Brain droppings on acid batteries

[oldcarkook]

We've had a couple of threads on batteries here with what seems to be an even division of opinions both for and against gel batteries. I for one am sold on gel batteries but I learned a trick some years back on how to get 9 years (one post stated nine years of service life on a lead/acid battery) or more from your lead/acid battery.

For the most part, corrosion begins to develop on the plates in times of intermittent or non-use. This corrosion will build up and eventually scale up in such a way as to bridge the gap and make contact, or short out the battery and render it useless.

In my vintage vehicles, it's pretty common to have them parked for extended periods of time and problems with lead/acid batteries are certainly not limited to bikes by a long shot. I had an old timer give me a tip one time that made a dramatic difference. I'm not sure why no one really markets this product for this purpose, but I can certainly see why battery manufacturers would not want it used and promoted.

I'm in the chemical business and handle and sell industrial chemicals for a living. An old timer asked me to get him a small sample of Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid ("EDTA"), which is a chelating agent. You can google chelates and EDTA to read more on them and how they work. What he did was took a small 4 oz sample bottle and then dropped a 1/4 tsp in each lead acid battery cell in his batteries. He swore it would inhibit corrosion and extend the life of the battery. He was right. It's pretty dramatic.

For you guys out there that are still doin' acid, you might want to try this. The way to get some EDTA is to either buy a small bottle (it's a powder) from a lab supply or contact DOW Chemical and order a small sample. It would have to be shipped to a business address and you'd need to have a reason so you can say simply that you are doing battery research with it.

 

[globalrider]

how to get 9 years (one post stated nine years of service life on a lead/acid battery) or more from your lead/acid battery.

Not only did I get 9 years out of that one, but the original battery in the car just passed the 13 year mark last September and shows no signs of slowing down, even on sub zero (??F) days.

I'm in the chemical business and handle and sell industrial chemicals for a living. An old timer asked me to get him a small sample of Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid ("EDTA"), which is a chelating agent.

I wonder if that isn't the loose stuff (looks like fine sand) that I have found in some new batteries lately. My replacement Mareg and a Yuasa battery both had it.

 

[oldcarkook]

I doubt it

Alex -> I doubt that the "loose stuff" you have notice is EDTA since it more than doubles the service life of a battery, I doubt that any battery manufacturer would add it their product thereby effectively cutting their future sales in half or more.

 

[globalrider]

Re: I doubt it

Alex -> I doubt that the "loose stuff" you have noticed is EDTA since it more than doubles the service life of a battery, I doubt that any battery manufacturer would add it their product thereby effectively cutting their future sales in half or more.

Apparently, it is. I did a search on Sulfate Stop (used in Yuasa batteries) and it came up with articles using EDTA in the same sentence. My factory BMW Mareg battery also used the stuff.

I buy my batteries empty (dry) and fill them myself, so anyone not doing so would not be aware of the loose stuff that looks like fine grain sand (EDTA) in their batteries.

In any case, thanks for bringing it up. I now know what the stuff is called.

 

[oldcarkook]

Dang! Learn something new every day. I am surprised and any battery manufacturers using it move to the top of the list. So much for the old timer's trick. The cat's out now. Maybe this at least helped those that buy non Yuasa/BMW branded batteries...thanks for the follow up.