Is it Possible to Revive a Dead Battery with Epsom Salt - See For Yourself

Here is a little experiment I did seeing whether you can revive a dead 12 volt lead acid battery with epsom salt. I have seen other video's on youtube where some people had some success with this method so I decided to give it a try on a dead interstate car battery I had laying around.

Here are some other video's you may find interesting:

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Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchetsand Wrenches, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. Ratchetsand Wrenches assumes no liability for any property or personal damage that may arise from doing a repair on your vehicle after watching any of my repair video's. Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchetsand Wrenches, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Again Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Ratchetsand Wrenches.

[westhurman]

I watched your video, as well as, several others and then finally decided to "take the plunge". I bought and restored a 38 year old bass boat. It had a deep cycle battery in it for the trolling motor. I really don't know how old the battery is but it was completely dead. Charging it overnight did almost nothing for it.

I followed your instructions and then brought it up to over 12 volts after an overnight charge. (Then I got sidelined for almost 3 months following knee infection and surgery. The battery just sat for that time period.) I put it on the charger for a few hours last week then took my boat out to the river. The battery performed without any problems. I was on the water for several hours. Price to repair; less than $10. Price for a new battery; over $90.

Thanks my man. You saved me a bunch!

[LMF]

I really love this channel. Well done for actually showing the progress with a CCA gauge instead of just battery voltage! I just wish we could have seen the results of simply trying to charge the battery before going through this process. I have a feeling that this battery was in pretty good shape to begin with and only needed a full charge to start working properly.

[torahforeverwithmashiach]

Great effort without people like you to act out the experiments we as a people would have no idea where to begin....thank you for your time on this....

[randyherringshaw]

I was informed that you have to drain and recharge the battery at least 5 times. Each time you drain and charge it it will hold a little more amperage, but yes it absolutely can be done. I am currently in the process of reviving a 75 amp hour deep cycle marine battery that my father used to use for his trolling motor. After just 1 charge/discharge cycle it is holding steady at 9.5 volts. I know that it doesn't seem like a big deal, but after just sitting in a shed for almost 10 years and not registering at all on my multimeter a week ago it is monumental in this case.

[OverlandOne]

Some of the videos I watched where folks did this they put the used acid back in using a turkey type baster so as not to dump the metals that fell out of the solution to the bottom of their bucket. They only used the Epsom salts to clean out the inside, rinsed, and put the acid back in and it worked for them. I think they claimed this cleaned the sulfated plates inside to allow the acid to make better contact with them.

[StreetKingzLife]

lol....i like this review whether it was a failure or not, this guy demonstration was cool and honest with some humor as well

[Wen-venx]

This method might a actually restore a battery under some circumstances, but as a general rule, the most common reasons for battery failure would not be helped here. I used to work in an automotive battery manufacturing plant. While there I met a man who had actually tried to start a business which identified junk batteries that could be reconditioned for resale. (Junk batteries are the used batteries that shops take in from consumers, which are usually sent to a lead smelter to recover the lead.) The business failed, because only a small percentage of batteries could be reconditioned, and even the ones that could be reconditioned frequently failed again within too short a time to make them worth paying money for. And he tried this back when our roads in the US were generally in much better condition. Roads? Yeah, one of the most vulnerable parts lead acid batteries is the inter-cell connections. On a typical 12 volt automotive battery there are five inter-cell connections. If just one of these connections becomes damaged, the battery will fail. A battery that bounces around a lot on bad roads is much more likely to have this type of problem. Since most batteries these days are assembled via automation which requires higher molten lead temperatures, the lead takes on a crystalline structure which is more easily broken over time. If your battery is what we used to call an 'oddball' battery -- a battery type that is kind of rare -- then it's more likely that that battery was made by the hand method, which produces much better inter-cell connections. Road vibration can also cause the separator material between the plates in the battery to get worn causing shorts. The hallmark of a cheaply made battery is cheap paper-like separator material. Really high quality industrial batteries encase cells in envelopes of high quality separator material, but since this tends to make each cell a lot bigger, you rarely see this on automotive batteries. Most of the time manufacturers put better quality separator material in the batteries with longer warranties. In summary, automotive batteries simply are not engineered to last indefinitely, and in the greater scheme of things, they are not all that expensive to replace when needed. Sure, if you've got the time and inclination, you might put off the inevitable for a time, but even though batteries don't have moving parts, they eventually just wear out. Personally, a know a whole lot more about batteries from both the chemical, engineering and manufacturing standpoint, but when my battery starts to go bad, I just replace it. If it's still under warranty, fine. If not, I know that it was never engineered to work indefinitely.

[sp]

Tried & true...thanks for showing the amperage. Good solid review!

[ogie]

Your video got over 800 comments, you are doing something right. Very informative. Some of the comments missed your point. You asked a question and then answered it. period. Thanks.

[edspencer]

I operated in the nickel plating department where I work and the one key ingredient for conductivity in the plating tank is sulfuric acid. Not enough acid results in poor transfer of nickel to the part being plated. To much acid creates a crapy finish.
In this case the epsom salt is a cleaning agent and needs to be dumped out and the battery filled with sulfuric acid to a specific gravity. This can be checked with a battery hydrometer. If your careful you could filter the old battery acid. If you choose not to reuse the old battery acid I would recommend to neutralize it with baking soda.

[albinstroniarz]

This is very informative, well shown, and interesting procedure!. Thank you for the information, and show of results. Not a miracle by any means, but if one needs to try without spending a lot of money to purchase a new one, that can.. may not, but can help.

[Ziplock]

One of the problems with "quick fixes" like this for batteries is that people often just measure the voltage once, not the capacity over time with a load. Holding 12.6v is useless if that drops quickly under load. Your current test goes *some* way to explore this.

[lcagee]

This is a good video. Just like a chemist doing an experiment. You show the methods and the results. The comments point out all the other issues. The tube is cool. You can learn a lot, what works, what doesn't, why it works, why it doesn't, how to do it better, basic chemistry, electricity, how to use a load tester, etc. Whoever watches these how to videos should always read the comments for max learning and potential dangers.

I have a q. When you sand the terminal, does this release lead? Are they made of lead?

[johnrobinson]

1st No disrespect meant RnW .... A lead acid battery - or pile it used to be called has a limited amount of charge/discharge cycles for a few reasons. A long life lead/acid battery has 2 things about it's construction that give it a longer cycle time.
1 It has thicker plates. 2 It has a longer distance between the bottom of the plates and the bottom of the electrolyte
reservoir. The action of a lead/acid battery is sacrificial, Lead migrates from the positive plates to the negative plates in
the form of lead sulfate - which is conductive. Over time, Lead sulfate attracts to the negative plates coating them in lead sulfate. Causing decreasing current capability and voltage loss at full charge. Also, since lead sulfate is conductive it
will in time cause a high resistance short circuit between plates - OR from below the plates as some of the lead sulfate does not adhere to the negative plates, and falls to the bottom of the acid reservoir. In time causing an electrical short.
It is the chemical reaction between lead and acid causing the very electrical voltage to be produced that is used for
electrical power. The combination of plate thickness, Amount of plates in each cell, Spacing between cells, And distance
from the bottom of the acid reservoir. Determine current capability and service lifetime, There is no magic just chemistry.

Having said all that crap, Yes you clean the sulfate and get some more service from the battery - to a point.
Current and voltage will be reduced, sometimes dramatically. But it will take and hold a charge. How much of a charge
depends upon the remaining thickness of the plates - Period New acid and water electrolyte solution will only be as good as the thickness remaining in the plates themselves. It's not magic it's pure chemistry.
The magic battery additive you just pour in and it's like new - is pure snake oil simple as that. You don't get something for nothing - no matter what it is Animal chemical vegetable or mineral.

[Raykenn]

Good test! Thanks for including all of the fail points so that we can see what actually happens.

[mashburn]

Great video !!!! Love it...please make another on

[DIMTips]

Love this trick. Going to try it myself soon with some that I have sitting around. Thanks for the video.

[christophermendonca]

After adding Epsom salt you need to do an equalizing charge for at lease three days or more depinding how bad the sulfation is this will remove the sulfation giving you more plate surface area and adding cranking amps then it is wise to remove all the liquid and put the proper mix of sulfuric acid and water distilled water. I'm not 100% sure if removing the liquid and adding the proper mix of sulfuric acid and water will help in the long run but I do know that adding Epsom salt does remove sulfation but requires a lot of overcharging I'm in the process of fixing a battery now if you would like to see a video on that they will like it would be my first good video

[everythingcaleb]

Awesome job explaining the measurements and procedure with amperage on the charger. Most other videos just simply stated so pour some epsom salt over in a boiling pot and dump it in the battery then slap a charger on it and hat presto it’s fixed. Thank you for actually explaining it thoroughly!

[samurboi]

Hello, i had a 12v 4a that drained when it charged, had a resitance of 7ohms and had NO acid in it .
I recovered it by putting rain water and charging it on a solar panel . Works fine now.