A few of you guys warned me in a different post that my new Crown batteries probably were sulfated and lost some capacity. I discounted your advice as the "sky was falling" and for that I apologize. It turns out they are severely sulfated and pretty much worthless.
I bought eight of the Crown CR333 batteries on Wednesday. They had six at the shop and six more at the warehouse. The six I took home had a June of 2015 sticker so four months old. I was disappointed to find five of them showed 6.15 volts and one showed 6.13 volt. I was assured they would be fine with a thorough charge.
Right away I found that they weren't showing typical charging voltages. I was also suspect because the 50a charger I borrowed wasn't tapering the current like I am used to on other chargers. I bought a 15a charger at Walmart and it erred out after 18 hours. So I set out to desulfate the batteries with the charger I borrowed. I couldn't get the specific gravity above 1.265 after four hours of equalizing (should be 1.275).
Today I picked up the other two batteries which were July of 2015 date. The had 6.25 voltage each.
After spending many hours trying to desulfate the six batteries I decided to take a good look at the plates with a flashlight. I was shocked what I saw. All six of the June batteries appear to be badly sulfated and the two July batteries look clean as a whistle. You can see it in the attached photos but it's really clear when looking in the cells. All six of the June batteries are severely sulfated.
I will be returning the six batteries Monday and asking for six new ones direct from the factory. Maybe I'll return all eight and get all new ones.
Anyway thanks for the advice. I have learned a lot about battery sulfation and how to identify it. More importantly, once I get a fresh set I will make sure my batteries never get sulfated.
I bought eight of the Crown CR333 batteries on Wednesday. They had six at the shop and six more at the warehouse. The six I took home had a June of 2015 sticker so four months old. I was disappointed to find five of them showed 6.15 volts and one showed 6.13 volt. I was assured they would be fine with a thorough charge.
Right away I found that they weren't showing typical charging voltages. I was also suspect because the 50a charger I borrowed wasn't tapering the current like I am used to on other chargers. I bought a 15a charger at Walmart and it erred out after 18 hours. So I set out to desulfate the batteries with the charger I borrowed. I couldn't get the specific gravity above 1.265 after four hours of equalizing (should be 1.275).
Today I picked up the other two batteries which were July of 2015 date. The had 6.25 voltage each.
After spending many hours trying to desulfate the six batteries I decided to take a good look at the plates with a flashlight. I was shocked what I saw. All six of the June batteries appear to be badly sulfated and the two July batteries look clean as a whistle. You can see it in the attached photos but it's really clear when looking in the cells. All six of the June batteries are severely sulfated.
I will be returning the six batteries Monday and asking for six new ones direct from the factory. Maybe I'll return all eight and get all new ones.
Anyway thanks for the advice. I have learned a lot about battery sulfation and how to identify it. More importantly, once I get a fresh set I will make sure my batteries never get sulfated.
Comment