very interesting video not sure where it should go so move it if it needs it... also some more things that might be of interest... pakastani truck - YouTube
We used to restore old 6V batteries all the time! Not that hard to do! FInd one that isn't leaking and still has it's fluids and good terminals, Dead Short it with a heavy leaf spring chunk until it's cool to the touch, drain and refill with acid and slow charge it! Should take a charge just fine! You can flush them with vinegar if their really bad, to clean out the plates and then fill with the acid solution!
! HOLY TOLEDO URA-Ki, I've never tried to restore a lead acid battery, pity because I got a pair of severely abused, 100 amp, 6 volt, five year old Trojans that never froze. I purchased them new and for the first couple of years before I got solar panels, I routinely ran the battery charge down to near death and frequently left them with minimal charge and seldom if ever gave them a full charge, (all the abuses I just mentioned supposedly permanently damage and drastically shorten the useful life of lead acids, even if it happens a few times). I'm tempted to try one of the many old wives battery restoration tales to see if they can be restored because I got nothing to lose after all, the biggest question is which tale to try first? I've never heard of shorting lead acid batteries out as an effective method of restoration, it certainly would heat up the lead gizzards if not melt/warp the plates and/or blow the battery clean up! How'd you get away with that? I want to try it but I'm scared!
Pull the caps off first so it can vent freely, then dead short it out! There is something about the metulergy of old spring steel that allows it to transfer the energy slowly with out the esplosive results! My brother uses an old Craftsman wrench, again, it's the type of Steel!
OK that makes sense, the heavy metal short acts like a heavy load but dissipates enough heat to keep from glowing red hot and keeps the posts and plates from melt down too hopefully. I might give it a whirl, in the spring, with a face shield! Seems like I should then flush the scale out of them ... Thanks!
NO WAY though am I going too use my 1978 vintage, actually made in USA from components actually made in USA by people actually living and working in the USA, Craftsmen ratchet wrench as a battery shorting bar, that baby's a collectors item!
Don't use a ratchet wrench collector flavor or otherwise, the ratchet will self weld. Settle for an open end, or better yet a breaker bar or waste lug wrench. Don't ask.
And carbon steel is actually a lousy conductor at high temps. So hotter the shorting bar gets the higher the resistance goes. Interesting indeed...
