[sci.electronics] Battery Rejuvinator solution

ee5001ae@charon.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) (12/01/88)

Early this year, my deep-cycle RV battery which operates numerous things here
at n5gax went belly-up, and I'd been using an ibm-surplus dc supply to run 
things for a few months. In early Nov., I was pricing deep-cycle batteries and
cringing, so I decided to try one of those bottles of battery rejuvenator -- I
had little to lose.

Heeey! It worked! 

The bottle says it contains cadmium sulfate. Does anyone out there know what
this stuff does, and the details of the chemistry involved?

While we're on that subject, can someone recommend a good, reasonably compre-
hensive and up-to-date reference that describes the electrochemistry of 
various battery systems?

					T.I.A.,
					   d



PS: I got one of those Aluminum-air battery kits from Edmund Sci. I'll be
	experimenting with it, and will probably post some preliminary
	results...well, opinions, anyway, in Jan. or Feb.
					   d


-- 
	Always pay careful attention to the man behind the curtain.
  Duke McMullan n5gax nss13429r phon505-255-4642 ee5001ae@charon.unm.edu

larry@pdn.UUCP (Larry Swift) (12/01/88)

In article <4027@charon.unm.edu> ee5001ae@charon.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) writes:
>While we're on that subject, can someone recommend a good, reasonably compre-
>hensive and up-to-date reference that describes the electrochemistry of 
>various battery systems?

The best I've ever seen was a series of 2 or 3 articles in Practical Sailor,
a semi-monthly that has no advertising, sometime in the last couple of
years.  Maybe try a library?  The series was particularly concerned with
deep cycle batteries and delved into the chemistry, construction, types,
effectiveness, charging & discharging, etc, etc.  There was also an article
on a reader survey of installations.

I strongly recommend it for anyone who really wants to know what the scoop
is.

Larry Swift                     UUCP: {peora,uunet}!pdn!larry
Paradyne Corp., LF-207          Phone: (813) 530-8605
P. O. Box 2826
Largo, FL, 34649-9981           She's old and she's creaky, but she holds!

commgrp@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (12/04/88)

>... my deep-cycle RV battery...went belly-up... I was pricing deep-
>cycle batteries and cringing, so I decided to try one of those bottles
>of battery rejuvenator -- I had little to lose.

>Heeey! It worked! 

>The bottle says it contains cadmium sulfate. Does anyone out there 
>know what this stuff does, and the details of the chemistry involved?

>...can someone recommend a good, reasonably comprehensive and up-to-
>date reference that describes the electrochemistry of various battery 
>systems? ...
>--
>Duke McMullan n5gax nss13429r phon505-255-4642 ee5001ae@charon.unm.edu


A product called VX-6 will rejuvenate aging car batteries for a short 
time (given the battery-failure mode for which it is effective). I 
don't know its chemistry; it really works, but only ONCE per battery. 
I intend to try it when my 8-year-old Wheat Lamp battery deteriorates 
further, make before/after measurements, and publish the results in 
_Speleonics_.

Battery manufacturers (and manufacturers in general) seem to have 
become more secretive in these litigious (sp?) times. See the catalog 
of Lindsay Publications Inc. [PO Box 12, Bradley, IL 60915-0012  (815) 
468-3668] which features a "lost technology" series of reprints of OLD 
books on fascinating mechanical and electrical things.  Lindsay has 
several books on lead-acid batteries, which discuss design variations 
to optimize high capacity, deep discharge, low internal resistance, 
etc. 

--

Frank Reid      W9KKV @ WA8YVR     NSS 9086F
reid@gold.bacs.indiana.edu

jack@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin) (12/13/88)

ee5001ae@charon.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) wrote:

>The bottle says [battery rejuvenator] contains cadmium sulfate. Does anyone
>out there know what this stuff does, and the details of the chemistry involved?

I *hope* people know what they're doing when they use this stuff - cadmium is
extremely poisonous and should be disposed of carefully (NOT poured down the
sink).
-- 
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Mail: Jack Campin, Computing Science Dept., Glasgow Univ., 17 Lilybank Gardens,
      Glasgow G12 8QQ, SCOTLAND     work 041 339 8855 x 6045; home 041 556 1878