Help with lead acid battery please

[et...@whidbey.com]

I bought a used forklift and the battery, even though only a couple
years old, was almost dead from sitting too long without being
charged. I got the lift to my shop and put a charger on it overnight.
All seemed well, the engine starts fast and all that. So a few days
later the propane ran out and the engine died. I got the propane tank
filled that day and installed it the next day, When I tried to start
the lift I realized I had left the ignition on overnight and the
battery was dead. Again. So I put the charger on again and even with
the switch in the 3 amp position the battery was drawing almost 15
amps. So a cell must have shorted out. Probably from sulfation. I
watched the charger carefully and the current dropped to 3 amps after
about 15 minutes so I figured the short must be gone. I left the
charger on the 3 amp setting overnight. The next morning the battery
was still drawing 3 amps. I then switched the charger to the 12 amp
setting and let the battery charge until the amperage draw was down to
about 6 amps. I then switched the charger back to the 3 amp setting
and after about 6 hours the draw is down to about 1 amp. I left the
battery on the charger overnight again and it is still drawing only
about 1 amp. All the cells bubble slightly while charging at the
higher current setting so I think they must all be charging. I have
checked the fluid level in all the cells and none are low. In fact,
they are all about the same level. After cranking the engine for about
60 seconds total in three tries the voltage of the battery is still
12.57 volts and during cranking didn't drop below 12 volts. The
battery is the typical industrial type, long and narrow, not almost
square like a car battery. After this long winded description I want
to know how long should I keep charging the battery at the 1 amp
level in order to remove as much sulfation as possible.
Thanks,
Eric

[Jon Elson]

et...@whidbey.com wrote:

> After this long winded description I want
> to know how long should I keep charging the battery at the 1 amp
> level in order to remove as much sulfation as possible.

I'm not sure long-term charging removes sulfation. Possibly cyclical
charge-discharge cycles does. If you could crank for 60 seconds and the
battery was still showing 12.57 V, I think you are done (other than
recharging it from that test.)

Jon

[pf...@aol.com]

On Friday, July 1, 2016 at 1:41:30 PM UTC-4, et...@whidbey.com wrote:
I want
> to know how long should I keep charging the battery at the 1 amp
> level in order to remove as much sulfation as possible.

It would be useful to know the rating of the battery, but if that is an industrial battery and used regularly, you should be able to keep it charging at 1A almost indefinitely - operative word being "almost". I suggest you get a modern charger that has an automatic switch-over mode to trickle and leave that connected pretty much all of the time.

And, if you are having hard time starting this beast, and it has an old-fashioned distributor with points, by leaving the ignition on all night, you have fried them - and they will need to be replaced. Only speculating.

If you do have points, while you are in there, do the condenser as well. And check the coil. Again, if it is of that vintage technology.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[avag...@gmail.com]

uneeda closed cell unit

read thru here

https://www.google.com/#q=lead+acid+battery+recondition+charge

[N_Cook]

AFAIK, to stand any chance of de-sulphating, without getting inside, is
to try asymetric/biaced ac charging, using ac with more positive
component than negative, so 50/60Hz charge/discharge cycling, can't
remember current required per Ah

[et...@whidbey.com]

On Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:24:45 -0500, Jon Elson <jme...@wustl.edu>
wrote:

Thanks for the reply Jon. I think I'll try a few charge/discharge
cycles.
Eric

[et...@whidbey.com]

On Fri, 1 Jul 2016 12:26:13 -0700 (PDT), "pf...@aol.com" <pf...@aol.com>
wrote:

The forklift starts right away. The 60 seconds of cranking I did was
with the fuel shut off. I was trying to see if the battery voltage
would drop below 12 volts.
Eric

[et...@whidbey.com]

I have no idea how I would make the sort charger like you describe. It
looks like I have done all I can do with my capabilities so I'll just
have to see how well the battery holds a charge for several days.
Cheers,
Eric

[Ralph Mowery]

In article <h09gnbl8e5eej72i0...@4ax.com>,
et...@whidbey.com says...

>
>
> >Peter Wieck
> >Melrose Park, PA
> The forklift starts right away. The 60 seconds of cranking I did was
> with the fuel shut off. I was trying to see if the battery voltage
> would drop below 12 volts.
> Eric

When you checked the battery voltage was it under a load ? Most of the
time even a weak battery will come up to voltage without a load on it.

[et...@whidbey.com]

During cranking the voltage dropped to 12.1 volts. I expected it might
drop down to around 11.5 volts, which would be in the normal range, or
even lower. At this time I'm pretty sure the battery has lost some
significant amount of operating life but I'm also thinking that what
shorted one cell was a small amount of sulfation and that it is
apparently gone now. The next time I'm by an auto parts store or
hardware store I'm gonna buy a hydrometer to see if the specific
gravity of any particular cell is way low.
Eric

[jurb...@gmail.com]

Yeah but if you use significant current on either AC or FC the battery heats up and may explode.

[Larry]

wrote in message news:649gnb5td540d3tii...@4ax.com...

***

Lots on this subject on YouTube.
If you are going to throw it away anyway - have a look at some of the
videos...
Larry

[Rheilly Phoull]

Didn't the OP say he cranked for 60 secs and the voltage stayed at 12v ??
If that can be done I would still consider the battery as OK.

[Ignoramus7994]

I think that you have a fine battery for forklift starting, just use
it and watch the water level.

i

[et...@whidbey.com]

That's exactly what I'm gonna do. Since the batteries are so spendy I
was hoping there was more I could do to extend the life of the battery
wityh what I have on hand. And not damage it any more than it is.
Eric

[Ignoramus7994]

Measure battery voltage with forklift idling and see if it actually
being charged by the alternator.

i

[John Robertson]

http://www.batteryuniversity.com - all you want to know about lead acid
(and other) batteries!

They sell a very good charger as well...

John :-#)#

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