How to deal with the dead lead acid battery?
Lead acid battery is known to be the oldest rechargeable battery type available in the market. You might have one or more dead lead acid battery at home. How long does a lead acid battery last for? Is it time to the end of its life or are there some other reasons to cause its end?
Don’t throw out the dead battery at will. Scientifically it is considered that lead acid batteries are harmful for our health as it may create burns and other permanent damage if we come in close contact with it due to the use of diluted sulphuric acid electrolyte. And lead compounds can be absorbed through ingestion and inhalation. Moreover, lead is an acutely and chronically toxic compound, and is also highly toxic to fish, other animals and plants. Any materials leak during production or unattended disposal could result both environmental problems as well as health hazards. But on the other hand, these batteries can be recycled and reused in the making of new batteries based on the recent survey reports in this area.
This sounds dangerous, and do you still want to study the lead acid battery? Of course, I am still eager to know how to prolong its life. You might think that it is so cheap that it is not worth to spent time to maintain it. It is wrong. If you take care of your battery, it also takes care of you. Not only it can save your money, but also it brings more convenience for your daily use. For example, if you don’t check and maintain your car battery, it might happen one day that your car suddenly can not get started due to the battery. At this point you will realize that it is important to maintain your battery.
So how should I maintain a lead acid battery on earth?
First, protect yourself with some extra accessories. You can place the safety glasses over your eyes and wear a glove on your hand whenever performing any type of battery maintenance. Because the small particles can emit from the steel brush, meanwhile, small pieces of white corrosion can become airborne.
Secondly, check the external of batteries. Wipe down the exterior of the battery with a dry cloth. While do so, look for bulges or cracks in the battery case. If any are found, there indicate the battery needs replacing.
Then use a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of your lead acid battery. If batteries are cycled very deeply and then recharged quickly, the specific gravity reading will be rower than it should be, because the electrolyte at the top of the battery may not have mixed the “charged” electrolyte.
Forth, check the electrolyte level in wet-cell batteries at least four times a year and top each cell off with distilled water. Do not add water to discharged batteries. Electrolyte is absorbed when batteries are discharged. If you add water at this time, and then recharge the battery, electrolyte will overflow and make a mess. Of course, if the battery is maintenance free, you don’ need to do this.
Finally, clean both battery terminals and both cable ends by gently scrubbing them with a stiff wire brush. If the terminals are not clean, it may mean that the plates have been sulfated. If the cables are loose, it may cause the battery poor contact. But do not tighten or remove the cables while charging or discharging. After the battery is clean, gently rock it back and forth to ensure that it is still securely locked in place. Tighten the battery hold-down clips if necessary.
Please note: any spark around batteries can cause a hydrogen explosion inside, and ruin one of the cells, and you. So never smoke or allow a spark or flame in vicinity of lead acid batteries.
The above tips are that you can do for the lead acid battery. With proper care, lead acid batteries will have a long service life and work very well in almost any power system. Unfortunately, with poor treatment, lead acid batteries life will be very short.
Source: www.leoch.com
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