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From: George Huxtable (no email)
Date: Sun Oct 12 2003 - 16:58:17 EDT
A previous mailing said-
I also added an
>anti-sulphation chemical to the electrolyte, as prolonged trickle charging
>can lead to sulphur coating the battery plates and reducing their life.
This puzzles me a bit. I always thought that sulphation of the battery
plates was a result of leaving a battery in a fully-discharged condition
for a long time.
I recently tried to resurrect an old battery, neglected and discharged for
well over a year, but no current at all flowed when I connected it to a
charger. I thought that was the result of an insulating layer of sulphate
having formed on the plates. Was that wrong?
I have been tempted (a temptation I have resisted, so far...) to try a bit
of shock-treatment, by connecting it across the 240-volt mains (with a lamp
in series). Would that be wise? Would it do any good? The battery is junk,
otherwise.
But now, we're told that trickle-charging, also, can lead to sulphur
coating. Is this the same problem I have discussed above? If so, it seems a
bit of a surprise that the same disease can be caused by quite opposite
mistreatments, by prolonged discharge in one case, by prolonged overcharge
in another. I would have though that the remedy for overcharge would be a
dose of distilled water. Does anyone know enough about batteries to clear
the matter up?
George.
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contact George Huxtable by email at , by phone at
01865 820222 (from outside UK, +44 1865 820222), or by mail at 1 Sandy
Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
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