On Fri, 05 Aug 2005 20:01:19 +0100 "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Jim DeClercq wrote:
In technical terms, you probably have a "sulfated" battery.
In car sizes, 5 amps for 24 hours should get it charging in the
right direction. Smaller battery, less current. It will take a
while. You will be forming the battery, giving it its initial
charge.

If the battery is sulphated, most modern chargers won't deliver enough
volts to get anywhere near 5 amps due to the high cell resistance. Many
are voltage limited to perhaps 14 volts or so, and might need several days
to get any result - if ever.

That's probably for the best anyway. A sulfated battery should never
be charged at a high rate. That will just hydrolize water and can
damage the plates. IF recovery is possible, and it sometimes is, then
your best bet is with a very small charging current over a number of
days. I find that a week is typical for a car battery, but I had one
that took 2 weeks.

If you insist on instant gratification, you should just buy a new
battery.

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Jim Adney
Madison, WI 53711 USA
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