cells with pure.
Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate and it helps dissolve the lead sulphate that will have built up on the plates. This will now require charging until full (even if you've just used pure)
The longer it accepts a charge for after doing this the better as it is increasing its capacity.
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Home bargains £2.50 ?
marc674
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If the battery is really old I would just replace it. Got to be better than messing around trying to get a bit more life from it and risk losing work when it dies half way into a job
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A new one would be best.
Though on a budget it might be worth considering as I've read some people have drastically improved the lifespan of their batteries with this. I've only looked into it last month and so far I've had very good results.
I tried it first on a Platinum 70ah leisure battery that was so dead it would only charge for about 20 mins and then only give me half an hour use with around 2amp average draw from my pump.
I charged it until full (20 mins), then put in the Epsom salts, stirred it by shaking it gently then put it back on charge after a few mins to let it settle.
It charged for 5hrs! And has lasted a day since. My charger is only 4amp so I recon the capacity now is around 20Ah instead of around 2Ah before. Still not great, but a lot better than before, and this was a virtually dead and fairly old battery. With a battery in better condition it should be able to restore it more.
I'd like to try in on my main 110Ah battery (which is down to about 50Ah) but there's no way to access the cells without cutting it open.
There is a more involved method that apparently works even better. You drain the electrolyte, rinse out the battery with pure water, fill it with the Epsom salt solution and charge it (possibly reverse polarity? Can't remember), empty that out then replace the electrolyte.
I haven't tried this as it's a lot more dangerous and awkward so I can't vouch for it and wouldn't recommend it.
Though on a budget it might be worth considering as I've read some people have drastically improved the lifespan of their batteries with this. I've only looked into it last month and so far I've had very good results.
I tried it first on a Platinum 70ah leisure battery that was so dead it would only charge for about 20 mins and then only give me half an hour use with around 2amp average draw from my pump.
I charged it until full (20 mins), then put in the Epsom salts, stirred it by shaking it gently then put it back on charge after a few mins to let it settle.
It charged for 5hrs! And has lasted a day since. My charger is only 4amp so I recon the capacity now is around 20Ah instead of around 2Ah before. Still not great, but a lot better than before, and this was a virtually dead and fairly old battery. With a battery in better condition it should be able to restore it more.
I'd like to try in on my main 110Ah battery (which is down to about 50Ah) but there's no way to access the cells without cutting it open.
There is a more involved method that apparently works even better. You drain the electrolyte, rinse out the battery with pure water, fill it with the Epsom salt solution and charge it (possibly reverse polarity? Can't remember), empty that out then replace the electrolyte.
I haven't tried this as it's a lot more dangerous and awkward so I can't vouch for it and wouldn't recommend it.
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yes was better today, done the work I needed, only 6 houses but was surprised. I.d already topped it up with pure so couldnt try the epsom salts but I will do. Yes I know I probably do need a new battery, but while I work out best one I may as well get the most out of this. When it runs out the backpack is always reliable and adequate as ever. I was thinking of a numax, I saw a thread somewhere about one that manages way more cycles than usual, had a yellow top, I think it was spruce mentioned it. Seems worth paying extra for. But would you say that a part timer would be better off getting 85 amp one or still go for the bigger?Such a wide variety out there but that numax, yellow top one seems great, was it 2000 or 5000 cycles? something pretty good.
steve garwood
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Hi @Skxawng, you seem to know your stuff when it comes to batteries.
Spoke to a guy from Tanya batteries today. I told him that I realise leisure battery’s aren’t supposed to go under 50% discharge when using.
My 85amp starts at 12.8 and by the end of the day is down to 12.3, not good.
He reckons using a gel filled 85amp leisure battery would be best for WFP as you can go right down to 90% discharge with no adverse effect on the battery.
Any thoughts?
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I'm no expert! I just find the subject interesting ?
A deep cycle gel battery or AGM battery can go to a lower state of discharge without affecting it's lifespan as much but all lead acid batteries are better if they don't get deeply discharged and don't stay discharged long. The AGM and gel cells can be more delicate than wet batteries as well. I'd go with the highest capacity you can as the higher the percentage of regular discharge the shorter the lifespan.
As I understand it, the reason is that lead sulphate forms on the plates during use. That is reversed by charging, but the deeper it discharges and the longer it's left in a discharged state, the more the sulphate can harden into crystals that don't fully disappear while charging. (This is what the Epsom salts help to dissolve)
This reduces the surface area of the lead which reduces the capacity. And the crystals can short the battery causing it to self discharge.
So basically plan to use as little as possible of the batteries capacity and recharge it asap and it should last a long time.
A deep cycle gel battery or AGM battery can go to a lower state of discharge without affecting it's lifespan as much but all lead acid batteries are better if they don't get deeply discharged and don't stay discharged long. The AGM and gel cells can be more delicate than wet batteries as well. I'd go with the highest capacity you can as the higher the percentage of regular discharge the shorter the lifespan.
As I understand it, the reason is that lead sulphate forms on the plates during use. That is reversed by charging, but the deeper it discharges and the longer it's left in a discharged state, the more the sulphate can harden into crystals that don't fully disappear while charging. (This is what the Epsom salts help to dissolve)
This reduces the surface area of the lead which reduces the capacity. And the crystals can short the battery causing it to self discharge.
So basically plan to use as little as possible of the batteries capacity and recharge it asap and it should last a long time.
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Kleenwell
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Some will probably tell me they are snake oil, but I would recommend fitting a desulfator. I have one fitted. Have fitted them in my old bosses boat. And they do work. A battery that is getting on abit will last longer. And a new battery will retain its health longer with one fitted. I am currently recovering my old car battery with one as we speak. Already my battery analyser is showing an increase in performance of 20% after just a week
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Personally speaking the battery is the heart of your system if the battery dies you cannot work , surely it’s false economy to skimp on a decent battery for what they cost it’s less than a days work we have two, two hundred amp heavy duty gell batteries we run two sometimes three pumps and wabasto heater 8 hours a day 5 days a week these batteries are now 4 years old and as good as the day they were bought , it’s also important to charge a battery correctly to get the best life span out of it we have a programmable charging system in the van that we plug in at the end of the day a mait of mine is a marine electrician and he fitted it all not cheap but well worth the cost , I don’t really understand how it all works but it’s never failed in 4 years
Kleenwell
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Agreed. Proper charging is crucial.
Digital chargers are the best. As @Pjj has, the marine ones are about the best. Worth every penny
Digital chargers are the best. As @Pjj has, the marine ones are about the best. Worth every penny
Its been a good battery, platinum, thought was a numax, but its prob tired now. I was looking at a numax XDC31MF that was mentioned in an old thread, with a yellow top, as it stated many more cycles compared to a lot of others. Ive got a torq smart automatic charger which is great, just leave it on automatic setting for a slow charge and does what it needs to. Anyone seen those yellow top numax xdc31mf? looks a goodun but any views appreciated, will be for a single user with not a huge round so dont know if it would be overkill or still a good policy to have in the weaponry.
Kleenwell
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I can’t say I have seen the yellow top numax. But with regards to being overkill, it’s better to go too big than too small
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