Battery Recovery

Battery Recovery and Maintenance

Please note: I do not claim to be a battery expert, or even play one on TV. Whether you agree on the merits of anything on this page or not, most of it is worth reading for the information alone. You can certainly learn a lot about FET's and inductors by investigating the pulser offerings. I did.

It is difficult to tell from these pictures, but the battery that has been opened has LOTS of corrosion on the connecting bars, and the plates are beginning to buckle. The separators are totally dry. One of the links is completely open, and one is shorted to the opposite plate.
The battery behavior before dissection was representative of most of the small sealed batteries that I have removed from backup power supplies and alarm panels; apparently designers of both types of equipment were less concerned that the batteries could be overcharged, rather than risk that runtime be shortened.
The battery with the bulge in the middle appeared to be healthy, and was left on a C/10 charge overnight. The next morning, the battery was very hot, and had separated from its neighbor in the pack. The results are obvious. I think I am going to stick with flooded batteries and nicads. :( busted panasonic batteries