Got a free Battery today...

[xlr8nflorida]

Originally Posted by Paul Workman

Wow! That is totally outside of the realm of "normal", and contrary to anything I've experienced with them. How the battery is being used, comes to mind, e.g., were the batteries just idle, or was there also some small but constant current drain present? Battery life in lightly used applications (Vettes, lawn tractors in winter) makes me a huge fan of the little automatic Battery Tenders, FWIW.

Continue at your own risk

FWIW, in the process of the H2SO4 (Sulfuric acid) reacting (combining) with the lead plates to form lead sulfate (PbSO4), electrons are freed up, thus providing electricity. This is a normal phenomenon and is quintessential to the operation in lead-acid (H2SO4) batteries. The chemical reaction is reversed in the charging process; the free H2 displaces the Pb in the sulfate compound to reform H2SO4.

However, over time the lead sulfate morphs into a crystalline substance - a process that is not easily reversed - at least in the normal battery environment. The crystalline structure insulates the exposed lead plates from the sulphuric acid and thus reduces the effective area of the exposed lead plates. And, since the crystalline stuff will not readily convert back, some of the lead and sulfate are lost to the battery process "forever", i.e., the capacity of the battery is diminished.

Crystallization is not immediate; it takes time for the crystallization to occur, and the process is greatly impeded by the act of charging the battery. Therefore, in a daily driver situation, the battery is not idle long enough for much crystallization to occur before the battery is being charged again. Thus the formation of the crystalline stuff is arrested, and during charging most of those random locations where crystallization has begun tend to be sloughed off as precipitate to collect in the bottom of the (wet) cell. (In time the level of the sulfate rises to the bottom of the lead and zinc plates, effectively shorting out the cell. When this occurs the car battery will loose approx 2.2 volts across the terminals; 2 volts being the approximate output of a lead-acid battery cell)

The key to longevity is the charging process. Charging repels the sulfate process. And therein lies a possible problem: Shelf life. There was a time when batteries were shipped w/o the (acid) installed, just for that reason. We used to wait until the battery was sold before putting the electrolyte in and then it had to be charged for a few hours before it was ready. But, the handling of sulphuric acid and the safety precautions/liability for the average department store clerk is too much to be expected. So, batteries are filled and allowed to sit for heaven knows how long...quietly sufating away, regardless of whether it is a WalMart or AutoZone or whatever...it happens. (According to one source I read, a lead-acid battery will sulfate at roughly 1% per week, initially, and accelerate as the process progresses. The article said that a (lead-acid car battery) left at room temperature for a year w/o being charged would be essentially usless for the intended purpose. (I wonder about checking or asking about dates and shelf life before buying a lead-acid off the shelf. Fresh = better, I recon.)

Sometimes a battery left unattended for a period can be de-sulfated (to an extent) by way of a high level charging current. The high current causes the sulfate to break up to precipitate to the bottom of the cell, thus exposing the remaining lead surface for electrolysis - rejuvenation, as it were. To control the heat that is generated by the high current (that would severely damage the battery), the charging current is pulsed, aka a "duty cycle". The current pulses dislodge the sulfate, and the off time allows the electrolyte to cool between pulses. (However, I would never "de-sulfate" a battery while in my car(s). After all, the process intentionally stresses the battery, and if something goes wrong with the charger, or the pulse width combined with the ambient temperature results in excessive temperature, then hydrogen will come out of suspension and the battery will boil: add a spark and BOOM!)

Well, all the way around the barn to the Wally World batteries again...I believe (perhaps to get around the shelf life problem) their top of the line batteries come with a 3(?) year warranty for a 100% replacement - or at least mine do. After the initial warranty period the replacement refund is pro-rated over the remainder of the warranty period. (Been a while since I have had to buy one.)

In my biz, batteries and their care play a big role. That said, I'm not a chemist, so please forgive me if the chemical process I eluded to are not absolutely and 100% purely correct. (aka a disclaimer")

P.

I think your battery is toast. Get it load tested and get a new one from Walmart. Ctek does bring back some batteries that other charges can't.
In regards to it blowing up in the car its not going to as a result to of the way the Ctek operates plus the fact that you are going to ground the negative on a bolt down by your headers/manifolds.

The MULTI US 3300
has a patented method for reconditioning sulfated
batteries. The charger analyzes the state of the battery
and, if possible, recovers the battery and its
power.

http://www.ctek.com/PDF/MUS3300_flyer_US_low.pdf