[ausev] Open Garage this Sat... 9am - 1pm

[Brian Lasseter]

On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:52 PM, Peace<pc_5 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> A fellow EV motorcycle enthusiast highly recommends a desulfator to extend the life of lead-acids --
> http://www.pacificbattery.com/batteryminder.html

Desulfators are useful for batteries in regular cars, or boats... but
not so much in an EV.  Notice how in the FAQ you pointed to, it says
that sulfation mostly effects batteries with poor charging practices,
or batteries that are sitting.  In an electric vehicle, the batteries
rarely sit.  I use my car at least once a day... often times 2-3 times
a day.  I also, like most EV enthusiasts, keep my batteries full or
even floating when the car is not in use.

In my batteries you could see that most of the problem was the lead
itself.  It would break up, pit, and bits would be caught in solution
with the electrolyte.  My problem was due more to the extremely high
currents I used; I never owned the batteries long enough for sulfation
to take a good hold.

 Most desulfanators are not isolated, at least I had not found one
that was isolated, so desulfanating all of the batteries at once is
not currently technically possible (at least not with the products
that I have seen).  The other trick, of course, is cost.   Buying a
set of desulfantors for each battery will cost as much as a good
battery management system... and I think a battery management system
which will keep the voltage levels more even will buy you more battery
life than a desulfanator system.

That's my 2 cents.


-- 
TTFN,
Brian "Lasso" Lasseter

  ·  (512)736-1677  ·  AIM:digininja  ·  ICQ:2238123  ·  MSN:azoreg  ·
"No Sane man will dance."   -Cicero (106-43 B.C.)