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- Aug 28, 2006
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- Boss Hoss (all models)
A little while ago the battery on my double cab started giving problems, resulting in the bakkie not starting in the mornings. I jump started the vehicle a few times and tried charging the battery, which gave me temporary relief, but before long the battery was dead again.
So I did what I normally do, went to my local battery shop and had the battery checked. I was told the battery is over 3 years old and needs replacing, which is what I usually hear in this situation. This time I decided not to spend the R1800 on a new battery that is going to only last me another 3 odd years, as I remembered a mate of mine had said something about reconditioning old batteries. He had said something along the lines of whenever you get a new battery, the shop always insists on taking your old battery. Apparently they then recondition the old battery and sell it as second hand.
I went home and looked on the internet and found stacks of info, including You Tube videos about refurbishing batteries, and it looked pretty simple.
The process was pretty much as follows:
Loosen the caps to each of the cells after pulling the sticker off that covers the caps, then empty out all the acid into a plastic bucket, taking care not to get the acid on yourself. make sure all the acid is out.
Then get about 3 liters of water and add about 500g of Bicarbonate of Soda, heating the water up on the stove to ensure the Bicarb is properly dissolved.
Pour this solution into each cell. The Bicarb will react with the acid traces in each cell and will bubble. Pour out the grey liquid into the plastic bucket.
Repeat this process again until the cells are clean. Give the battery a good shake to make sure all the crap comes out.
Then get distilled Battery Water from your local service station, don't buy the bottled stuff as it is about R40 per liter and you will need about 4 liters to fill your battery. The guys at my local service station were happy to give it to me free of charge. Thanks Wayne at Quarry BP :thumleft:
Take the distilled water and put it in a pot on the stove and add about 500g of Epson Salt to the water, stirring the whole time. Don't boil the water, just heat it until all the salt is dissolved.
Cool the solution. Then add it to each of the cells in the battery, making sure each cell is full.
Then before replacing the caps, put the battery on charge, preferably only 1 or 2 amps.
I left mine on charge for at least 36 hours. There should be bubbles in each of the cells while it charges.
After taking the battery off the charger, replace the caps and put the battery back in the vehicle and connect the terminals. Don't try to start it yet. Turn the headlights on bright and leave the lights on for 5 or 6 hours. I also turned the fan on high for this time.
Then remove the battery and put on charge again for another 36 hours.
After this the refurb is complete and you can refit your battery and use as normal.
I doubted this whole process would actually work, but it's been a few weeks now and my battery seems as good as new, bakkie starts first time every time.
Anyone else tried this?
Maybe this sounds like a lot of work just to save R1800, but it actually was very easy, and the only costs were for the Bicarb and the Epson Salts which was about R30.
So I did what I normally do, went to my local battery shop and had the battery checked. I was told the battery is over 3 years old and needs replacing, which is what I usually hear in this situation. This time I decided not to spend the R1800 on a new battery that is going to only last me another 3 odd years, as I remembered a mate of mine had said something about reconditioning old batteries. He had said something along the lines of whenever you get a new battery, the shop always insists on taking your old battery. Apparently they then recondition the old battery and sell it as second hand.
I went home and looked on the internet and found stacks of info, including You Tube videos about refurbishing batteries, and it looked pretty simple.
The process was pretty much as follows:
Loosen the caps to each of the cells after pulling the sticker off that covers the caps, then empty out all the acid into a plastic bucket, taking care not to get the acid on yourself. make sure all the acid is out.
Then get about 3 liters of water and add about 500g of Bicarbonate of Soda, heating the water up on the stove to ensure the Bicarb is properly dissolved.
Pour this solution into each cell. The Bicarb will react with the acid traces in each cell and will bubble. Pour out the grey liquid into the plastic bucket.
Repeat this process again until the cells are clean. Give the battery a good shake to make sure all the crap comes out.
Then get distilled Battery Water from your local service station, don't buy the bottled stuff as it is about R40 per liter and you will need about 4 liters to fill your battery. The guys at my local service station were happy to give it to me free of charge. Thanks Wayne at Quarry BP :thumleft:
Take the distilled water and put it in a pot on the stove and add about 500g of Epson Salt to the water, stirring the whole time. Don't boil the water, just heat it until all the salt is dissolved.
Cool the solution. Then add it to each of the cells in the battery, making sure each cell is full.
Then before replacing the caps, put the battery on charge, preferably only 1 or 2 amps.
I left mine on charge for at least 36 hours. There should be bubbles in each of the cells while it charges.
After taking the battery off the charger, replace the caps and put the battery back in the vehicle and connect the terminals. Don't try to start it yet. Turn the headlights on bright and leave the lights on for 5 or 6 hours. I also turned the fan on high for this time.
Then remove the battery and put on charge again for another 36 hours.
After this the refurb is complete and you can refit your battery and use as normal.
I doubted this whole process would actually work, but it's been a few weeks now and my battery seems as good as new, bakkie starts first time every time.
Anyone else tried this?
Maybe this sounds like a lot of work just to save R1800, but it actually was very easy, and the only costs were for the Bicarb and the Epson Salts which was about R30.
