Mineral oil in Batteries
By go4it, Section Storage Posted on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 03:52:02 PM MST
Adding mineral oil to batteries

I discovered the following article while searching for an economical controller for my recently completed windmill. ADDED MINERAL OIL TO BATTERIES I had read about the oil that they sell to add to your batteries to stop or minimize the corrosion around them.  I did some research and it seems that Edison used oil in his original batteries that were used along the railroads.  In fact, they say you can still find the bottles along the tracks some places.  Anyway, I did some research on the stuff that is being sold today and found the patents for it.  Turns out that it is primarily mineral oil with a few other additives, primarily for color.  I made a call to a friend of mine who is a chemist to see if there would be any reaction between sulfuric acid and mineral oil.  He said that not only is mineral oil just fine in a battery, HE had used it for just that many years ago while working as a mechanic in his Dad's truck shop.  He said that it worked great to stop the corrosion and outgassing so based on this information (and Edison's experience!) I added 4 ounces of USP grade Mineral Oil (intestinal lubricant!) to each cell in my 6 volt, deep cycle batteries.  That amount seems to result in a blanket about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.  If you take a cell cover off now while the batteries are charging, there are little tiny bubbles on the top of the oil.  No more big popping bubbles to carry sulfuric acid out of the cells.  We'll see how it works!  I will report back in a few months. April 2003 UPDATE: It has now been over one year since I first added the mineral oil to the batteries.  I have had to add a very small amount of water one time in that last year.  I recently did a load test on the batteries and I cannot tell that there is any capacity loss at all in the last year.  I don't believe that the addition of mineral oil has in any way harmed the batteries and it has certainly eliminated the corrosion that was occurring on the terminals.  I will definitely use the oil in any deep cycle batteries I purchase in the future. April 2004 UPDATE: Its now been over two years since I added the oil to the first set of batteries.   I recently did another load test and I can't tell that the batteries are degraded at all.  When I added the second set of batteries, (read about it here) it made it a bit more difficult to accurately measure capacity on the first set but overall, the battery bank is performing fine.  I certainly have no complaints relative to the addition of the oil to the cells.  Again, I have added water the the cells only once in the last year. January 2007 UPDATE: We were getting ready to be on the road for about 6 months and a lot of that will be dry camping so I replaced all 4 of the coach batteries with Interstate golf cart batteries from Sam's Club.  I didn't want to take a chance of having battery problems on the road and the coach batteries are a BEAR to replace.  The new batteries got 4 ounces of mineral oil in each cell before they were even installed.  Two of the batteries I replaced were 7 years old and had the mineral oil in them for 5 years.  The other two were about 4 years old and had the oil the whole time.  When I removed the old batteries there was ZERO corrosion anywhere including the battery trays themselves.  I am a big believer in the mineral oil in deep cycle batteries. Has anyone else done this? Moved to a more appropriate section. Also, as noted in a comment. This user Did Not do this, he just found it online and regurgitated it here. Be careful if you do this. I should have just killed the post as hearsay.

Mineral oil in Batteries | 15 comments (15 topical)

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#1) by spinningmagnets on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 10:06:07 AM MST

I'm a newbie. This is really good information, so, thanks for posting! Just for general poll info, could you describe your battery pack, loads, and a typical usage cycle? "He who hesitates is last..." -Mae West

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#2) by nothing to lose on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 10:38:21 AM MST

NO he can't! "I discovered the following article" He just found this on the web somewhere and reposted it here, he has not done any of that, when it says me, we, I, etc... it was some other person who wrote it but not him. "Has anyone else done this?" In other words he has not done this himself and wants to know if it works for any of us basically. A thin coating of oil does work for many things for many reasons, in batteries I haven't tried. Being the way batteries work it's not gong to help that I can see other than MAYBE stop acid from spitting out in some batteries. Normally that does not happen as much anyway unless some other problem. Running DC currants though water breaks it down to Hydrogen and Oxygen, no way around that. If those bubbles are poping out under such force that it carries water/acid out with it, then yes maybe something like oil will slow the bubbles, it's thicker, and thus the acid and water not POP out the top. What you read on the the web is 60% true, what the government tells you is 35% true, what a politician tells you in election year is 5% true, however that is only correct when he says yes he slept with a hooker, anything else is never true!  OK, figure this out. $30 for weed, but I did not inhale? So do we want a druggie for pres, or someone that so foolishly wastes money on something they never used, or a just plain liar?? It's a lose lose lose answer!!! But yet he did 2 terms! And his EX is seeking assassination for HER third term in white house. . nothing to lose Spelin and tpying are my strong points, not electronics. [ Parent ]

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#5) by wdyasq on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 11:41:12 AM MST

NTL, "OK, figure this out. $30 for weed, but I did not inhale?" First, one needs to do their research. He did not BUY the marijuana, he did it as part of an experiment  at Oxford, where is was on on Rhodes Scholarship. Now, it is my opinion getting a scholarship does not make one a scholar, "It was in England where Clinton experimented with marijuana and, he says, didn't like it and didn't inhale. Clinton failed to get a degree after two years of study -- along with eight other members of his 1968 class, which had the lowest graduation rate since the Second World War." But, back to your point. I think it is important to know how much Bill Clinton did NOT inhale. I remember reading it was 31.2 grams and saw an article with Willie's signature on the checkout slip. If he tried it 'a couple of times', he is like the fellow in an old drug comedy record, he rolls big joints. But, back to reality. I don't think i will ever use mineral oil in my batteries unless I get a good set of Edison batteries. Ron Adventure is just bad planning." -- Roald Amundsen [ Parent ]

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#3) by WindHarvester on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 10:46:33 AM MST

Mineral oil is good gor alot of things but I've never heard of this. "What you read on the the web is 60% true, what the government tells you is 35% true, what a politician tells you in election year is 5% true, however that is only correct when he says yes he slept with a hooker, anything else is never true!  OK, figure this out. $30 for weed, but I did not inhale? So do we want a druggie for pres, or someone that so foolishly wastes money on something they never used, or a just plain liar?? It's a lose lose lose answer!!! But yet he did 2 terms! And his EX is seeking assassination for HER third term in white house." Nothing to lose, why not put this in rants and opinions where it belongs? Good day, Lonnie

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#4) by Flux on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 10:51:46 AM MST

I can see why Edison did it with NiFe batteries in steel containers and with the problem of the KOH absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. I really can't see any point with lead acid. As long as it is pure mineral oil, I can't see it doing any harm except making it difficult to top the things up. With any conventional car type oil with detergents I can see it producing an absolute mess especially if the cells gas much. Not an idea that I think is going to revolutionise the world but every one to their own choice. Flux [ Parent ]

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#6) by wooferhound on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 01:25:44 PM MST

I've never tried it but I might, if it will stop the corrosion on the terminals and lugs W o o f -={(

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#7) by etownlax on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 02:23:38 PM MST

Really it SHOULD work Aslong as oil doesn't react with sulfuric acid. Since oil doesn't disolve in water and is less dense it will "float" ontop of the water. This effect should keep the acid/water solution seperate from the outside environment. Therfore when the bubble do "break" it would only release oil and the very MINIMAL amout of H2SO4(as gas) in the bubble, which shouldn't be much. I'm going to try and make my own batterys. Seems to be a very simple idea. And I might try this on my own, but on expensive batteries I don't know if I would. -Randy

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#8) by disaray1 on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 06:00:06 PM MST

I'd almost bet mineral oil will effect the reading on you're (possibly expensive) hydrometer. The oil will coat it everytime you check SG and the inside of the meter tube. The bulb will weigh different than at callibration, and the oil will have an effect on floatation. Hmmmm. No thanks. Don't need more headaches.  David

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#9) by DanG on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 06:01:40 PM MST

Oiling is a common practice for alkaline nickle-cadmium banks - there is extra room provided for a 3/8" or better layer of oil; on routine inspection the oil will trash a dip tube up pretty fierce but accurate electrolyte level measurement is still obtained with a liquid to measure in the clear but oily tube... With some research one might find a manufacture willing to certify their battery snake oil for use in acid electrolyte - but I've not seen it.

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#10) by KEG on Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 08:47:45 PM MST

Well I do have a set of NiCad batts and have put the mineral oil in, don't know if it is realy doing any good yet, but it seems to keep the out gasing from getting all over the vent cap. This is just an experiment that might last the rest of my life :-) Kevin   Kevin

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#11) by richhagen on Sun Oct 14, 2007 at 08:31:36 AM MST

I could see more of a use for it if the battery had an electrolyte that was alkaline, as the CO2 absorbtion rate would likely be slowed.  For an acidic electrolyte like in lead acid batteries, exposure to a normal atmosphere is less problematic.   Mineral oil would not effect electrolysis, generally the major form of water loss.  Also, if the water level dropped below the top of the plates, or if the battery was sufficiently jarred or agitated, I would think that coating the tops of the battery plates with mineral oil would be a bad thing, blocking part of the plates area.   As for corrosion on the terminals, I coat them with a skim of grease, and those little felt rings they sell help block the electrolytes creep up the terminals.  I can't claim perfect results, but it helps keep things managable.   Make your system work for you - Rich Hagen 'A Joule saved is a Joule made'

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#12) by sk windpirate on Sun Oct 14, 2007 at 10:30:51 AM MST

Some mineral oils are eatable, and not petro based. (caster oil)(canola oil). they may not have a negative effect on batery acid, as would a petro based oil.   The Pirate Ron [ Parent ]

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#13) by richhagen on Mon Oct 15, 2007 at 10:10:06 AM MST

I can't see it being good coated to the tops of the battery plates though . . . . Rich 'A Joule saved is a Joule made' [ Parent ]

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#14) by Ungrounded Lightning Rod on Mon Oct 15, 2007 at 05:22:52 PM MST

If you have cell caps containing a catalyst to react the hydrogen and oxygen back into water to reduce water loss due to electrolysis, oiling the battery would probably interfere with their operation - or wreck them totally.

Re: Mineral oil in Batteries (3.00 / 0) (#15) by zeusmorg on Thu Nov 08, 2007 at 07:09:53 PM MST

I saw a comment on greasing the battery terminals here, just a side note. If you do use grease on your terminals use a conducting grease, normal greases are an insulator! If you have a bad connection, which heats up, therfore melting the grease, and allowing the grease to come between your connection and insulating it. BAD IDEA. [ Parent ]

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