Battery desulphators...do they work?

I am in the marine industry here in Fort Lauderdale. I don't know of anyone, and I mean anyone that uses them. I think like a lot of products, they aren't worth the money otherwise yachts would be using them. But I have no real world knowledge with them. Although most of the times I've had to replace battery banks was due to a dead cell and I don't think the product you're talking about would prevent that.

Hi,

What constitutes a dead cell Capt?

In lead acid batteries the big problem isn't formation of crystals that will not disolve (in fact the Lead Sulfate crystals forming is what delivers the charge) the big issue is corrosion. Eventually the lead plates are eaten clear through, and when they happens the cells go dead, and are no longer able to function.

You lose one of the cells and it will no longer function at 12.8 volts and instead of getting say 12.8 volts out of a 12 volt battery, you'll get 11 volts. If also left off of a battery charger it will deplete the battery of electricity pretty quickly, another sign is when you hit it with a load tester the voltage will drop considerably instantly. A dead cell will usually drop the voltage of the rest of the cells around it.....and rob the power from them.. like an internal short.....

And once you get a dead cell in a battery bank, you had better replace the whole bank. Putting one new battery with several aged ones is a really bad idea......I had one bad battery replaced under warranty one time (the bank was 14 months old, the other battery load tested fine), and it caused the charger to go into full charge mode because the bank wouldn't equalize correctly, and when the engine starter was engaged it blew the tops off of all of the batteries on the bank and scared the daylights out of everyone.

Hi,

I have never encountered these machines in the flesh and am quite intrigued by what they claim to do.

A lot of the material online seems to be discussing the use of these on PV Systems like you would have in a home solar system etc.

Here is a pretty informative article I found.

http://www.dallas.net/~jvpoll/Battery/aaPictures.html

Hi,

You will find that temperature can p[lay a role in the charge conditions, is one end of the bank cooled better than the other?

As you say you have them connected in parallel I am assuming a 12V Application is in use.

Is the battery nearest the charger also the one where the system draws it's power from?

Check the water levels in the cells. From what I've seen, the cells closest to the terminals lose water fastest and when they're low on water they don't hold as good of a charge or as much voltage. Check the water level in all of the cells and add as needed. If they're maintanence free, the battery companies have told me that if you pop the cells open once a year and add water they last a lot longer.

In general the charge is moderated more the further from the charger you get, so the cells right next to the charger are getting higher bursts of charging voltage, which in the end is what shortens battry life the most.