Battery charging/sulphation question

[comfail]

I've been looking at buying a battery charger/maintainer for my rv (not a deep cycle) and for my plane. Battery sulphation seems to be a common issue, I basically know what is going on here but I have a question. Some chargers are capable of reducing sulphation by inducing a signal that matches the lead sulphates natural frequency thereby breaking the crystals up that are attached to the plates. Interesting concept but I was wondering if anyone has experience with these chargers and can support these claims? Will they actually extend the service life of any given battery? I will probably buy one of these chargers anyway as they are not that expensive compared to a normal smart charger, but I appreciate any comments. Thanks fellas.

[Jungle Jim]

I have a " Battery Minder Plus" that i have been using on a Gill G-35 for the past 5 years. The battery performs like new every year. I keep it on the Battery Minder all winter when I don't fly.

Jim

[photofly]

Some chargers are capable of reducing sulphation by inducing a signal that matches the lead sulphates natural frequency...

Sounds like a lot of hokus-pokus to me. What on earth is the "natural frequency" of lead sulphate?

[azimuthaviation]

There is such a thing but it doesnt work that way. Youre talking about a device that emits a frequency that is the resonant frequency of lead sulfate crystals and causes them to break up, that hasnt been invented yet. What they have is a device that sends high current pulses to the battery which will remove some crystals that cant be broken up conventionally. I would exercise proper preventative maintenance rather than try this repair method which im sure would damage the battery and take you from a weak/dead battery to an unreliable but full capacity battery.

[Heliian]

The best thing to do to your battery is to maintain a proper charge, proper electrolyte levels and proper specific gravity of said electrolytes. If you are parking your a/c outside all winter, remove the battery and store in a non-freezing dry place. If you fly all winter, try a battery blanket for the really cold months and keep it topped up with an automatic trickle charger. With the price of electricity these days, keeping it plugged in 24/7 365 is just a waste of money. Try topping it up once a week if you can't fly regularly. No need for fancy schmancy gizmos.

[photofly]

There is such a thing but it doesnt work that way. Youre talking about a device that emits a frequency that is the resonant frequency of lead sulfate crystals and causes them to break up, that hasnt been invented yet.

While I accept that individual crystals have resonant frequencies, that frequency will depend on the size of the crystal and on which lead sulphate you have. So I'm still wondering what the "resonant frequency of lead sulphate" is that they're talking about and how that could possibly help here. Maybe they're talking about some kind of microwave device to disrupt the crystal lattice. My money's still on hocus pocus though.

[Cyclenut]

Maybe there's some confusion here between Pulse or Reflex Charging and how that's supposed to help with sulphidation. (see: http://www.christiecbs.com/rf80-k.htm )

If not, +1 to Hocus Pocus.

[RenegadeAV8R]

There is such a thing but it doesnt work that way. Youre talking about a device that emits a frequency that is the resonant frequency of lead sulfate crystals and causes them to break up, that hasnt been invented yet.

While I accept that individual crystals have resonant frequencies, that frequency will depend on the size of the crystal and on which lead sulphate you have. So I'm still wondering what the "resonant frequency of lead sulphate" is that they're talking about and how that could possibly help here. Maybe they're talking about some kind of microwave device to disrupt the crystal lattice. My money's still on hocus pocus though.

The Battery Minder manual, which can be found at http://www.thebatteryminder.com/ , states the following (which is not a scientific explanation):

"The new line of 12-Volt, 24-Volt, 36-Volt and 48-Volt battery systems utilize patented technology to produce a wide range of high frequency pulse designed to dissolve both old and newly-formed sulphate. Using Random Frequency Pulsation (RFP) technology, these devices sweep the entire frequency range known to cause sulphate crystals to resonate (dissolve). This allows the sulphuric acid in the sulphate crystals to safely return to the battery’s electrolyte."

[Cyclenut]

Like I said, Reflex Charger.

Often seen in Ni-Cad Constant Current Chargers. Now seems to be being brought into the lead acid world.

[Mr-fix-it]

ive seen a guy put a little solar panel in his window plugged into his battery when he parks his a/c outside. a good way to keep it topped up when not using it. Just my 2cents

[comfail]

Google led me to a "magnalabs" page explaining a technology that they are currently working on. Apparently they say the sulfur crystal's natural frequency is 3.26 Mhz. As Azimuth pointed out my confusion was that this was a technology already out in currently available chargers; agreed that it sounds pretty magical. Preventative maintenance is the key for sure, thanks for the tips guys.