Increase the capacity on Lead Acid batteries

Hi, I have a few Lead Acid 55Ah 12V batteries holding it's voltage at 12.7V, but I've measured the capacity to about 20Ah. Is there a way to increase the capacity on these batteries?

Flooded lead-acid, or AGM/Gel?
You could try an electronic desulphator like the PowerPulse by Pulsetech. I've used them for many years and found that they are effective (not just snake oil).
They could just be cycled out too - nothing is able to "fix" that.

mellowhead said:

You could try an electronic desulphator like the PowerPulse by Pulsetech.

Click to expand...

This should be interesting.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

This should be interesting.

Click to expand...

:laughing: LOL. Knock it all you want, but I've found them to be effective. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but it does give better results than a no-pulse charge.

mellowhead said:

:laughing: LOL. Knock it all you want, but I've found them to be effective. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but it does give better results than a no-pulse charge.

Click to expand...

I won't try to change mellowheads mind .... as long as he does not claim they will desulphate a battery .. they won't.

kje, would be good if you knew the internal resistance of the battery, that would tell a lot ....

Do you have a DC power supply? Simple high voltage charging can usually do most of what a pulse desulphator does .... which is not desulphate the battery, but may break some of the sulphate crystals off the surface (as will hard charging) and/or remove oxidation.

SunExtendor/Lifeline (Concord batteries) user manuals have a good primer on AGM battery recovery. Just be careful when doing it ... you MUST watch the heat and you MUST ventilate.

Lot's of stuff on flooded battery recovery .. again if you have a DC supply. If not, don't waste your money on a desulphator .. get a new battery and treat it well.

Hey, I'm with you SemiMan. If they were my batteries, I'd either scrap them or re-purpose them, and buy new ones. The only reason I made the suggestion for a pulser is that it would be cheaper than buying new batteries. And why would OP be asking, if not to save money That, and many people don't have the equipment or expertise to safely perform the high voltage charge exercise. If you're not paying attention, you could do the battery more harm than good.
And yes, I'm well aware that they don't desulphate the battery - just help shed the crystals from the plates.

Flooded batteries are much simpler because you can do a low-rate equalization charge on them without significant detriment.