Rejuvenating Edison Flooded Nickel-Cadmium ED-160's and ED-240's

[SunEagle]

I disagree. I brought 171 cells back to an average 75% of the original specs. Average cell age is 33 years old. I've been running on that bank for just shy of 3 years now.





Sorry for the delayed response. I do not check this forum very often.

Here you go.

Getting a battery back to 75% of it rating may be possible but not always and at what cost. You also have to get rid of all that fluid which is toxic and can't just be dumped down the drain.
IMO there are other ways to save money and reviving dead batteries is not a guaranteed or cost effective or environmental path to take.

[plataoplomo]

in the end you will just be flushing money down the drain.

I disagree. I brought 171 cells back to an average 75% of the original specs. Average cell age is 33 years old. I've been running on that bank for just shy of 3 years now.

share

Sorry for the delayed response. I do not check this forum very often.

Here you go.

[inetdog]

Can you share some with me? I'm new so I cant PM

There is no PM function in the Forum any more....

[Stealth]

Got more documentation than can be easily posted here. Contact me via email.

Can you share some with me? I'm new so I cant PM

[plataoplomo]

I have been attempting to find any documentation on these

Got more documentation than can be easily posted here. Contact me via email.

[Mike90250]

You only need the float oil for long term usage. I'd skip adding it till you discover which cells are viable.

[wayne23836]

I just did a little follow up at the " maintenance of saft railroad batteries" It states for ED and SCM batteries 1/8 inch of cell oil on top of electrolyte. Use cell oil or high grade mineral oil only. No oil to spl batteries. Hope this helps if you have not already found it.

Wayne

[wayne23836]

Justin, I have a new set of Saft spl 340, the paper work with them dated 2015-05-07 has a note:#1. Cell oil shall not be used in the cells. #2 No electrolyte changes required. However if you can't get them back to life then nothing to lose, I would try Inetdog's sugestion. Good Luck.

Wayne

[Sunking]

Justin I will give you a couple of hints where to look.

SBS Battery.
SAFT Battery.

[SunEagle]

Yeah, got it wet cleaning up electronics after some big NiCd packs let loose, that's where I learned.

And, as for their capacity, right now one set has replaced a single lead-acid and even with 40 year old KOH has been running my whole room here, computer, radio, lights, etc, off of my panels. I'm very pleased even at their diminished capacity. Some seem quite dead, but only four so far out of the whole lot look flatlined. The others will come back to life at some capacity, probably 80-90% of their original cap I'm hoping. I have enough of them there *will* be one complete set of ED-160's that really kicks ass above the rest. After cleaning out the interior, they just need to cook on my panels for a couple of months. I set it to top off at 15.5v. The used set has actually gained performance that I've been using as-is over the past three months, this is why I steadfast don't believe you Sunking when you diss' my Edisons.

Bailey

While your experiment with those NiCd batteries may work for a while you have to understand that in the majority of the times most "flat line" batteries never get revived to the point of being trustworthy again. You can pump as much "fluid" as you want into them but in the end you will just be flushing money down the drain.

[JustinBailey]

That is nothing compared to Wet NiCd and the PH is a full point lower or 10 times more caustic.

On the flip side I think you will learn a very expensive lesson. More than likely the batteries arr Boat Anchors.

Yeah, got it wet cleaning up electronics after some big NiCd packs let loose, that's where I learned.

And, as for their capacity, right now one set has replaced a single lead-acid and even with 40 year old KOH has been running my whole room here, computer, radio, lights, etc, off of my panels. I'm very pleased even at their diminished capacity. Some seem quite dead, but only four so far out of the whole lot look flatlined. The others will come back to life at some capacity, probably 80-90% of their original cap I'm hoping. I have enough of them there *will* be one complete set of ED-160's that really kicks ass above the rest. After cleaning out the interior, they just need to cook on my panels for a couple of months. I set it to top off at 15.5v. The used set has actually gained performance that I've been using as-is over the past three months, this is why I steadfast don't believe you Sunking when you diss' my Edisons.

Bailey

[Sunking]

Fully aware of the hazards. Many have warned me. I also got that nasty stuff on my hand a few years back cleaning up a bunch of leaked AA's. Ouch. Learned about that crap the hard way.

That is nothing compared to Wet NiCd and the PH is a full point lower or 10 times more caustic.

On the flip side I think you will learn a very expensive lesson. More than likely the batteries arr Boat Anchors.

[JustinBailey]

... That would be about 300 grams per liter. Same ball park.
Not sure about the LiOH concentration for NiCd though.

This is exactly why I wanted to do a side-by-side test of both a set with and another without. With all of the cells I have, I have three banks of ED-160,s and one ED-240 set (10x cells for 12v system). One of the ED-160's will have LiOH in the electrolyte to see if there's a difference. Might work better, might not, only really one way to know.

You are getting close. Battery acid is nothing compared to what is needed for wet NiCd. At least battery acid you got time to wash it off before a major burn is incurred.

Fully aware of the hazards. Many have warned me. I also got that nasty stuff on my hand a few years back cleaning up a bunch of leaked AA's. Ouch. Learned about that crap the hard way. I'm also hitting the home depot for some sheets of thick plastic for the workspace, and some NBC gloves from ebay. Acid can be neutralized with baking soda to get you to the hospital in time to deal with it, KOH on the other hand just keeps going til it's all chemically reacted. I got scared once with it, know better than to be lax with gallons of it this time.

Bailey

[Sunking]

OK: One totally non-authoritative source (http://www.aviationpros.com/article/...nce-procedures) says"The electrolyte used in the NiCad battery is a 30 percent solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH) in distilled water."
That would be about 300 grams per liter. .

You are getting close. Not going to help out here, just too dangerous. But this is one are where "Don't Get Any On You" applies. Battery acid is nothing compared to what is needed for wet NiCd. At least battery acid you got time to wash it off before a major burn is incurred.

[inetdog]

Various web sources, including http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...6403211600232X, indicate that for NiFe the molarity (gram molecular weight of KOH per liter) should be in the range of 5 or 6. Since the molecular weight of KOH is about 56, multiply that by 5 or by 6 to get the number of grams to add to each liter of water.
But no comparable information for NiCd. I would not take a chance on assuming that the concentration should be the same.

OK: One totally non-authoritative source (http://www.aviationpros.com/article/...nce-procedures) says"The electrolyte used in the NiCad battery is a 30 percent solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH) in distilled water."
That would be about 300 grams per liter. Same ball park.
Not sure about the LiOH concentration for NiCd though.