Hi,
I found out that lead-acid batteries evidently last 3 or 4 times as long if a sulfate salt is added to the sulfuric acid. It inhibits the usual corrosion and sulfation.
I also found a couple of patents where a sulfate salt is secretly hidden in the electrode separator sheet "of golf cart and traction batteries" so no one (even in the factory!) knows it's there. It just dissolves out when the battery is filled.
You can tell if your battery is already salted if you can find the cycle life specs:
100 -120 - 200... cycles: no salt has been added (most smaller batteries: deep cycle, RV, marine, and car starter batteries)
600 - 753... cycles: you can bet sulfate salt has been added to give them this longevity! (golf cart, forklift, very large batteries, very costly batteries)
I doubt you'll find much in between like 300 or 400 cycles to confuse the issue: either it's salted or it isn't.
* The best sulfate salt to use is pure sodium sulfate. That's only been recognized for 10 or 20 years AFAIK.
* In the past sodium-aluminum sulfate (alum) has been used - it works but it's not the pure deal. Its battery life extending effects have been known since before world war two!
* A few have used magnesium sulfate ("Epsom salts"). That's the least useful one.
Many web pages are devoted to battery renewal with alum. Sodium sulfate has barely started registering in the collective consciousness, which is mainly why I'm writing this.
My "claim to fame" here is that I did some experiments and determined the amount of sodium sulfate to put in, which I expressed as "a gram per cell per 2 pounds of battery weight" (12 volt battery).
Essentially for a new(ish) battery, you just add the salt so the battery will last much longer -- like the manufacturer would have done if they actually wanted to give you value and quality for your money.
For a "worn out" battery, you have to dump the acid and replace it with distilled water and salt, then do some charge-discharge cycles. Then you'll get more years of use out of it.
It seems that treating a battery in "mid life" can cause problems, in my experience.
More detailed info on my page:
http://www.TurquoiseEnergy.com/Na2SO4.htmlI want to spread the word. Nobody involved with lead-acid batteries wants them to last longer for you - not even the retailers.
What a great, decades old, scam "short lived" lead acid batteries are!
Cheers,
Craig