Can a 12v auto battery be reconditioned with a stick welder? Let's find out what works, if anything.
I have 4 identical marine batteries with the exact same dates on all 4. The first step is to determine the best method of desulfating the lead plates. This will be done with a stick welder, and it's REAL dangerous. Just one spark, of any kind, and it's a hydrogen bomb. Super flammable.
I decided to test the first battery by simply adding distilled water until it was full. Leave the caps off for now. Then I connected the arc welder to the battery, and brought the amps up to between 125 and 150. After 5 minutes of a healthy boil from the welder, (which is when the hydrogen is most ready to explode, so be careful) Allow everything to cool down.
The next attempt is to find out if the process can be more "safety oriented". On this test, I emptied the battery acid into a bucket, then rinsed the cells out with distilled water. I then mixed up distilled water and baking soda, and filled the battery cells.
Baking soda is used to neutralize battery acid, I am aware of that. But maybe that's the better solution to use when forcing a battery to boil. I was still able to smell the hydrogen with the baking soda mix, so it's still flammable. I would have to guess it's much safer, in my opinion.
The only question now, is can I get it to hold a charge after desulfating the battery?