How do you "recondition" a lead-acid battery?

[John Bennett]

I have one of these cheap Johnlite laterns.

It has one of these 6V 4Ah / 20HR sealed lead acid batteries.

I've had the light about 4 years. After fully charging, it only runs for about 4 minutes before dimming to nothing.

How do I "recondition" this battery? I googled it, but couldn't find good information about what is reconditioning, and how it's done.

I can buy one of these batteries locally from Lowe's for $14.95

Is this even worth fooling with? Perhaps I should just throw away the old battery and buy a new one? Perhaps there is some other 6V rechargeable battery with the same physical dimensions that is better? (4" x 2-3/4" x 1-3/4")

Any advice appreciated!

 

[lightforce2]

Often one cell will die, I'm not an expert on SLA's but I dont think they can be recovered.
At 4 years old it's probably time to get a new one, after all what else can one buy for $14.95 these days

 

[jasonck08]

$14.95 seems like a lot. I have a torch that also uses a 6V 4Ah battery. The battery is junk now, hardly holds a charge. Locally (in Taiwan) I can get one for $5, or $8 for a Japanese made one.

I would think you would be able to get one for less than $10 if you look... I don't think its worth trying to "recondition it" just buy a new one...

 

[Bones]

...
How do I "recondition" this battery? I googled it, but couldn't find good information about what is reconditioning, and how it's done.
...

Give the 'Car And Deep Cycle Battery FAQ' a look John:

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/index.htm

 

[Flash_Gordon]

Replace it. You have a four year old battery with what sounds like a bad cell.
Here is a good resource for SLA and other small lead acid types:

http://www.batteryspec.com/indexn.html
Mark

 

[Fallingwater]

A desulfator can bring surprisingly knackered lead-acid batteries back to life. I have rescued my scooter's (12V nominal) flooded lead acid battery with one, and it was only reading five volts.
However, I wouldn't do that in your case, because
1) desulfators usually work better on flooded batteries than SLAs, and
2) a desulfator will cost you about as much as a new SLA.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

Forgive me, but you should not just throw it away. . . you should recycle it.

 

[Timson]

I'd be inclined to replace it with a Ni-Mh battery pack.
Depending on how much room you have to play with you could go with either C cells or even D cells.... Either way you can easily beat the std 4Ah capacity of your lead acid.

You could go with a 5 cell pack for standard 6v or be a flashaholic and go for a 6 cell overdrive :naughty:


Tim.

 

[glockboy]

I used this, but only for 12v.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200332201_200332201

 

[VidPro]

A desulfator can bring surprisingly knackered lead-acid batteries back to life. I have rescued my scooter's (12V nominal) flooded lead acid battery with one, and it was only reading five volts.
However, I wouldn't do that in your case, because
1) desulfators usually work better on flooded batteries than SLAs, and
2) a desulfator will cost you about as much as a new SLA.

yup what he said, pulse "overcharging" is one of the ways you can slam some of the metal back onto the LA batteries plates, BUT you cant accomplish that with the gelled electrolytes.
its probably toast anyways
also a gell cell will go bad when it has bubbled up internally , you can see that it has expanded slightly. any gas releaces from overcharge (bubbles), dont leave the gell easily. so make sure the cheap charger is charging it, and not overcharging it.

you have to keep Lead acid batteries CHARGED, but not overcharging, as a CONSTANT, any deep discharge or half charge left like that for a month and its Dead .
IF your intending on USING that light regularly, and using it till the battery is low, find a way (any way) to replace it with ni-cds or ni-mhy.
(me lead acid hater)
ni-?? things will cost a lot more, but this lead junk is not usefull for deep discharges ever, and even recycled the lead gets into everything. (see pics of 3rd world children recycling lead, living in acid cesspools)

if your not going to use it a lot, then keep it charged, and when you use it, charge it back up again.
The gell cells are good for (on the wall) emergency lights, and UPSes for computers, but they are useless for items that you will USE and discharge the thing often. bad for the enviroment, bad for the people, heavy as bricks, and just poor capacity also.