To recondition a lead acid battery, you need to remove the lead sulfate buildup from the plates and restore the electrolyte solution. This process involves cleaning the plates, adding distilled water and sulfuric acid to the electrolyte, and charging the battery to its full capacity.
This means you can use the same methods to rejuvenate all lead acid batteries. Although if you have a maintenance-free or sealed lead acid battery, they will have hidden caps that will need to be removed before you can revive them. So to rejuvenate your battery, you need to remove the sulfation build up on the cell plates!
All lead-acid batteries use essentially the same principles. This means you can use the same methods to rejuvenate all lead acid batteries. Although if you have a maintenance-free or sealed lead acid battery, they will have hidden caps that will need to be removed before you can revive them.
A lead acid battery typically consists of several cells, each containing a positive and negative plate. These plates are submerged in an electrolyte solution, which is typically a mixture of sulfuric acid and water. The plates are made of lead, while the electrolyte is a conductive solution that allows electrons to flow between the plates.
All lead-acid batteries are at risk of sulfation, which causes their inner battery plates to degrade over time, and become less conductive. Sulfation is the most common reason for a lead acid battery to lose a majority of its charge. Just because your battery is down doesn’t mean it’s out completely!
Here are some key points to keep in mind: A lead-acid battery consists of lead plates and lead dioxide plates, with sulfuric acid acting as the electrolyte. When the battery is charged, the sulfuric acid breaks down into water and sulfur dioxide, and the lead plates become lead sulfate.