Larry wrote:

the

True that a smart 3 stage charger minimizes sulphation.

I also recommend the use of a de-sulphator to clean
and restore the plates.  This also breaks down the lead sulphate crystals,
allowing the molecules to return to the battery's electrolyte.

A 3 stage smart charger does not have the circuitry to reverse the
sulphation process.
You are not completely covered with a 3 stage charger.

Say that your battery is "almost" charged at 90% - now you have a battery
that is ripe for 10% sulphation.  This degradation compounds over and over
until
the plates are sulphated more and more on this downward spiral.

The ONLY way to tell the capacity of your battery is with a load tester.  I
use a Midtronics 500 battery analyzer. Checking SP and voltage does not tell
how many CCA or AH the battery is capable of producing.  Old style
carbon-pile
or "toaster" style load testers cannot tell you what a conductance tester
will.

A conductance tester is the only way to see inside the battery and tell
its true condition.

I was not a believer in the de-sulphator claims until I bought the little
BatteryMinder
http://vdcelectronics.com and tested it on a heavily sulphated battery.

After one week the MCA rating of the battery has risen
200 MCA's from 325 to 525 on a GNB 715 MCA rated starting battery.

An equalizing charge could not have accomplished this.

My next test will be on 2 Exide Golf Cart's salvaged from the trash.

What we need is a really smart charger - 3 stages plus a pulse circuit!!!

Brian Hall
CHB 45 "Any Sea"
Baltimore
Old Bay Marina

At 0927 1/16/01 -0500, you wrote:

Snip....

If an additive will prevent or cure sulphation, in todays competitive
world, why don't battery manufacturers just add it to the battery in the
first place?  Does anyone know the long term effects of this stuff?

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Michael Gibbons
http://presys.com/~michaelg/
40' Marine Trader
"Sea Dreamer"
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