Fixing car batteries/marine batteries....

[Scarpozzi]

I've got 3 cars, 2 boats, 2 riding mowers, and an ATV. Batteries used to cost $50 to replace, but now I'm seeing them run $150-190 before the core refund. It's getting pretty stupid because they also used to last 4-5 years. I'm lucky to get 3 out of them and it's a pain when you can't get something to crank.

I've got a battery that's been sitting in a boat that needs to be replaced, my 4Runner's battery was replaced in 2018 and last year wouldn't hold a charge for more than a few days or so, and my lawn mower battery is also requiring charging each week....I'm thinking I may buy me some gloves and goggles and fix them all, then maybe look into a few strategic solar battery maintainers.

Anyone had any luck doing this?

 

[killster1]

like this? How to Recondition a Car Battery (jdpower.com)

I didn't figure it would work for me, I have had batteries last great lengths of time and not just 3 years. why not try and let us know. shouldn't cost much more than 10$ to find out.

 

[RLGL]

One of the biggest reasons battery's fail is lack of use, (boat lawn equip) and failing to recharge completely. What is linked to in post #2 looks interesting, won't hurt to try it with the boat battery.

 

[herm0016]

sounds like you need to disconnect them when you are not using your things. also, they should all last longer than that. I have good luck with the diehards from advance auto.

solar chargers work. I have one in my slide in camper. battery has been in there for at least 5 years and I have not had to replace. i don't think I have even used the camper in more than 12 months.

 

[NutBucket]

A maintainer is definitely the way to go for equipment that doesn't get constant use. Plus most small engine "charging" systems are pretty shitty to begin with.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Any recommendations on a good cheap solar charger? I know Northern Tool has them, but haven't done any research yet on the best bang for my buck with them. That's the kind of cheap circuitry thing that I would expect to find reasonably priced on eBay or some bulk reseller that bought a bunch to move.

 

[NutBucket]

I think the cheaper solar ones are just trickle without any real regulation circuity. What I've read is, if the current is low enough you don't need any extra circuitry. Typically if it's like 5W or 10W it'll just be a direct connection with a fuse.

 

[herm0016]

i would do somthing like this: https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-P...ocphy=1014570&hvtargid=pla-349572666211&psc=1

it has an actual charge controller.

the one on my camper is 100 watts, but we use it to run stuff when camping. 10 should work great for keeping the boat batteries charged.

 

[Scarpozzi]

i would do somthing like this: https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-P...ocphy=1014570&hvtargid=pla-349572666211&psc=1

it has an actual charge controller.

the one on my camper is 100 watts, but we use it to run stuff when camping. 10 should work great for keeping the boat batteries charged.

As Nutbucket said, I don't think the circuitry would be required....but having the controller there would be nice if I wanted to repurpose the unit. I may grab one of these to try it out and get a second if it works well. I'm likely going to end up getting me another riding mower for my other properties so I'm not having to truck them around and it'd be nice to have this setup to maintain the battery for me. As for the primary boat battery, I'm pretty sure the charging circuit was good enough before to keep me from having issues with it. Bigger battery, more capacity to hold a charge....more CCA capacity too. In any case, I've got power in my boat house...I don't have power in either of my garden sheds at this time.

 

[herm0016]

you could just set up a couple cables in your shed, mount the panel and controller in the shed and plug them in when you park them. i like having the controller, more flexible, and will have some protection from overcharging or the diode going short and killing your battery or something. you could put a light in the shed as well.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I found this video on Youtube and got me a similar battery charger...

I think I'm going to go this route so I don't have to mess with the acid and will just top the cells off if they've leaked. If this doesn't work, then I'll filter the acid and clean the inside with baking soda/epsom salts just to get the crud out of it.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I got this today. I actually found a few other models that looked good, but they were basically the same cost and didn't have the same amperages. My current Die Hard starter charger is not 200amps....it's only 50amps with a 10amp battery charger and a 2amp trickle charger. It gets the job done, but this thing really hums when you flip the switch.



I've done 2 cycles on my lawn mower battery following similar recommendations of the video I posted. I hit it with 200amps for 10 minutes the first round instead of 15. I was initially worried and didn't want to see the battery overheat or have issues. It must be reading the amperage from the battery because it started cutting the charge and letting the battery rest. The pauses were getting longer with further time in between bursts too....so that's good.

Before I started, 2 of the cells were a little low, so I put some distilled water in them. 200 amps makes the cells bubble pretty quickly, so the top of the battery ends up getting a coating of sulfuric acid pretty quick (hence the rags).

I think my core issue is that my yard is only 1/3 acre...so I don't mow long enough to really top the battery off (20-30 minutes). At the same time, I've been charging it 100% using a trickle charger/battery charger occasionally, but it won't last very long without needing another charge...even though I mow once a week. It didn't have this problem initially, so I may definitely have a parasitic drain going on. My next step with all of this is to find a good inline kill switch to install so I can quickly disconnect the battery without a wrench.



I'm also looking forward to trying this process on a dead boat battery as soon as I can get it home....as well as my 4Runner's battery that needs to be refreshed. If I can fix those 3 batteries for another few years, this charger will have paid for itself.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Thanks Obama!

 

[Scarpozzi]

I'm going to see how well the combination of all that effort works out. Additionally, I've been working on my 4Rrunner's computer, a mower that needs a carb and choke rebuild, and an outboard that needs an oil change and who knows what else (electrical system is dead).

Once I get all that junk done with the slew of parts I've ordered, I'm going to be working on the 4Runner and a 10 year old battery I got for the outboard. I'm going to see if I can bring it back to life. (should have it home by tomorrow or Wednesday) I'm looking forward to knocking out some of these projects just to be done with them.