Recondisioned lead acid batteries.

[David97]

Hi everyone, I am trying to get a hold of a 6v battrey for a vintage car. The people I am trying to get their car running don't have alot of money to spend on one. But I have found this one...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=920768813

He says that it was reconditioned 20 years ago, but never filled since it was recondition. Wondering what affect it would have sitting with nothing it in. Would it negativity affect the battery, or would it be similar to the day it was reconditioned. Thanks.

[Muttley Snickers]

I'm not familiar with that specific battery although I did have a quick Google search and most results referenced golf carts, I did have to replace my motorcycle battery a few years back and I noticed when it was purchased that it felt a bit light, anyway we got it home and I remember that it had to be filled and was a bit like making two minute noodles. This is normal for motorcycle batteries nowadays as I found out, they ship them dry and it's up to the customer or else the shop to fill and prepare them.

Back then I did some research and apparently they can sit on the shelf for decades, whether it is detrimental I couldn't say but the new one that we got for the Suzuki did seem to struggle a bit to turn over the bike which was a GSX 750F, and obviously my battery was 12 volt.

I only replaced the battery because I was selling the bike to a mate and didn't want to hear any complaints, as it happened he only got 10 months out of it anyway and had to get another one and still sooks about it, the original is in the boat as a backup and still works a treat.

You might need to contact a battery distributor or vintage car club to find out if they can be repacked and if so what the expected shelf life would be, while your about it how much money to rebuild one in case it's no good, also if they can get them going again then I would imagine that the original battery case alone has a value.

Others will know more than me, some are vintage themselves.

Muttley

[Fraser]

If you bought such an ancient dry battery you would definitely be taking a risk.

1. You have the owners word that it was reconditioned. How well that was done is not known.
2. The battery has been dry for 20 years...that is a very long time for a chemical plate to remain unused.
3. You have no assurances on how the battery was stored over the past 20 years.

There is a saying in the UK ..... spending good money after bad. If the battery is in poor shape when filled with the electrolyte you will have wasted the purchase price. If the battery dies after a few months...you will have wasted the purchase price.

When it comes to a product that uses a chemical process to do its job, fresh is always best. I understand that the owners of the vehicle do not have much spare cash but wasting what little they have on a very old dry packed battery could be a very poor 'investment'.

In your position I would determine the needs of the vehicle in terms of  Ah and would look for modern alternatives to the original battery. You need 6V which is a PITA but such batteries may be available at reasonable cost for self propelled Golf bags or carts etc. You need to see what other 'vehicles' use a 6V battery of a similar Ah capacity and visit dealers or scrap yards for such. If you talk to a local dealer or repair centre, see if they will cut you a good deal or even let you have a 'used' battery as an act charity. People are often generous when they know that they are supporting a good cause. I certainly am 

As a side note, a colleague of mine ran an old Austin Mini on a salvaged 12V 38Ah Yuasa Gel battery for 10 years before it failed !  We all expected it to be killed by the poor charge regulation but it survived just fine.

Buy an ancient and unknown dry stored battery at your peril. You can't even do any tests on it until filled. At least a 'used' filled battery can be tested at many garages. I have high current dump testers in may workshop that will soon show poor capacity or plate condition.

Good luck and Kudos to you for trying to help a fellow human being in need.

Aurora

[wagon]

You may be able to 'rattle the crap' out of the old battery, with a big charger.  NOT a 'modern' switchmode type, but an old-fashioned transformer & rectifier type.  Might get it good enough to work OK.

[G7PSK]

Left too long and the plates dry out  and crumble, you would certainly have to wash the battery out before use and as others have said it will fail pretty quickly. Go to a commercial vehicle parts dealer, many trucks run on 24 volt systems comprising of 4  X 6 volt batteries, might be bigger than required but on 6 volt bigger is best. I can remember my fathers VW with a 6 volt system on cold days you were lucky if it would start and that was from new.

[mtdoc]

I'd recommend against that battery.

Is this battery just needed for starting? If so, any idea what the current requirement (cranking amps) required are?  Many generators and some lawn tractors use 6V batteries for starting and they are generally not expensive new and likely very cheap used.

Another option is golf carts batteries which are 6V, very rugged and ubiquitous.  They are true deep cycle batteries and hard to completely kill   You should be able to find a current used t105 golf cart battery for less than $50

[Neverther]

Just checking couple sites here, they sell new ones similar to the one on the picture (links at the top, "vintage battery" 71Ah) for 139€ and similar modern plastic tops for 119€ (6v/77Ah).

Used on old Beetle etc...

Buying used/reconditioned one that has been sitting a long time is kinda iffy as you have no idea how long it will last.

You just cant afford to save money by spending it...

[Psi]

For $50 you could buy a high C rating 7.6V lipo battery plus a charger and put them into a old looking car battery case

[Muttley Snickers]

As others have pointed out sitting on a shelf for twenty years might be fine for scotch whisky or mouldy cheese but for a car battery I would strongly suspect that it's passed the use by date.

Muttley