EDTA to extend battery life?

[mikethebike]

I saw it on here:-
http://www.courtiestown.co.uk/index.htm
I have to say, I was not convinced when I read the info' but I thought for the sake of a few quid, I would give it a go and up to now it works.  The site also has desulphating chargers etc. that you can purchase in kit form or built up for an extra fee.
Mike

[Justin B.]

OK, Mike, on your glowing endorsement I ordered some of this snake-oil, and just for grins I tossed in a "High-Power Desulfator/Pulser" kit.  I have an older (4-5 years old) BMW R65 battery that won't take or hold a full charge anymore so I am going to test these things and report back.

[Justin B.]

Mike, OK, I got the EDTA and the "High-Power Desulfator Kit" in the mail last Saturday.  Did you replace the acid in your battery after treating and recharging?  Also, I assume that this packet is enough of the stuff for a full-size battery, did you use all of it in the motorcycle battery or just a proportionate amount?

[mikethebike]

I used a proportion of the "normal" battery amount.  I haven't changed the acid after treatment and it is still going strong and starting after long ( 1 - 2 weeks) rests.  I would be interested to know how the kit performs.I read the reports and it seemed quite an involved set of instructions.  I found that hot water dribbled onto the powder whilst stirring with a plastic spoon was the best way to form a solution without diluting it too much.  I then used a measuring syringe to split the solution to the six cells.

I used to be in heavy goods transport and we have disposed of lots of batteries "before their sell by date".  Our recovery truck very rarely ran (good fleet servicing!) but when we did need it we would often have to jump start it due to battery drain.  Eventually i used to put notes in my diary to swap the batteries between the recovery truck and a more regularly used tractor unit.

Hope it works for you
Mike

[Justin B.]

I just got am e-mail back from Richard (from Courtiestown Marine Limited) and he indicated he would use a proportional amount as well.  I figure I'll weigh out 1/3 of the packet and try that.  This will be going into the 20 AH BMW battery for the R65.

I assembled the desulphator kit this morning and currently have it hooked up to this battery.  The documentation indicated it would take 10-14 days for it to work it's magic!!  I'm going to load test it after about a week and if no significant improvement I'll add the EDTA.

The kit itself went together in about an hour and the components are of excellent quality.  I was somewhat impressed to find such a high quality circuit board in a kit such as this.  The substrate looks to be the fiberglass type (like computer boards are made from) instead of the el-cheapo crap most consumer grade electronics are made from.  It is also a double sided board with plated thru-holes so everything solders nicely.  The only complaint I would have is the documentation.  I don't know if I would have been able to build the board if I wouldn't have been an electronic tech in a past life...

I'll let everybody know what my results are - good or bad...

[trolle]

This thread inspired me to invest in a good trickle charger and a desulphator kit from Courtiestown to use on an old BMW 20AH battery that has been standing around in my workshop for four years.

My "new" three year old battery collapsed a cell this summer and I am now driving around with a 17AH closed lead/acid battery from a cheap "starterpack". This battery really needs desulphating.

I have ordered a new battery which will recieve the best care possible with both the trickle charger and the desulphating kit. BTW the trickle charger desulphates as well, so now I expect the new battery to last forever  

greetings from a grey and windy north

trolle

[Danie]

Any new updates about the EDTA treatments ?

Thanks

Danie

[Justin B.]

I have not added the EDTA yet.  I am trying the de-sulphator first, but the outlook is grim...

Trolle, which kit did you get?  I ordered the "High-Power" kit.  I still need to find a suitable box to put it in but it went together without a hitch.

[trolle]

I got the "small" kit in a box ready to use. It arrived yesterday and as the old battery is dead - the trickle loader managed to raise the voltage to 11.2 and after 24 hours the voltage was down to 8.7 - I have not had the opportunity to try it out yet. Never the less I connected it to the dead battery and the box began emitting a highpitched whine, so it works.

BTW the trickle loader and the desulphator kit use different ways to desulphate: The trickle loader uses pulses of voltage, maybe 50 per sec. whereas the desulphator kit uses a very  high frequency that knocks  the sulphate off the plates. Must be working just like my supersonic electrical toothbrush :-)

Now I will let it work for a week and the recharge the battery to see if there is any gain.

greetings from a rainy and grey north

trolle

[Danie]

I do appologize if my question sounds a bit stupid, but I would like to know the following:

 Is the desulphator kit ( the high frequincy loader) really needed - in other words, could EDTA not be
 used without the high frequincy loader ?

Regards

Danie

PS. I am also interested in trying to get hold of this stuff .

[Justin B.]

The dude from Courtiestown Marine Limited had this to say:

"Always go with the desulphator first. The EDTA just dissolves the
sulphate and it doesn't go back into the electrolyte so the electrolyte is
permanently weakened. It simple clears more of the plate to allow the now
diluted electrolyte to get back at the plate again.

"You will see an improved battery performance but not as great as
that gained by the desulphator (assuming the battery responds to the
desulphator in the first place which rather depends on the state of the
battery to start with)."

This was part of a discussion I had with him AFTER I bought both so I don't think from a sales standpoint he had anything to gain by not offering me an honest opinion.  Their website hints that the desulphator might need two weeks to do it's magic so the jury is still out...

So, Danie, you might want to go to the referenced web page and poke around as he has a lot of links and some discussion about these things...

[Danie]

Thanks for your reply.

I suppose it might make sence to use the kit on all batteries while still in good condition - rather trying to squeeze extra life from a dead battery ?

It looks like if I will have to import a kit anyway. I already started to find the stuff locally - even visited a pharmacy to try and find EDTA. According to the chemist EDTA is not available in SA . He also told me EDTA is definately not the same as Epsom salt.

I will have a look at the reference page and links.

Regards

Danie

[tagordon]

Danie
The epsom salts is a whole other way of revitalizing a battery.
I have used the the salts & surging processes successfully, never used any other.
Epsom salts is cheap and available every where.
Troy

[bjamesw]

Would this be the optimal replacement battery for our bikes?

http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/SLA/1/Panasonic/LC-X1220P/LC-X1220P/SL105/34L105S6

[Justin B.]

That seems to be a pretty popular battery as is the Odyssey PC680.  I also have experimented with a battery from Gruber Power in the Junkyard LS:

http://www.gruberpower.com/gruberpower/advertising/batteries/cutsheets/58-ytx20-bs.asp

So far it has worked great and they are fairly inexpensive.