"RoyJ" wrote in message
news
I've got a couple of battery packs in the storeroom that need some
attention. Both have been stored for periods of time, need to see if they
are usable or get them out to the scrap dealer.

Pack #1 is a set of 6 deep discharge 6 volt batteries in a mobile cart.
Charger for it was trash, had fried circuit board. Unit has been sitting
for multiple (4+??)years. I'm betting that they are completely discharged
and that there are a bunch of shorted out cells in the set. Cells were low
on water, topped them off with distilled water. I think I will take a
regulated DC power supply, see what voltage it starts to take current.
From my reading, a functioning but fully discharged cell should start
taking current at 1.98 volt and fully charged at 2.10 volt. So a 6 volt
battery with one shorted cell should start at around 4 volts then go up to
4.2 volts at full charge. Any other suggestions on how to test, deal,
whatever?

Pack #2 is actually 3 packs of 19 each 12 volt gel pack batteries (228
volts per pack, there may be a couple batteries missing). It came from a
huge battery backup for a computer center. I suspect it was set up to
provide 3 phase 208 power. This bunch has been sitting for about a year
with no attention. These are gel pack (??), about the same size as a
standard auto battery, fully sealed, and sit on their sides. How do I
test? What should I do to keep them alive and well for future projects??

You have received a lot of good information and the only thing I can add is
to be sure to watch the electrolyte level carefully. If the batteries start
to take a charge and/or warm up, the level can rise quite a bit and this can
result in overflow. It is best to start with the level just at the top of
the plates.

Don Young