Pulse chargers --- opinions please?

[wildbill hickup]

Hi folks,

I am going to put together a pulse charger (for desulfateing) and need the opinions of those that have gone before me. Which is the best??? I have read many posts and I'm leaning twards the Cap/rectifier that Jerry has refered to (I would add an isolation transformer as he had for safety as well). While this seems to be my prefrence for ease of build I would like a opinion on others. I have a dozen+ deep cycles in various stages of decay that I would like to try and revive before recycleing.

Thanks for the help

Wildbill

[tecker]

I think that's a good quick build  not that good for slas but wet cells respond well if they're not swollen  . Try to get several running caps in the 25 uf 250 volt range to be able to very amperage in . 1N1185's are about 4  bucks with shipping apiece if you need store bought.The bridges really can't take the heat from the surge the stud diodes seem well suited for this . Here's digikey link for the diodes http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=1N1185A-ND

Air conditioners are a good sorce for freebe running caps ebay under (motor capacitors)for new Granger is another source here's ebay fairly good price

http://cgi.ebay.com/Motor-Run-Capacitor-45500H-50uf-440V-DiversiTech_W0QQitemZ190259068493QQcmdZView
ItemQQptZBI_HVAC?hash=item190259068493&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C6
5%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[tecker]

Couple of other things here  . A good point of connection is key with this device . Both AC and DC connections . If the voltage jacks up and doesn't trail off you probably have a problem with the battery but some times they come back to some degree.

[tecker]

One last observation 15 volts on in a moderate amperage setting seems to be a full charge. Maybe some else has some other ideas on this ,that would be interesting .When your bringing them back halt at 15 volts and cool down .

[farmerfrank]

I would like to know if desulphators actually work. I almost bought one but after spending many hours reading various articles I came away with the impression that they did not help much if any. Can someone speak from experience. I would be thrilled if they did enhance battery performance

[tecker]

The cells go through all kind of changes charging and discharging . Sulfate chrystals form with hard charge and discharge or when the SG drops with high PH .The desulfation pulse moves across the surface of the plates like a tuning fork ringing a beta wave that dissolves crystals that are in the porous lead layer. It's easy to see the progress on a sulfated battery . It's whitish at the top of the cells and the acid doesn't really wet the porous lead After completing a charge with a desulfator the lead on the plates darkens with wetting. All in all it's That  ringing that works and I think this happens at different frequencies if the pulse is strong enough but is thought to best in the 3 megahertz range but frequency s at that range really don't  charge that well and need a charger to get the weight up on the electrolyte .

[WineGuy]

I have tried "store bought" and kits. The kits perform MUCH better due to higher voltage level pings.

As far as success rates goes, it's about 50%. I've brought back batteries that sat dry for two years, but have also failed with batteries that are only two years old. It is kind of hit and miss.

The main things to remember when trying to bring back a battery are as follows:

1. low amp charge, in the 1 to 2 amp range.
   
2. "Dumb" chargers. Smart chargers can be damaged (or fooled) by the De-sulfators.
   
3. Battery load tester. You want to Shock the battery one or two times during the process.
   
4. Hydrometer, essential for verifying results.
   
5. Patience. The process can take a week or two depending on the battery
   

[elt]

I have limited experience and equipment - I've had some good luck using the desulfate mode on my Smart/Vector charger in combination with another charger. I run the desulfator for a week or more until the voltage in the battery stops going down from desulfating. At this point, the "smart" charge mode still gives up saying that there's a bad cell but I've then been able to finish recovering 7 out of the 12 batteries I've tried with an analog recharger.

 - Ed.