Due to the debate on the merits (or demerits) of battery additives,
I thought I would slip in these posts I saved from 2 1/2 years ago in
this conference. I sincerely hope this is not a frowned upon practice.
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     Date: 04-19*94    Time: 11:25a     Number: 1212  
     From: DON KULHA                     Refer: 0      
       To: ALL                        Board ID: FAMILY          Recvd: No
  Subject: EDTA 1 OF 5                      47: Home Power     Status: Public
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New Life for Sulphated Lead-Acid Cells?    (From HP Mag #20)
Richard Perez
Over the years I have tried many chemical treatments supposed to
rid a cell of sulphation.  None of them made any perceptible difference. 
A strange and devious set of circumstances has led us to the successful
chemical removal of sulphation from six lead acid cells.  Not only
are the circumstances odd, but the chemical used, EDTA, is benign-
in fact, it is used as a human food preservative.
The Patients
The sulphated Trojan L-16W lead-acid batteries numbered four and
were the victims of a messy divorce.  The pack was less than two
years old when its owners had a parting of the ways.  The husband
took off for parts unknown.  The wife left the house vowing never
to return.  And she left ALL the lights on when she departed.  This
system was sourced only by an engine/generator, with no PVs to help
out.  After several days the batteries were totally discharged. 
The batteries then sat discharged, with the lights switched on, for
the next three months.
The ailing pack was transported to Electron Connection for disposal
as part of the whole divorce rigmarole.  Upon inspecting the cells
through the filler holes, we say vast amounts of white moss covering
all the plate assemblies.  Or at least we assumed there were plates
in there somewhere because all we could see was an even blanket of
moldy looking lead sulfate.  Seven of the twelve cells were very
low in water.  Our job was to assess what these batteries were worth. 
In order to do this we attempted to recharge them and see how they
held the charge.  Open circuit voltage of the cells averaged 0.7 Volts.
We placed the batteries on a four panel Kyocera J48 PV array (=12
Amps) and the voltage immediately shot to 15 Volts where the regulator
cut in.  The amount of current accepted by the four L-16Ws was 0.4
Amps.  We left the L-16Ws on the array for five days, but they never
did accept a charge.  We then tried discharging the batteries.  They
(all four 125 pound batteries) ran a 28 Watt car tail light for about
three minutes.  This gave us an electrical capacity of about 0.05
Ampere-hours per cell that originally had a capacity of 350 Ampere-hours. 
A classic case of sulphation ruining virtually new, high quality
batteries.  We pronounced the cells toxic waste and told the principals
involved that the batteries were worthless.  In fact, worse than
worthless because someone had to responsibly dispose of them.  The
original owners promptly disappeared and left us holding the batteries.
They sat, fore lorn and unloved, in the battery area, side by side with
new cells destined for caring homes.  In another reality...
(continued)
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