I have a very large battery in my RV. I think it has internal damage. The batrery charger boiled out the water and exposed the cells. Your process did save my two 6volt batteries . Thank You. America needs more men like you to show independance and self Reliance. To recap. 10 ounces baking soda and 1 gallon distilled water. Flush battery twice. 12 oz of 100% epsion salt To 1 gallon of water distilled. Fill cells. Then charge to 12 DC volts.
I've noticed on most lawn mowers it takes a little bit more cranking amps than what the battery puts out to really really turn it over. That was pretty impressive
I tried this on a car battery years and years ago, not for frugality, but as a desperate attempt. I flushed and rinsed till the water ran clear, and then filled the battery with clean distilled water.. And then I charged it till it bubbled like soda-water. Once again I rinsed out the battery, then refilled it with new, store bought electrolyte. And it worked. I am going to try it again, using what I have learned from you, thank you. A frugal thing, this time. Time before, it was I gotta have a battery to get to work, a battery that holds a charge, maybe I can refresh my battery. Good old days...no, it sucked. thanks again.
Thanks for showing us how to restore a battery,best and easiest to understand video I have seen yet, especially the exact amount of mixtures, Thank you.
I did exactly same apart from Epsom salts, I saved original acid that I poured into a bucket, returned that acid after cleaning with soda and water, charged it as yourself and been used for caravan lighting for 3 years plus.. Great vid and a great help for folks ! Cheers
yes, I did that too but didn't know about the baking soda wash. At that time you could buy fresh sulfuric acid and replace with fresh but didn't do any good cause of the sulfation, this was 30 years ago before the battery rejuvenation trend!
You couldn't get the battery to power a vehicle, right? I'm stuck with one cell not bubbling, but when I jarred the battery around a little bit, the cell that didn't work changed to the one next to it. I'm running 40 A through the battery terminals with a stick welder. The bad cell doesn't bubble, and like I said, it changed based on rattling the battery around.
I paid attention. Got 7 small batteries to throw the dice with. Big sack of soda and Epsom salt. I appreciate you, your my kinda people. Clean your guns, may need them for long
Impressive bounce back for that battery - almost started the tractor on the first round of cranking, & easily would've, given a quick shot of ether down the carb. Very informative! I guarantee this is getting saved in my browser's bookmarks!
After a year without starting, the problem is usually with the gas/carb. If it turns over at all the problem is NOT with the battery.....great video. Keep up the good work.
Good series. What I do with the baking soda phase is to keep repeat that until you do not get bubbling any more. You might want to leave the 2nd rince overnight. Also when bumping the battery around, do it on a solid surface. Such as that piece of concrete paving behind you. the harder shock tends to break the crystals a bit easier. You can also use the baking soda to clean the terminals if there are any crystallization there. Once fresh baking soda no longer bubbles, I rinse the battery twice with distilled water. I've never tried Epsom salt though. I Usually just grab some free battery water from my local gas station. I think it is a 10% solution of sulfuric acid and distilled water. That way you pretty much end up with an almost new battery.
I appreciate that formula I know for a fact based on my riding mowers you barely get more than a year out of those small lawn mower battery and then it's kaput so the fact you were able to get that battery to even turn over and it being 7 years old I think you might have actually made a difference in my opinion I will use this formula thank you for your time
I bought a battery for my RV last year for 285 dollars 1 year later it's dead, but but not door nail dead,I'm gonna give this a try and start up my RV I'll get back to you Randy and let you know how it goes. It's one of those hundred pounders,thanks
Thanks so much Randy, I'm heading over the 5th Wheel to pull four batteries and get a going. I only have two chargers that will work in the "dumb" state. Two batteries going at a time is fine by me, we aren't going anywhere right now. They were five year batteries but I only got three years out of them, sitting there in the basement of the RV during the 100°+ summer days. Appreciate you for doing this! B.
Very cool! I used to do this on all of our RV batteries when we had an RV and saved me a ton of money over many years of camping, it works on deep cell batteries too! Thanks for stopping in!
Buddy Martin Harbor Freight sell battery maintainers cheap. They are nothing more than a 12 volt "wall wart" at below an amp. It will take longer to charge but you may have better luck at this low amperage to bring back a dead battery. Check the information on the package but most of them do not have battery monitoring, in other words they are dumb chargers. Look around your house, you may already have a 12 or 13 volt DC wall wart at an amp or less your not using. Snip off the barrel jack and solder on some alligator clips and you just made a trickle charger.
This is a great how to. What I do is almost the same with 2 exceptions. I rinse the battery with distilled water to empty any loose particles and extra baking soda. I also use sulfuric acid instead of Epson salt. Epson salt does not have as much electrical potential as the original acid. I have take a battery ad used the Epson salt with a 350 cca result. I then replaced it with acid and recharged. the same battery held a 630 cca. That being said, I love your video. Keep up the great work.
I was thinking the exact same thing. Will be giving your method a shot on all the batteries we have in the shop for our off grid solar project. Those batteries have literally been sitting for at least 2 years. I'm also planning to purchase some battery acid such as this one: www.amazon.com/WPS-Non-Sealed-Battery-Electrolyte-Pack/dp/B003CKJDW6#customerReviews The purchased acid is to top off any batteries that are low and to boost the concentration of sulfur a bit.
@@RagedContinuum l would neutralize it with baking soda and water until it stop sizzling then it should be safe to put into sewer for sure and maybe septic?
I ride a EW-36 Mobility Scooter, with 4 /12v batteries. You have taught me a lot about Reconditioning, maintaining my battery’s and saving my money ... lol ... Thank You kindly and I’m subscribing Immediately
Many thanks for the comprehensive video! As you stated, others simply fail to give the full information. We are under extreme financial restrictions right now and this may just save me a bundle!
So happy to see this. I was told about the soda thing 15yrs ago so I cleaned it with soda and although I only put the old acid back the battery worked. .but everyone I told thought I was crazy..but it worked so I did not argue as it was their loss.
At 17:55 with meter in first hole and last hole... you are reading just 5 of the cells, not all 6... actually reading 1/2 of first cell and 4 cells between and 1/2 of last cell.... Lug to Lug you are reading all 6 cells. But yes!! I will be trying this Exactly the way you show it... It is the best instructions I have seen. Thumbs Up etc...
Here's what I did back in the late 1970s and early 1980s with my car battery.. I just dumped the acid out into a pastic tub as you did.. then I got a garden hose filled battery, shook it dumped it about 2 -3 times until water was clear.. Put the old acid back in plus a little fresh acid, charged and had a working battery again..
Great series of videos and very descriptive. You explained everything very well and in laymans's terms unlike many of the other RUclips videos out there. Thanks very much for sharing and best of luck for the future Randy.............................peace bro!
Great video series bud! Just like to add if I may that typically this epsom salt procedure is to clean/rejuvenate the battery, not ultimately a replacement for battery acid. Once you've got the battery in improved shape (de-sulfated), as you have done wonderfully, you'll want to dump the epsom salt mixture out and replace with normal fresh battery acid once again (about $8/quart at any auto parts store). At that point you'll have completed the restoration and the battery will be operating at its maximum refurbished capacity and cranking amps. That said, experimentation is fun. If the epsom salt solution is meeting one's needs, no harm keeping the epsom salt solution. After all, the battery was "dead" and most people would've just thrown it out! Either way you're stretching your dollar, which is the entire point anyway! :)
you are correct, putting acid back into the battery would make it last longer as you said, but I'm getting anywhere from 3 to 4 years on the epsom salt then I just do it all again. thanks for watching and commenting!
@@RandySchartiger As I said in previous video, you are mixing metals -- lead and magnesium. Those bubbles are oxygen bubbles leaving the H2O (water), and leaving Hydrogen ions running around -- thereby creating the sulfuric acid. So it's a sulfuric acid solution the way you're doing it -- which is the same kind of acid you dumped out in the dirty (contaminated with Lead Sulfate) solution. The issue comes with the Magnesium. That magnesium from the Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) will wind up electroplating the lead plates inside. Both metals conduct electricity. So it clearly will work. And it will fill some of the pitting on the lead plates with Magnesium metal. However, the voltage comes from a differential between metals. You may simply wind up with a battery with lead plates electroplated with magnesium metal that doesn't have the same voltage capacity as it should have. If you were to simply dump out the old electrolyte with the lead sulfate junk in it, and merely add more sulfuric acid of the appropriate concentration...the more you do this, the thinner and thinner those lead plates would get inside. By adding magnesium sulfate, you're helping reduce the amount of the lead plate thinning/pitting. My main concern would be how well the electroplated magnesium 'sticks' to the lead plates. If it doesn't stick well because of chemical properties, the vibration from lawn mowing could cause some of those magnesium deposits to fall to the bottom of the battery as pure magnesium metal powder -- which could wind up shorting out the cells inside. This can happen with the lead solution as well, though -- as the lead sulfate falls off the plates too. And when you re-charge the battery, that lead sulfate turns into just lead metal powder with the sulfur going into solution as Sulfuric Acid. Lead metal powder shorts out plates just as much as magnesium metal powder does. So it's very important to flush that battery out at that initial baking soda step as best you can to remove all the lead and/or magnesium metal particles that have detached from the plates.
@@shanejohns7901 True. Understand that the average idiot does not understand what U typed. Those of us that do and know chemistry already know the uses of such byproducts. :)
Hey, great job...btw, I noticed your Micronta multi meter, I have exact same modei that I bought over 40 years ago, in the uk, our equivalent to radio shack, we had maplin electronics . My meter still works after all these years. Great job on the battery. All the best from bonnie Scotland.
One of my meters is exactly the same as well from about the same time period. Still works well. That little mirrored strip is great for eliminating parallax issues when reading where exactly the needle is. Great design feature.
Good job, brother. Definitely going to try this out starting this weekend. I feel more confident in doing this after watching your tutorials on the process. I've watched several others before but didn't really feel that confident because of lack of info. Well explained and detailed by you and I appreciate that. Enjoy your weekend, my friend, and we'll catch you on the next one. Cheers!!!
Many thanks brother and good luck with this! Yeah the mixture here will work no matter the size of the battery, I still haven't seen any other videos that explains much in depth the mixing ratio of both the baking soda and Epsom salt with water. Thanks again for tuning in and Happy Easter!
Thanks for a great video! You may want to unplug/disconnect your headlights. All generated electricity goes to the old battery. I could see your headlights on in the video. Good job!
No, that motor has a alternator under the flywheel, with 36v A.C. leads to head lights... and Some D.C. leads to the Battery .... from different coils, not affecting the 12V charging of the battery.
Thanks a lot. I understand pretty much everything. Neutralize the old battery acid. Clean the scale off the battery. Put in new hydrocloric acid ( Epsom salts and water ). Slowly charge battery to 14 amps, if possible, and give her a go.
Just a tip pertaining to having problems with a tractor not wanting to start, sometimes the engine can have an issue of having a good ground to the body of the tractor, I have ran a jumper wire from the battery directly to a bolt on the engine and had good results.
That was very nice series to watch unlike the other videos that give u no measurements what so ever or just say my solution and don't tell u what it is .I am going to try this today and in 3 to 5 days I will say if it worked for me. Thank you for videos.
Question why not reuse the old acid? If it sits over night all the dirt in it settles to the bottom of the plastic container you dumped it in and if you just use a funnel and a paint strainer you can put most of it back in a gallon plastic bottle I would think to use it again.
I've seen a video performed 3 different kind of procedures on how to restore a dead battery. After all the hard works however, unfortunately the result was a failure. The guy has lots of frustrations, because he ended up buying a new battery for his mini tractor. The voltage of the battery was right on the money, but the cranking amps was absolutely missing which is the most important factor to start his mini tractor.
Hi Randy, Left lot of comments on episode 2. Thought I would just finish up here. I have a working battery, thanks to your instructions! These are my observations, evaluations and concerns...... The process works !! I needed to adjust the concentration of the electrolyte to 15 oz of magnesium sulfate per gallon of water. 12 oz seemed to be too week for me and wasn't providing enough ions to transfer electrons from one plate to the other fast enough to keep the battery charged. So, after several starts the battery no longer had enough voltage and cranking amps to turn the engine over. Increasing the concentration, ultimately seemed to solve my problem! I did two baking soda soaks with 4 or 5 rinses between them. After I did the second baking soda soak, I flushed the battery out with water another 10 times to get all of the sediment out of the battery. Concerns: The process produces about 10 gallons of highly toxic, leaded waste that needs to be taken to a toxic waste facility! ALWAYS COLLECT AND POUR BATTERY EFFLUENT INTO A BUCKET. DO NOT DUMP IT INTO THE EARTH! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TOXIC WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY CLOSE BY, DO NOT DO THIS PROCESS! I will report back in 6 months with a battery update. Thanks Again!
I noticed that your Micronta Multitester was not zeroed in. It is about one volt on the negative side. You can zero it before use by using a small flat head screwdriver and turning the small screw on the face of the tester. No need to turn it on or connect it to anything. Just turn clockwise or counter until the needle is dead on zero. Cheers.
I was wondering the same thing.. I guess you can take the acid + lead sulphate to the chemical recycling mob when they recycle old batteries.. hopefully they don't send it down to the sewerage works!!
You can indeed create sulfuric acid out of epsom salt through an electrolysis, however, you should be doing it in a separate process so you can get rid of the magnesium hydroxide leftovers. Then mix a correct ammount of 35/65 acid/water into the battery.
I forgot about this and glad you made the video, I have a deep cycle and high amp mower battery I am cleaning out today, I hope I have good results, batteries cost more than ever.
The drag it makes when you hit the key almost sounds like that briggs engine has out of adjusted valve clearance witch causes higher than normal compression from the compression release not opening the exhaust valve,, There is a paw on the cam of those overhead valve engines that bumps open the exhaust valve to make the engine spin faster to start.. The clearance on the valves with a feeler gauge and 1/4 inch past top dead center measured from the spark plug hole with a screwdriver, (I used a wooden dowel ) The valve clearance should be .005 -.008 with .005 being preferred clearance when cold. I bet they are way out of adjustment.. You can youtube how to adjust them... The restoration process you demonstrated here was top shelf and I watched all parts again just to take notes. I have a battery I am going to revive that powers a gate on my property.. Best wishes to you..
Thanks for the advice and Videos I'm going to try this also nice bracelet paracord I see you have the survival intrest in mind I can really appreciate people like you who are straight up and doing society a real service thanks Man the world needs more people like you
I was told by my grandfather to always put the battery caps on before charging so if you do create a spark, it won't ignite the hydrogen gasses coming out of the battery It will contain the gasses enough to be much safer
When attaching leads to a battery, FIRST connect the positive then the negative. When removing attached leads, FIRST remove the negative and then the positive. To prevent arcing. The hot (dangerous) connection is the black (negative) terminal when batteries are concerned. For home electrical wiring it is the opposite.
Was about to buy a battery yesterday. Mine is only 3 years old.Have to jump it to get it going, (Even after it's been charging ) it just doesn't have the cranking amps anymore. Going to try this ,after all, I have nothing to lose. Thanks
Hey Thanks, I am about to try this. Yours is the best vid, I have found. Now I have a clue about the solutions. A saws all has been handy puddling concrete. With out a blade press one on forms and watch it work. Me thinks this could help knock off that nasty residue. I wonder what would happen if a charge where applied with the baking soda in there. I have caught a few of your guitar vids. Always fun. Be safe Chris
Man your a legend never thought I'd see it but I did with my own eyes may the good lord keep smiling down on you and your family cheers little brother Dashman
In the mid 1980's I had a battery going bad we had to jump the car to get it going. I removed the battery from the car, dumped the fluid into a big glass jar, took the battery outside and with a spray nozzle on the garden hose rinsed the battery about 20 times and shaking it too, all kinds of red flaky junk came out after that we filtered the original electrolyte before putting it back in the same battery and it worked just fine till we sold the car 3 years latter.
@@stevenplank7058 No, in this type of meters you read both AC & DC on same scale, depending on the AC/DC switch position. He has this clear explanation on the 2/3 video :)
I have tractor battery like that I use for work lights and power tools and it’s pretty old doesn’t go very far on a charge, I think I’m gonna try that this summer see what it does.
excellent video. Thank you for sharing. One question i have...you charged the battery with Epson Salt solution. But can i know why are the usual Sulfuric Acid solution for batteries are not used? Are you leaving the Epson Salt Electrolyte solution in the battery? Appreciate your answer. Thank you.
I watched his video a couple of years ago to try this on a pontoon boat battery (same size as a car battery), worked great; however, I followed his steps exactly up until where he added the epsom salt solution to each cell, I used "battery acid" from my local parts store ($12 for the box). Not sure of the qts in the box but I could probably have done 2 car batteries with 1 box. I am sure the epsom salt solution works, he just showed us and many comments verify it, but to answer the question, yes sulfuric acid you can buy at a parts store works as well. I'm back after two years because I could not remember the baking soda ratio and I need to revitalize another lead acid battery.
@@kbengson9163 Thank you so much for your comments. Yes, It is good to hear the Epson Salt works. It is also good to hear the confirmation that Sulfuric Acid worked as well. Yes, if you revitalize another lead acid battery, please share with us too. Thank you.
My Grandfather taught me to always set a battery on a wooden plank as you have done in your video. Now the experts are telling me that batteries have come along way in making plastic cases for batteries that we don't have to do that anymore
This is an analog voltmeter that measures both AC and DC current. According to my Google research he can use the AC scale. It depends on what setting he chose on the dial which was not shown. Notice on the topside of the top black scale 10 volts DC on the far right is equivalent to 10 volts AC on the topside of the red scale. So on the bottomside of the red scale 30 volts AC is equivalent to 30:volts DC as long as the correct setting is chosen. AC voltage goes through a rectifier in this kind of meter and converts it to DC voltage. So he can use the red scale to measure DC volts.
@@Cobizybone - Worked with this type of analog meter for years; the explanation by Mpls farmer is correct in that reading the the meter correctly depends on knowing what type of reading (voltage, current, etc) has been selected. Many a mistake has been made.
Randy everything sounded good up to the minute you measured 10 volt AC reading on your meter which you pointed to was AC reading. AC (alternating Current) and everyone knows battery is DC (direct current).
I take it you do not use an analogue meter? Admittedly Randy does not show the position of the range selector switch, but this determines the magnitude of the deflection of the needle, and also what type of measurement you want to take IE AC voltage, DC voltage, Amps or Ohms. You can then read it on ANY printed scale on the dial you like, as long as you remember full deflection represents the range magnitude as per your choice on the range selector switch. Everybody moaning about this, just because Randy has to use the red printed scale which happens to have 'AC' printed next to it. He still gets the right reading, assuming he has it set to 'DC voltage' & '30 Volt range'. In fact on his meter he has no choice but to use the 30 volt range, the DC range printed above is designed for the 10v DC range only, and if he he had selected this 10v range on the range selector switch, there was every chance needle would max out on a 12v battery. Micronta on later designs of this meter improved the printed scale. I have the 1980's version (Micronta 22-204C) which has 0.25v, 2.5v, 10v, 50v, 250v & 1000v DC Ranges and a better printed scale. However the printed scale still does not show all 43 ranges I can choose with the range selector switch, so on some ranges you have to use your head and multiply or divide the reading shown on the printed scales. Lucky Randy was not using a Micronta meter like mine, it also has a 'Range Doubler' switch which would have really confused viewers!
the dc scale on this meter only goes up to ten, the bottom scale (the one I used) can read from zero up to 220 volts and it works on both ac or dc. thanks for checking out my videos.
Most makes sense, however was confused how you charged the battery using Epsom Salts. Never saw how you added fresh ACID & Distilled Water, and what ratio was used?
Here in the UK, since Nov 2018 we can no longer buy battery acid, neither off-the-shelf or on-line, unless we hold an EPP Licence costing £39.50 (pretty rigorous application process and licence only last 3 years). Also we can no longer legally take the acid out of a battery, without this licence! So Epsom Salts as a replacement for acid is the only practical way we can go (for all those querying Randy on "Why use Epsom, why not use Acid?"). So if in the UK, do not admit to draining any battery of its acid without holding an EPP Licence!! Leading on to your question : - If you have removed, the safest & cheap way to neutralize its acidity would be to throw in 6 oz of Baking soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) into the waste acid - Randy does not mention this. Probably 6 oz is a bit of an overkill considering most car batteries only hold about 1/2 gallon of electrolyte and it likely to have lost some of its potency in a sulphated battery anyhow, but better going slightly more alkaline than leaving the waste fluid on acidic side. Although this will render the acidity much less harmful, you must remember there will be a fair concentration of heavy metals (namely lead) in the original acid, and to certain extent, in the Baking Soda and water mix used as cleaning / flushing solution. This lead is what gives the electrolyte its black colour. Certainly it would be irresponsible to dump this in a rainwater / sewer drain without further cleaning. I would check your local waste disposal site for their guidelines, no point wasting more baking soda if they happy to accept the acid as it is, but if neutralized fluid is cheaper cost to dispose of, then throw in 6oz of baking soda.
I am going to get started on my car battery using this information. If it doesn't work, follow up comments won't be forgotten to post. If it does work...I might start grinnin' and forgettin'.
Have you ever tried after the baking soda solution, empty it out and fill with fresh water. Then charge in reverse. Positive on negative negative on positive. I was told years ago that doing that causes the positive charged molecules to fall off. Then empty and refill with the epson salt mixture and charge properly. Please let me know what happened or if it worked. Thank you. Please respond.
when you run a desulfator... are you supposed to be doing the trickle charge at the same time the desulfator is on? Or do you have to separate the process? I was wondering if you'd get better and faster results with the trickle charger on with the desulfator? Thanks.
I did this process on a dead 6 volt car battery out of my 1931 Austin Seven and it worked beautifully. In anticipation of it not working I had already bought a new battery - now I have a spare which, in vintage car motoring, is no bad thing.
We all know about the still around back behind the barn lol! Waiting for Daisy Duke and Waylon's hands to join in! Seriousley, your "how to" series on batteries is far and above the dozens of others i've seen. I'm just trying to rejuvenate 2 batteries for a friend's mobility scooter.
Question. I have a battery with at least one if not 2 cells that aren't storing a charge after your transfusion procedure. Could I do the whole process over again and get better results or is this battery just done. Its bein on a 2 amp charger for at least 5 days now and as far as use has barely bein cranked on but has sat so long when I started it had 0 volts
Can I use a trickle charger to regenerate the battery once I do the baking soda shake and epson salt transfusion? As well should I hose the battery out once I’m complete cleaning it out with baking soda? Thank you!
@ time 9.24 , the meter reads DC on the black DC scale, but you have it on the 10x setting to enable the 10 x multiplier, so its not the red scale, in fact its the 3 x 10 black scale you want to read, but the red and black scales when black is on the 10x multiplier setting read approx similar ... at 12.1 volts , (since it was sitting at -.2v at rest (just turn screw in middle a tiny bit to calibrate it to 0 to start at rest.); (the Red scale is as it says for AC voltage) .. Jus trying to help.
You all seem to be obsessing on this 11.8v, 12v thing like if its 12v, you have success. the normal voltage of a 12v battery is actually 12.8 volts,. Jus sayin.
More simply explained would be “with that meter” you would be measuring a 12v battery in the knob 30V position, then look at the black scale “not red”, the 3 mark at bottom of the black scale mean 30 vdc and 1 on this scale represents 10 Vdc, from there you can figure out where approx 12.6 would be for a fully good battery charged not having anything sucking off of it. Nice video, I’m sure this trick can bring some back to life. As another mentioned, after your cleaning the sulphate off the plates with baking soda and the epsom salts, you probably would want to dump out this salt/water mixture and fill cells with proper amount of new sulphuric batt acid/distilled water mixture for best results. ✌️😎👍
Just want to mention: The meter's red scale is for AC volts, you are measuring DC volts and should be reading the black scale with the charger clamp disconnected. I could not see what value you had the selector knob set to?
Back at 2.09 he said he was set to the 30 volt scale and that would be a DC setting only. Then if you look at the proper dc scale , it is reading just shy of 12 volts. Same as he was reading off the ac scale pretty near. So note to the author, this guy is right but as it turned out it was about the same. Me personally, l would chose a cheap digital. Much easier to read a more precise voltage.
Hey Randy, I just seen your video, you mentioned reading the red number scale on the Micronter volt meter, but that's the AC scale. You have to read the black scale above the red, that's the DC scale, and the number 3 on the extreme right on the black DC scale represents 30 volts DC. I couldn't see if you selected the +DC with the red switch. All in all good video, I'll try this battery fix one day.
I'm wondering how long the battery will last. I want to do this for a motorcycle battery but I plan to use fresh acid instead of the Epsom salt solution I think that will give better results. Thanks for the video
So does one use battery acid or leave the epson salt electrolyte indefinitely. would the hydrometer work with this batt to show the right specific gravity .
I just wanted to say it sounds like you need to adjust your valves , It may be old gas but it struggles at first when yea turn the key. Great video ..I learned something.
hello watched you bat video very good what I would advice is you callabfate you meter so the arrow is level with the 0 to do this if you look at the centre bottom of the scale screen there is a slot use a screwdriver and adjust so the needle rest on the First line of scale then if you retested the battery you would be at least 2 volts higher great video from Gary UK
I just did this deal to a T, and I just put it on the charger. My charger has a “slow charge” (or so it say) at 12V-10amps on a huge Interstate Battery for my Ford F-450 Dually. I’ll check back in with you tomorrow and if needed. In 48hrs.
Hi Randy. Thanks for showing us a way of keeping a lead acid battery serviceable after it sulphates up. A dumb question though.. After the baking soda treatment would using fresh battery acid do the same as using Epsom Salts???
It would - most say proper sulphuric acid at correct SG of 1.28 - 1.30 will give more cranking amps than the Epsom Salts ever can, so if you can buy the acid, well worth throwing out the Epsom and replacing it with proper acid. However, here in the UK, since 2018 we can no longer buy battery acid, neither off-the-shelf or on-line, unless we hold an EPP Licence costing £39.50 (pretty rigorous application process and licence only last 3 years). Acid remaining in a battery is not restricted, but empty it out for any reason and as soon as it becomes separated from the battery is immediately restricted and an offence for any unlicensed individual to hold! Ask why the UK so oppressive, legislation was brought in to try and prevent 'acid attacks' where teenagers were throwing acid in others faces, causing severe burns. The EPP licence issue is a real pain for us trying to restore and maintain classic and vintage vehicles. We used to buy a dry battery (or have a treasured hard to source size battery case that we restored) and source the acid seperately. We can no longer do this legally.......
The Scale you are Referring to,using is an AC Scale,NOT DC..... Not believing i did not catch that ,first time i watched this video... Anyways,love ur videos,still the best ones on this topic,ON RUclips!
Thx, that was a very informative demonstration, I'm gonna see if I can find some decent old batteries at a scrap yard to see if I can get a reliable bigger battery bank on my solar system.
Yes, GREAT JOB Man...! Enjoyed watching this little series. And Thanx for the specific info for mixing solutions.... BUT....... can you do a small series of experiments (maybe) to show the difference(s) now, between the original (acid based) electrolyte and the new Epsom-Salt electrolyte? I don't mean anything super scientific........... I mean, IF you can... just show what a "New" battery (with acid) will do. And compare it with the Epsom-Salt battery. Performance tests...... that'd be interesting to see too. put the same load on both batteries and demonstrate the difference with the "New" / "Rebuilt" Epsom Salt battery.
Yep! We hear it there too. CAN see the meter, CANNOT see what you were actually doing with the leads... I thought you were sticking them into the same cell _the first two readings, I thought you were touching the (+) lead to (-) batt. terminal and plunged the (-) lead into the first and second cells. I'm glad I decided not to attempt following along, or it would have been too late for me by the time you cleared it up and said to put (-) starting in 1 and (+) in 2, likewise with each next cell.
so the gas this produces shouldn't be toxic then right? if you can recondition batteries, with something that ISN"T acid, but you'd think they wouldn't take a freeze... so you COULD put them in your basement where they wouldn't freeze... but you don't have to worry about the gassing? two years ago (when i had money) i bought 16 AGM batteries to set up a solar wind setup for my house. we had a bunch of wildfires each summer so i never got around to doing anything with them... but i have all these super expensive batteries that will eventually go 'casters up'... i got agms because they're maintenance free, but they don't gas. so i can use this on them too when the time comes?
I have a guesting is there any advantage to do consecutive reconditioning, first epsom salts and then on the next reconditioning sulfuric acid as the electrolyte?
That’s a good question I would have to say yes. I live in northern, mi . I would do the cleaning part plus clean and reuse the old acid then just add fresh acid to fill🤷🏻♂️🤔🤔.
@@hacunamatata6802 I've have been using Randy's method with a little of my own cleaning out method. I wash my batteries out with the water hose after every baking soda treatment and before I added the Epsom salt solution for charging. This method works great! I've had 100% success on the 3 batteries I've resurrected! I live in Arkansas and with the weather we had last week it was -3 degrees F last Tuesday morning. My batteries did freeze but when they thawed out they held their charge and work great. I don't know where the freezing temp. is but didn't have any problem with them @ 20 to 15 degrees F. If you live in colder climate area and it gets colder than 15 degrees F you may have freezing issues but this method has helped me. Good luck and Thank You Randy!
I have a very large battery in my RV. I think it has internal damage. The batrery charger boiled out the water and exposed the cells.
Your process did save my two 6volt batteries . Thank You.
America needs more men like you to show independance and self Reliance.
To recap.
10 ounces baking soda and 1 gallon distilled water.
Flush battery twice.
12 oz of 100% epsion salt
To 1 gallon of water distilled. Fill cells. Then charge to 12 DC volts.
EeSqA
I've noticed on most lawn mowers it takes a little bit more cranking amps than what the battery puts out to really really turn it over. That was pretty impressive
I tried this on a car battery years and years ago, not for frugality, but as a desperate attempt. I flushed and rinsed till the water ran clear, and then filled the battery with clean distilled water.. And then I charged it till it bubbled like soda-water. Once again I rinsed out the battery, then refilled it with new, store bought electrolyte. And it worked. I am going to try it again, using what I have learned from you, thank you. A frugal thing, this time. Time before, it was I gotta have a battery to get to work, a battery that holds a charge, maybe I can refresh my battery. Good old days...no, it sucked. thanks again.
Thanks for showing us how to restore a battery,best and easiest to understand video I have seen yet, especially the exact amount of mixtures, Thank you.
I did exactly same apart from Epsom salts, I saved original acid that I poured into a bucket, returned that acid after cleaning with soda and water, charged it as yourself and been used for caravan lighting for 3 years plus.. Great vid and a great help for folks ! Cheers
yes, I did that too but didn't know about the baking soda wash. At that time you could buy fresh sulfuric acid and replace with fresh but didn't do any good cause of the sulfation, this was 30 years ago before the battery rejuvenation trend!
You couldn't get the battery to power a vehicle, right? I'm stuck with one cell not bubbling, but when I jarred the battery around a little bit, the cell that didn't work changed to the one next to it. I'm running 40 A through the battery terminals with a stick welder. The bad cell doesn't bubble, and like I said, it changed based on rattling the battery around.
I paid attention. Got 7 small batteries to throw the dice with. Big sack of soda and Epsom salt. I appreciate you, your my kinda people. Clean your guns, may need them for long
Was about to get batteries for my Honda Fit and Lawn Tractor. Now I can save a nice chunk of money. Thanks Randy for explaining expertl
Impressive bounce back for that battery - almost started the tractor on the first round of cranking, & easily would've, given a quick shot of ether down the carb. Very informative! I guarantee this is getting saved in my browser's bookmarks!
After a year without starting, the problem is usually with the gas/carb. If it turns over at all the problem is NOT with the battery.....great video. Keep up the good work.
Good series.
What I do with the baking soda phase is to keep repeat that until you do not get bubbling any more.
You might want to leave the 2nd rince overnight.
Also when bumping the battery around, do it on a solid surface. Such as that piece of concrete paving behind you. the harder shock tends to break the crystals a bit easier.
You can also use the baking soda to clean the terminals if there are any crystallization there. Once fresh baking soda no longer bubbles, I rinse the battery twice with distilled water.
I've never tried Epsom salt though. I Usually just grab some free battery water from my local gas station. I think it is a 10% solution of sulfuric acid and distilled water.
That way you pretty much end up with an almost new battery.
I appreciate that formula I know for a fact based on my riding mowers you barely get more than a year out of those small lawn mower battery and then it's kaput so the fact you were able to get that battery to even turn over and it being 7 years old I think you might have actually made a difference in my opinion I will use this formula thank you for your time
What "formula"?
I bought a battery for my RV last year for 285 dollars 1 year later it's dead, but but not door nail dead,I'm gonna give this a try and start up my RV I'll get back to you Randy and let you know how it goes. It's one of those hundred pounders,thanks
waiting for your update with interest.
Any update yet?
Well did it work?
Maybe he passed away.
Pull the caps and put 200 amps to it for five minutes then let it rest for an hour . He dicked around three days on that battery
Thanks so much Randy, I'm heading over the 5th Wheel to pull four batteries and get a going. I only have two chargers that will work in the "dumb" state. Two batteries going at a time is fine by me, we aren't going anywhere right now. They were five year batteries but I only got three years out of them, sitting there in the basement of the RV during the 100°+ summer days. Appreciate you for doing this! B.
Very cool! I used to do this on all of our RV batteries when we had an RV and saved me a ton of money over many years of camping, it works on deep cell batteries too! Thanks for stopping in!
Buddy Martin Harbor Freight sell battery maintainers cheap. They are nothing more than a 12 volt "wall wart" at below an amp. It will take longer to charge but you may have better luck at this low amperage to bring back a dead battery. Check the information on the package but most of them do not have battery monitoring, in other words they are dumb chargers. Look around your house, you may already have a 12 or 13 volt DC wall wart at an amp or less your not using. Snip off the barrel jack and solder on some alligator clips and you just made a trickle charger.
Great series. By far the best videos on RUclips outlining this process.
Many thanks Rick! The better your batteries are when you start this, the better your outcome will be!
I did some of my Battles with the chemicals in the video, and saved a 15 year old deep cycle battery from the recycling center. Thank you Sir.
I have spent months researching into fixing a car battery and found a great website at Magic Mender Wizard (google it if you are interested)
@@karancollins9095 mill
@@karancollins9095
SPAMER !!
Your video was the best one! This will have my 1949 Shoebox Ford running again!
This is a great how to. What I do is almost the same with 2 exceptions. I rinse the battery with distilled water to empty any loose particles and extra baking soda. I also use sulfuric acid instead of Epson salt. Epson salt does not have as much electrical potential as the original acid. I have take a battery ad used the Epson salt with a 350 cca result. I then replaced it with acid and recharged. the same battery held a 630 cca. That being said, I love your video. Keep up the great work.
I was thinking the exact same thing. Will be giving your method a shot on all the batteries we have in the shop for our off grid solar project. Those batteries have literally been sitting for at least 2 years. I'm also planning to purchase some battery acid such as this one:
www.amazon.com/WPS-Non-Sealed-Battery-Electrolyte-Pack/dp/B003CKJDW6#customerReviews
The purchased acid is to top off any batteries that are low and to boost the concentration of sulfur a bit.
dumb question but how do you dispose of the old acid electrolyte?
Han Solo so how well did that product work for you?
@@RagedContinuum l would neutralize it with baking soda and water until it stop sizzling then it should be safe to put into sewer for sure and maybe septic?
@@deanstuder1775 is there an issue with any lead that may be in the neutralized solution?
I ride a EW-36 Mobility Scooter, with 4 /12v batteries. You have taught me a lot about Reconditioning, maintaining my battery’s and saving my
money ... lol ... Thank You kindly and I’m subscribing Immediately
Greetings: ... And how did that work 4 U?
Many thanks for the comprehensive video! As you stated, others simply fail to give the full information. We are under extreme financial restrictions right now and this may just save me a bundle!
Only video of this subject that I trust. I didn't believe it but , I have a 95% percent chance of saving some batteries! Thank you Randy!
So happy to see this. I was told about the soda thing 15yrs ago so I cleaned it with soda and although I only put the old acid back the battery worked. .but everyone I told thought I was crazy..but it worked so I did not argue as it was their loss.
At 17:55 with meter in first hole and last hole... you are reading just 5 of the cells, not all 6... actually reading 1/2 of first cell and 4 cells between and 1/2 of last cell.... Lug to Lug you are reading all 6 cells. But yes!! I will be trying this Exactly the way you show it... It is the best instructions I have seen. Thumbs Up etc...
Here's what I did back in the late 1970s and early 1980s with my car battery.. I just dumped the acid out into a pastic tub as you did.. then I got a garden hose filled battery, shook it dumped it about 2 -3 times until water was clear.. Put the old acid back in plus a little fresh acid, charged and had a working battery again..
Great series of videos and very descriptive. You explained everything very well and in laymans's terms unlike many of the other RUclips videos out there. Thanks very much for sharing and best of luck for the future Randy.............................peace bro!
Great video series bud! Just like to add if I may that typically this epsom salt procedure is to clean/rejuvenate the battery, not ultimately a replacement for battery acid. Once you've got the battery in improved shape (de-sulfated), as you have done wonderfully, you'll want to dump the epsom salt mixture out and replace with normal fresh battery acid once again (about $8/quart at any auto parts store).
At that point you'll have completed the restoration and the battery will be operating at its maximum refurbished capacity and cranking amps.
That said, experimentation is fun. If the epsom salt solution is meeting one's needs, no harm keeping the epsom salt solution. After all, the battery was "dead" and most people would've just thrown it out! Either way you're stretching your dollar, which is the entire point anyway! :)
That was well said.
you are correct, putting acid back into the battery would make it last longer as you said, but I'm getting anywhere from 3 to 4 years on the epsom salt then I just do it all again. thanks for watching and commenting!
@@RandySchartiger Awesome brother!
@@RandySchartiger As I said in previous video, you are mixing metals -- lead and magnesium. Those bubbles are oxygen bubbles leaving the H2O (water), and leaving Hydrogen ions running around -- thereby creating the sulfuric acid. So it's a sulfuric acid solution the way you're doing it -- which is the same kind of acid you dumped out in the dirty (contaminated with Lead Sulfate) solution. The issue comes with the Magnesium. That magnesium from the Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) will wind up electroplating the lead plates inside. Both metals conduct electricity. So it clearly will work. And it will fill some of the pitting on the lead plates with Magnesium metal. However, the voltage comes from a differential between metals. You may simply wind up with a battery with lead plates electroplated with magnesium metal that doesn't have the same voltage capacity as it should have.
If you were to simply dump out the old electrolyte with the lead sulfate junk in it, and merely add more sulfuric acid of the appropriate concentration...the more you do this, the thinner and thinner those lead plates would get inside. By adding magnesium sulfate, you're helping reduce the amount of the lead plate thinning/pitting. My main concern would be how well the electroplated magnesium 'sticks' to the lead plates. If it doesn't stick well because of chemical properties, the vibration from lawn mowing could cause some of those magnesium deposits to fall to the bottom of the battery as pure magnesium metal powder -- which could wind up shorting out the cells inside. This can happen with the lead solution as well, though -- as the lead sulfate falls off the plates too. And when you re-charge the battery, that lead sulfate turns into just lead metal powder with the sulfur going into solution as Sulfuric Acid. Lead metal powder shorts out plates just as much as magnesium metal powder does. So it's very important to flush that battery out at that initial baking soda step as best you can to remove all the lead and/or magnesium metal particles that have detached from the plates.
@@shanejohns7901 True. Understand that the average idiot does not understand what U typed. Those of us that do and know chemistry already know the uses of such byproducts. :)
Hey, great job...btw, I noticed your Micronta multi meter, I have exact same modei that I bought over 40 years ago, in the uk, our equivalent to radio shack, we had maplin electronics . My meter still works after all these years. Great job on the battery. All the best from bonnie Scotland.
One of my meters is exactly the same as well from about the same time period. Still works well. That little mirrored strip is great for eliminating parallax issues when reading where exactly the needle is. Great design feature.
Good job, brother. Definitely going to try this out starting this weekend. I feel more confident in doing this after watching your tutorials on the process. I've watched several others before but didn't really feel that confident because of lack of info. Well explained and detailed by you and I appreciate that. Enjoy your weekend, my friend, and we'll catch you on the next one. Cheers!!!
Many thanks brother and good luck with this! Yeah the mixture here will work no matter the size of the battery, I still haven't seen any other videos that explains much in depth the mixing ratio of both the baking soda and Epsom salt with water. Thanks again for tuning in and Happy Easter!
Happy Easter to you and yours as well, brother.
Me too....
For an inverter to even work under 10.5 volts is pretty rare. Good video.
Thanks for a great video! You may want to unplug/disconnect your headlights. All generated electricity goes to the old battery. I could see your headlights on in the video. Good job!
No, that motor has a alternator under the flywheel, with 36v A.C. leads to head lights... and Some D.C. leads to the Battery .... from different coils, not affecting the 12V charging of the battery.
I had no idea you could read the individual cell voltage, thank you.
yep can do :) thank you for watching!
Thanks a lot. I understand pretty much everything. Neutralize the old battery acid. Clean the scale off the battery. Put in new hydrocloric acid ( Epsom salts and water ). Slowly charge battery to 14 amps, if possible, and give her a go.
Greetings: How do U get 14A? If a battery that small draws 14A there is a big problem.
Just a tip pertaining to having problems with a tractor not wanting to start, sometimes the engine can have an issue of having a good ground to the body of the tractor, I have ran a jumper wire from the battery directly to a bolt on the engine and had good results.
That was very nice series to watch unlike the other videos that give u no measurements what so ever or just say my solution and don't tell u what it is .I am going to try this today and in 3 to 5 days I will say if it worked for me. Thank you for videos.
Question why not reuse the old acid? If it sits over night all the dirt in it settles to the bottom of the plastic container you dumped it in and if you just use a funnel and a paint strainer you can put most of it back in a gallon plastic bottle I would think to use it again.
I was using a very similar procedure on my motorcycle batteries back in early 70s. Worked like a charm.
Ok I know I don’t want to revive a battery, tooooo muuuuuchhh time involved, but thanks that was the most info I’ve seen on any battery reviving.
yes if you need to use vehicle every day or so even if it works you are screwed...not much labor but the charging can take days...
Trying this on riding mower tomorrow. Ur video is the best one. THANK YOU MY BROTHER. San Antonio Texas
Did it work?
I've seen a video performed 3 different kind of procedures on how to restore a dead battery. After all the hard works however, unfortunately the result was a failure. The guy has lots of frustrations, because he ended up buying a new battery for his mini tractor. The voltage of the battery was right on the money, but the cranking amps was absolutely missing which is the most important factor to start his mini tractor.
Hi Randy,
Left lot of comments on episode 2. Thought I would just finish up here. I have a working battery, thanks to your instructions! These are my observations, evaluations and concerns......
The process works !!
I needed to adjust the concentration of the electrolyte to 15 oz of magnesium sulfate per gallon of water. 12 oz seemed to be too week for me and wasn't providing enough ions to transfer electrons from one plate to the other fast enough to keep the battery charged. So, after several starts the battery no longer had enough voltage and cranking amps to turn the engine over. Increasing the concentration, ultimately seemed to solve my problem!
I did two baking soda soaks with 4 or 5 rinses between them. After I did the second baking soda soak, I flushed the battery out with water another 10 times to get all of the sediment out of the battery.
Concerns: The process produces about 10 gallons of highly toxic, leaded waste that needs to be taken to a toxic waste facility!
ALWAYS COLLECT AND POUR BATTERY EFFLUENT INTO A BUCKET. DO NOT DUMP IT INTO THE EARTH!
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TOXIC WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY CLOSE BY, DO NOT DO THIS PROCESS!
I will report back in 6 months with a battery update. Thanks Again!
Thanks mate for the extra info, keep me informed please.
I noticed that your Micronta Multitester was not zeroed in. It is about one volt on the negative side. You can zero it before use by using a small flat head screwdriver and turning the small screw on the face of the tester. No need to turn it on or connect it to anything. Just turn clockwise or counter until the needle is dead on zero. Cheers.
I've tried a couple times to resurrect old batteries, with no luck , but after watching your video , I an going to do another one .
Did you try it and if so did it work?
Super handy info, thankyou.🙏
How or where to dispose of the dirty battery fluid though ?
I was wondering the same thing.. I guess you can take the acid + lead sulphate to the chemical recycling mob when they recycle old batteries.. hopefully they don't send it down to the sewerage works!!
You can indeed create sulfuric acid out of epsom salt through an electrolysis, however, you should be doing it in a separate process so you can get rid of the magnesium hydroxide leftovers. Then mix a correct ammount of 35/65 acid/water into the battery.
christopher békési Sounds interesting. Is it a complicated process, or does the magnesium hydroxide become a vapour that can be off-gassed?
Worked like a champ, saved me about $300 bucks
How did you get rid of the old battery acid that contains lead?
I forgot about this and glad you made the video, I have a deep cycle and high amp mower battery I am cleaning out today, I hope I have good results, batteries cost more than ever.
The drag it makes when you hit the key almost sounds like that briggs engine has out of adjusted valve clearance witch causes higher than normal compression from the compression release not opening the exhaust valve,, There is a paw on the cam of those overhead valve engines that bumps open the exhaust valve to make the engine spin faster to start.. The clearance on the valves with a feeler gauge and 1/4 inch past top dead center measured from the spark plug hole with a screwdriver, (I used a wooden dowel ) The valve clearance should be .005 -.008 with .005 being preferred clearance when cold.
I bet they are way out of adjustment.. You can youtube how to adjust them...
The restoration process you demonstrated here was top shelf and I watched all parts again just to take notes. I have a battery I am going to revive that powers a gate on my property..
Best wishes to you..
I like how you exchanged knowledge with him. Sort of like a barter system. Nice.
Thanks for the advice and Videos I'm going to try this also nice bracelet paracord I see you have the survival intrest in mind I can really appreciate people like you who are straight up and doing society a real service thanks Man the world needs more people like you
I was told by my grandfather to always put the battery caps on before charging so if you do create a spark, it won't ignite the hydrogen gasses coming out of the battery It will contain the gasses enough to be much safer
When attaching leads to a battery, FIRST connect the positive then the negative. When removing attached leads, FIRST remove the negative and then the positive. To prevent arcing.
The hot (dangerous) connection is the black (negative) terminal when batteries are concerned. For home electrical wiring it is the opposite.
Greetings: That should really get the idiots foncused.
Was about to buy a battery yesterday. Mine is only 3 years old.Have to jump it to get it going, (Even after it's been charging ) it just doesn't have the cranking amps anymore. Going to try this ,after all, I have nothing to lose. Thanks
Hey Thanks,
I am about to try this.
Yours is the best vid, I have found.
Now I have a clue about the solutions.
A saws all has been handy puddling concrete. With out a blade press one on forms and watch it work.
Me thinks this could help knock off that nasty residue.
I wonder what would happen if a charge where applied with the baking soda in there.
I have caught a few of your guitar vids.
Always fun. Be safe Chris
You give me valuable information about the restoration of battery.thanks for that
Man your a legend never thought I'd see it but I did with my own eyes may the good lord keep smiling down on you and your family cheers little brother Dashman
In the mid 1980's I had a battery going bad we had to jump the car to get it going. I removed the battery from the car, dumped the fluid into a big glass jar, took the battery outside and with a spray nozzle on the garden hose rinsed the battery about 20 times and shaking it too, all kinds of red flaky junk came out after that we filtered the original electrolyte before putting it back in the same battery and it worked just fine till we sold the car 3 years latter.
In the 80s i saw a UFO in Humptulips, WA, right on main street
Thanks Bro!
Trying two full size batteries to start. Looking forward to proving that this will work!
God Bless!
it was 12v instead of 11.8 beacuse the meter is not calibrated, unhooked it showed -0.2v ... cheers and thanks for the demo !
It was 3.8 volts if you look at the correct scale (The DC voltage scale)
@@stevenplank7058 No, in this type of meters you read both AC & DC on same scale, depending on the AC/DC switch position. He has this clear explanation on the 2/3 video :)
I have tractor battery like that I use for work lights and power tools and it’s pretty old doesn’t go very far on a charge, I think I’m gonna try that this summer see what it does.
excellent video. Thank you for sharing. One question i have...you charged the battery with Epson Salt solution. But can i know why are the usual Sulfuric Acid solution for batteries are not used? Are you leaving the Epson Salt Electrolyte solution in the battery? Appreciate your answer. Thank you.
I watched his video a couple of years ago to try this on a pontoon boat battery (same size as a car battery), worked great; however, I followed his steps exactly up until where he added the epsom salt solution to each cell, I used "battery acid" from my local parts store ($12 for the box). Not sure of the qts in the box but I could probably have done 2 car batteries with 1 box. I am sure the epsom salt solution works, he just showed us and many comments verify it, but to answer the question, yes sulfuric acid you can buy at a parts store works as well.
I'm back after two years because I could not remember the baking soda ratio and I need to revitalize another lead acid battery.
@@kbengson9163 Thank you so much for your comments. Yes, It is good to hear the Epson Salt works. It is also good to hear the confirmation that Sulfuric Acid worked as well. Yes, if you revitalize another lead acid battery, please share with us too. Thank you.
My Grandfather taught me to always set a battery on a wooden plank as you have done in your video. Now the experts are telling me that batteries have come along way in making plastic cases for batteries that we don't have to do that anymore
Both true.
The scale you show on the voltmeter is the AC scale. The battery is DC. I can't see where the meter is actually set
I caught that too. He is pointing at the db scale, while the DC voltage scale is only showing 3.8 vplts after having 24 hours charge time.
This is an analog voltmeter that measures both AC and DC current. According to my Google research he can use the AC scale. It depends on what setting he chose on the dial which was not shown. Notice on the topside of the top black scale 10 volts DC on the far right is equivalent to 10 volts AC on the topside of the red scale. So on the bottomside of the red scale 30 volts AC is equivalent to 30:volts DC as long as the correct setting is chosen. AC voltage goes through a rectifier in this kind of meter and converts it to DC voltage. So he can use the red scale to measure DC volts.
He's using wrong scale (AC) to read DC. Scale is adjusted to 10V max
@@Cobizybone - Worked with this type of analog meter for years; the explanation by Mpls farmer is correct in that reading the the meter correctly depends on knowing what type of reading (voltage, current, etc) has been selected. Many a mistake has been made.
Very good simple instructions == now I know why my smart charger is not so smart !!!
Randy everything sounded good up to the minute you measured 10 volt AC reading on your meter which you pointed to was AC reading. AC (alternating Current) and everyone knows battery is DC (direct current).
I take it you do not use an analogue meter? Admittedly Randy does not show the position of the range selector switch, but this determines the magnitude of the deflection of the needle, and also what type of measurement you want to take IE AC voltage, DC voltage, Amps or Ohms. You can then read it on ANY printed scale on the dial you like, as long as you remember full deflection represents the range magnitude as per your choice on the range selector switch. Everybody moaning about this, just because Randy has to use the red printed scale which happens to have 'AC' printed next to it. He still gets the right reading, assuming he has it set to 'DC voltage' & '30 Volt range'. In fact on his meter he has no choice but to use the 30 volt range, the DC range printed above is designed for the 10v DC range only, and if he he had selected this 10v range on the range selector switch, there was every chance needle would max out on a 12v battery. Micronta on later designs of this meter improved the printed scale. I have the 1980's version (Micronta 22-204C) which has 0.25v, 2.5v, 10v, 50v, 250v & 1000v DC Ranges and a better printed scale. However the printed scale still does not show all 43 ranges I can choose with the range selector switch, so on some ranges you have to use your head and multiply or divide the reading shown on the printed scales. Lucky Randy was not using a Micronta meter like mine, it also has a 'Range Doubler' switch which would have really confused viewers!
the dc scale on this meter only goes up to ten, the bottom scale (the one I used) can read from zero up to 220 volts and it works on both ac or dc. thanks for checking out my videos.
Most makes sense, however was confused how you charged the battery using Epsom Salts. Never saw how you added fresh ACID & Distilled Water, and what ratio was used?
Killer video! Best I've seen on this topic so far. Subscribing now.
Do you recommend a welding plant to charge the battery thanks good job
Not sure if this were asked or if you covered it but how did you dispose of the old battery acid?
Here in the UK, since Nov 2018 we can no longer buy battery acid, neither off-the-shelf or on-line, unless we hold an EPP Licence costing £39.50 (pretty rigorous application process and licence only last 3 years). Also we can no longer legally take the acid out of a battery, without this licence! So Epsom Salts as a replacement for acid is the only practical way we can go (for all those querying Randy on "Why use Epsom, why not use Acid?"). So if in the UK, do not admit to draining any battery of its acid without holding an EPP Licence!! Leading on to your question : - If you have removed, the safest & cheap way to neutralize its acidity would be to throw in 6 oz of Baking soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) into the waste acid - Randy does not mention this. Probably 6 oz is a bit of an overkill considering most car batteries only hold about 1/2 gallon of electrolyte and it likely to have lost some of its potency in a sulphated battery anyhow, but better going slightly more alkaline than leaving the waste fluid on acidic side. Although this will render the acidity much less harmful, you must remember there will be a fair concentration of heavy metals (namely lead) in the original acid, and to certain extent, in the Baking Soda and water mix used as cleaning / flushing solution. This lead is what gives the electrolyte its black colour. Certainly it would be irresponsible to dump this in a rainwater / sewer drain without further cleaning. I would check your local waste disposal site for their guidelines, no point wasting more baking soda if they happy to accept the acid as it is, but if neutralized fluid is cheaper cost to dispose of, then throw in 6oz of baking soda.
I am going to get started on my car battery using this information. If it doesn't work, follow up comments won't be forgotten to post. If it does work...I might start grinnin' and forgettin'.
Have you ever tried after the baking soda solution, empty it out and fill with fresh water. Then charge in reverse. Positive on negative negative on positive. I was told years ago that doing that causes the positive charged molecules to fall off. Then empty and refill with the epson salt mixture and charge properly. Please let me know what happened or if it worked. Thank you. Please respond.
Thank you so much for the fantastic information. Just restored my boat battery. Amazing.... Derrick Hodgson New Zealand
when you run a desulfator... are you supposed to be doing the trickle charge at the same time the desulfator is on? Or do you have to separate the process? I was wondering if you'd get better and faster results with the trickle charger on with the desulfator?
Thanks.
I did this process on a dead 6 volt car battery out of my 1931 Austin Seven and it worked beautifully. In anticipation of it not working I had already bought a new battery - now I have a spare which, in vintage car motoring, is no bad thing.
We all know about the still around back behind the barn lol!
Waiting for Daisy Duke and Waylon's hands to join in!
Seriousley, your "how to" series on batteries is far and above the dozens of others i've seen.
I'm just trying to rejuvenate 2 batteries for a friend's mobility scooter.
Those scooters usually are not lead acid batteries. If it works on a GM batteries l would be surprised. Would love to hear it did.
Dang smart phone got me . l said AGM batteries
I'm not sure if you put the old battery acid back in the battery or just the Epson salt and distilled water?
Question. I have a battery with at least one if not 2 cells that aren't storing a charge after your transfusion procedure. Could I do the whole process over again and get better results or is this battery just done. Its bein on a 2 amp charger for at least 5 days now and as far as use has barely bein cranked on but has sat so long when I started it had 0 volts
Great series of videos. Really covered the topic in depth and tested at the end. Thank you so much.
Can I use a trickle charger to regenerate the battery once I do the baking soda shake and epson salt transfusion?
As well should I hose the battery out once I’m complete cleaning it out with baking soda?
Thank you!
@ time 9.24 , the meter reads DC on the black DC scale, but you have it on the 10x setting to enable the 10 x multiplier, so its not the red scale, in fact its the 3 x 10 black scale you want to read, but the red and black scales when black is on the 10x multiplier setting read approx similar ... at 12.1 volts , (since it was sitting at -.2v at rest (just turn screw in middle a tiny bit to calibrate it to 0 to start at rest.); (the Red scale is as it says for AC voltage) .. Jus trying to help.
You all seem to be obsessing on this 11.8v, 12v thing like if its 12v, you have success. the normal voltage of a 12v battery is actually 12.8 volts,. Jus sayin.
More simply explained would be “with that meter” you would be measuring a 12v battery in the knob 30V position, then look at the black scale “not red”, the 3 mark at bottom of the black scale mean 30 vdc and 1 on this scale represents 10 Vdc, from there you can figure out where approx 12.6 would be for a fully good battery charged not having anything sucking off of it. Nice video, I’m sure this trick can bring some back to life. As another mentioned, after your cleaning the sulphate off the plates with baking soda and the epsom salts, you probably would want to dump out this salt/water mixture and fill cells with proper amount of new sulphuric batt acid/distilled water mixture for best results.
✌️😎👍
Just want to mention: The meter's red scale is for AC volts, you are measuring DC volts and should be reading the black scale with the charger clamp disconnected. I could not see what value you had the selector knob set to?
Back at 2.09 he said he was set to the 30 volt scale and that would be a DC setting only. Then if you look at the proper dc scale , it is reading just shy of 12 volts. Same as he was reading off the ac scale pretty near. So note to the author, this guy is right but as it turned out it was about the same. Me personally, l would chose a cheap digital. Much easier to read a more precise voltage.
Hey Randy, I just seen your video, you mentioned reading the red number scale on the Micronter volt meter, but that's the AC scale.
You have to read the black scale above the red, that's the DC scale, and the number 3 on the extreme right on the black DC scale represents 30 volts DC. I couldn't see if you selected the +DC with the red switch.
All in all good video, I'll try this battery fix one day.
I'm wondering how long the battery will last. I want to do this for a motorcycle battery but I plan to use fresh acid instead of the Epsom salt solution I think that will give better results. Thanks for the video
I'm still using this batter and the one in my truck. good luck with yours and thanks for viewing!
So does one use battery acid or leave the epson salt electrolyte indefinitely. would the hydrometer work with this batt to show the right specific gravity .
I just wanted to say it sounds like you need to adjust your valves , It may be old gas but it struggles at first when yea turn the key. Great video ..I learned something.
hello watched you bat video very good what I would advice is you callabfate you meter so the arrow is level with the 0 to do this if you look at the centre bottom of the scale screen there is a slot use a screwdriver and adjust so the needle rest on the First line of scale then if you retested the battery you would be at least 2 volts higher great video from Gary UK
I just did this deal to a T, and I just put it on the charger. My charger has a “slow charge” (or so it say) at 12V-10amps on a huge Interstate Battery for my Ford F-450 Dually. I’ll check back in with you tomorrow and if needed. In 48hrs.
Well?
Hi Randy. Thanks for showing us a way of keeping a lead acid battery serviceable after it sulphates up. A dumb question though.. After the baking soda treatment would using fresh battery acid do the same as using Epsom Salts???
It would - most say proper sulphuric acid at correct SG of 1.28 - 1.30 will give more cranking amps than the Epsom Salts ever can, so if you can buy the acid, well worth throwing out the Epsom and replacing it with proper acid. However, here in the UK, since 2018 we can no longer buy battery acid, neither off-the-shelf or on-line, unless we hold an EPP Licence costing £39.50 (pretty rigorous application process and licence only last 3 years). Acid remaining in a battery is not restricted, but empty it out for any reason and as soon as it becomes separated from the battery is immediately restricted and an offence for any unlicensed individual to hold! Ask why the UK so oppressive, legislation was brought in to try and prevent 'acid attacks' where teenagers were throwing acid in others faces, causing severe burns. The EPP licence issue is a real pain for us trying to restore and maintain classic and vintage vehicles. We used to buy a dry battery (or have a treasured hard to source size battery case that we restored) and source the acid seperately. We can no longer do this legally.......
The Scale you are Referring to,using is an AC Scale,NOT DC..... Not believing i did not catch that ,first time i watched this video...
Anyways,love ur videos,still the best ones on this topic,ON RUclips!
Oh well,that model meter may use it diff.Seems to be reading right anyways.So,IGNORE my comment...LOL !
Thx, that was a very informative demonstration, I'm gonna see if I can find some decent old batteries at a scrap yard to see if I can get a reliable bigger battery bank on my solar system.
How is it working for you on doing this reconditioning of the batteries?
Not yet got ahold of some, will get to it soon.
Randy can make it work with simple chemistry. Where do you buy sulfuric acid?
Yes, GREAT JOB Man...! Enjoyed watching this little series. And Thanx for the specific info for mixing solutions.... BUT....... can you do a small series of experiments (maybe) to show the difference(s) now, between the original (acid based) electrolyte and the new Epsom-Salt electrolyte?
I don't mean anything super scientific........... I mean,
IF you can... just show what a "New" battery (with acid) will do. And compare it with the Epsom-Salt battery.
Performance tests...... that'd be interesting to see too. put the same load on both batteries and demonstrate the difference with the "New" / "Rebuilt" Epsom Salt battery.
That would be awesome. Why dont you do it ?
How about using a Battery load tester that will show the actual condition of the battery a Meter represents no load at all
Yep! We hear it there too. CAN see the meter, CANNOT see what you were actually doing with the leads... I thought you were sticking them into the same cell _the first two readings, I thought you were touching the (+) lead to (-) batt. terminal and plunged the (-) lead into the first and second cells. I'm glad I decided not to attempt following along, or it would have been too late for me by the time you cleared it up and said to put (-) starting in 1 and (+) in 2, likewise with each next cell.
The Epsom Salt is magnesium sulfate, a good lawn food.
I use it on all my plants. especially my potted hot peppers.
The real question is do they hold a charge?
I'm confused, when you tested at just under 24 hr? Why are you looking at ac and not dc ribbon on tester?
so the gas this produces shouldn't be toxic then right? if you can recondition batteries, with something that ISN"T acid, but you'd think they wouldn't take a freeze... so you COULD put them in your basement where they wouldn't freeze... but you don't have to worry about the gassing? two years ago (when i had money) i bought 16 AGM batteries to set up a solar wind setup for my house. we had a bunch of wildfires each summer so i never got around to doing anything with them... but i have all these super expensive batteries that will eventually go 'casters up'... i got agms because they're maintenance free, but they don't gas. so i can use this on them too when the time comes?
I have a guesting is there any advantage to do consecutive reconditioning, first epsom salts and then on the next reconditioning sulfuric acid as the electrolyte?
I thought about that too
I agree I considered the battery acid from any autozone
Hey Randy love your videos but does this work with sealed batteries as well
This video is slow and they're longer than they need to be but it's probably the best ones for reconditioninga battery. Instructions are concise.
Tanks to you all,i have learned a lot with you Mr Murray,keep upp the good job!
good info! will this battery have a tendency to freeze in the winter- I live in northern Minn.
That’s a good question I would have to say yes. I live in northern, mi . I would do the cleaning part plus clean and reuse the old acid then just add fresh acid to fill🤷🏻♂️🤔🤔.
@@miman-ck9jv He didn't add new acid, just epsom salt.
I do not understand how his epsom salt chemistry is working to charge the battery.
@@hacunamatata6802
I've have been using Randy's method with a little of my own cleaning out method. I wash my batteries out with the water hose after every baking soda treatment and before I added the Epsom salt solution for charging. This method works great! I've had 100% success on the 3 batteries I've resurrected! I live in Arkansas and with the weather we had last week it was -3 degrees F last Tuesday morning. My batteries did freeze but when they thawed out they held their charge and work great. I don't know where the freezing temp. is but didn't have any problem with them @ 20 to 15 degrees F. If you live in colder climate area and it gets colder than 15 degrees F you may have freezing issues but this method has helped me. Good luck and Thank You Randy!
I'm just watching your videos and thank you for the detailed video I would like to know if the cold cranking amps are restored as well. Thanks