Battery Desulfation

[dmjlambert]

So, I've been thinking about battery desulfation lately. Supposedly sulfates can build up on battery plates and then they fail. I think desulfating can be done by excessive charging to the point of boiling the battery and topping off the boiled off water, or supposedly by using a charger that sends high voltage pulses during charging. What about a battery desulfation accessory, is this snake oil?
https://www.pulsetech.net/pp-12-l-po...ce-system.html

[NJ68stepside]

Not at all. I use the ctek battery chargers. Look them up.

[LT7A]

I also use desulfation pulse battery maintainers.

[FleetsidePaul]

I thought desulfation was that thing where they suck fat out of your belly.

Oh wait. That's liposuction... My mistake.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I thought desulfation was that thing where they suck fat out of your belly.

Oh wait. That's liposuction... My mistake.

If they puncture one's intestine while getting the fat out, they might get some sulfur. No, that's methane.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

If they puncture one's intestine while getting the fat out, they might get some sulfur. No, that's methane.

I have plenty of methane. (Just ask my wife) I think that I am singlehandedly destroying the ozone layer. Especially if I eat Mexican food.

[NJ68stepside]

https://smartercharger.com/collectio...-chargers/?i=1

CTEK, I have used these for years.

[Steeveedee]

I could maybe use one of those desulfating gizmos on my truck, but I'd be concerned about invalidating the warranty on my econoboxes.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

I could maybe use one of those desulfating gizmos on my truck, but I'd be concerned about invalidating the warranty on my econoboxes.

You really have to be careful with warranties. Those guys are pricks. One wrong move and you're out.

[Shifty One]

Originally Posted by NJ68stepside

Not at all. I use the ctek battery chargers. Look them up.

#metoo

Work like magic.

[dmjlambert]

OK, I ordered a couple of those PowerPulse gizmos. It's not a charger, but rather a maintenance thingy that desulfates batteries that are regularly charged, as on my '69 CST/10 daily driver and my wife's car. Time will tell if I buy batteries much less often.

[FleetsidePaul]

I have about 10 battery tenders and still have dead batteries.

It would probably help if I actually hooked them up and plugged them in. They don't work too well just sitting on a shelf.

[dmjlambert]

That's what I found interesting about these. There is no plug in for them, they only attach to the battery. Just install them permanently and let them work 24 hrs/day. It is only for a daily driver or battery that would be charged manually on a regular basis.

[dmjlambert]

I was kind of hoping somebody here on the forum who takes care of fleet vehicles would have ordered PowerPulse devices for some vehicles and checked it out and could tell us about it here. With me being the guinea pig, news about whether or not it works will be anecdotal. I bought them because based on reviews I read I'm guessing the device will pay for itself within a couple years, perhaps sooner.

With a fleet partially equipped with these and some tracking done, we could have some factual numbers and hard evidence. If I was owner of a business with a fleet of 50 or more trucks and could carve out a small budget for it, I would buy these for half the trucks and start tracking battery replacements on all vehicles, and do some math in an excel spreadsheet after a year. I think it could be calculated how many months pass before the devices pay for themselves.

I bought mine on Amazon for $38.91 each. I installed one in my Chevy truck today.

[dmjlambert]

.,,

[Grumpy old man]

50 + years ago these trucks worked for a living everyday without any kind of gizmo to hook up to your battery . anytime I see something advertised as new and improved with 2 wires to save my 50 + year old truck battery I just file it in the BS file . take a hammer and crack open one of those boxes and see what's inside ? That's saving your battery ?

[dmjlambert]

I am a little bit skeptical, too, and it is possible this belongs in the BS file, but I decided to take the chance and try it. That's why I mention in my post above I would sure like to see some calculations done by somebody who tries it on a fleet. Without somebody who controls a fleet joining with me, I'll have to just use the Amazon reviews and testimonials posted on the manufacturers website for evidence.

Here's what happened: I'm more cynical than skeptical. That's what lured me in for my device purchase. I'm a believer that 50 years ago battery manufacturers did not have the science and were not actively working to ensure battery failure by design at the end of the warranty period to ensure a steady stream of sales, and I absolutely believe they have the science figured out and do that today.

Same thing with headlights. For all the modern cars I have owned since sealed beam was replaced by the stupid little peanut bulb in a plastic housing, I've burned through $30 to $50 pairs of replacement bulbs once per year on average, and I did that for years. Brick and mortar stores absolutely do not sell factory replacement long life bulbs. O'Reilly, Autozone, Walmart, and all the rest have stupid "Silver Star" and other guaranteed to be super-duper bulbs for you to buy at a premium, and you plug them in and they burn out just a few months later. I've just recently in my life (5 years ago or thereabouts) started ordering H11LL and 9007LL bulbs online, and guess what, they really do last a long time. Years, not months.

So, I'm sick of wasting money on bulbs and batteries that are just designed to burn out because the manufacturers want a steady payment from me. I have to admit if I were them I'd be doing the same thing. You would have to be a real dummy to make and sell something really good that once people bought one from you, those people are completely done doing business with you. I don't blame them, but I'm mad at them anyway.

If I have a chance of making an expiration-date-designed and overly-expensive modern battery last longer than the manufacturer wants it to, then I'm going to take that chance. This battery thing really started to tick me off when the prices quite suddenly went WAY over $100 for a car battery a couple years ago, and I have to repeat my buying when the "old" battery still looks damn new on the outside and it seems like just a couple months ago I was out here in the Autozone parking lot with hand tools screwing with a bulb or a battery. Well, indeed, it was just a couple months ago.

OK, long rant over for now.