[RaptorTerry]

The death of a lead acid battery

Guy's I have a 2012 825i that l still have the original battery in. The battery is still very STRONG. The killer of a lead acid battery is sulfur that builds upon the plates. If you look inside an older battery you can see this build up as a white scale on the gray plates. As the sulfur builds up the battery is less effective because the plate surface area is smaller. At some point, it'll kill the battery altogether.

I bought a battery charger that will remove that scale. I put it on each of my batteries once a year as a maintenance program. I have an older Optima battery that was weak and in cold weather didn't have enough power to reliably start my xterra. I put that battery on my charger/descaler and in 6 days it brought my battery back to a strong life. If the battery is a cheaper battery, it may not be brought back to life because the plates are too thin. But sulfur build up will still be a problem over the battery's life.

These can be had for about $150 on Amazon which is half the cost of my Bobcat's battery.
The one I have is BatteryMINDer Model 128CEC1: 12V 2/4/8 AMP Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator.

To me, it's a small investment when I have 11 batteries to take care of or replace.

 

[RaptorTerry]

BAM! Done!

 

[RaptorTerry]

Please understand that a simple "maintainer" is a little different than a desulfurizing maintainer. A maintainer is not capable of removing the sulfur from the battery plates. I'm not saying a maintainer with a sulfur killer is the alpha and omega all for a battery, it's just more than a trickle charger. Make sure when comparing the 2 to understand they are not the same.

18 years for your mower battery? WOW! Impressive! I'd love to have an 18-year battery in each piece of equipment.

I'm up to 10 12-volt batteries and 2 6-volt.

Kubota L60 Grand 12v
Bobcat T650 12v
JD 825i 12v
Kubota RTV X1140 12v
Honda Ridgeline 12v
Nissan xterra 12v
Ford F350 (2) 12v
Grand Design Reflection (2) 12v
1970 Honda CT-70 6v
1980 Honda CT-70 6v

 

[RaptorTerry]

Please understand that a simple "maintainer" is a little different than a desulfurizing maintainer. A maintainer is not capable of removing the sulfur from the battery plates. I'm not saying a maintainer with a sulfur killer is the alpha and omega all for a battery, it's just more than a trickle charger. Make sure when comparing the 2 to understand they are not the same.

18 years for your mower battery? WOW! Impressive! I'd love to have an 18-year battery in each piece of equipment.

I'm up to 10 12-volt batteries and 2 6-volt.

Kubota L60 Grand 12v
Bobcat T650 12v
JD 825i 12v
Kubota RTV X1140 12v
Honda Ridgeline 12v
Nissan xterra 12v
Ford F350 (2) 12v
Grand Design Reflection (2) 12v
1970 Honda CT-70 6v
1980 Honda CT-70 6v

I fully understand the basic maintainer is far from what Terry has to combat battery failure. Honestly, I never knew one existed like Terry has until this thread !! As for the mower battery, I try not to abuse it by stopping and starting frequently, but it sits covered for probably 6 months in an unheated pole barn in Winter and in that same bldg in Summer where temps often reach 100+ so go figure. Never been on a maintainer and never even disconnected for whatever reason. All this being said, I'll probably go out this Spring and end up replacing it !! How about a link to the product you use Terry ?? Thanks, Craig

Hey Craig. HERE is the link.