Battery Desulphation Unit

[ROBDEN]

Hi.

 

I've been reading about these Battery Desulphation Units.

Have any of you had any experience of them?

Do they do what they say on the tin?

 

Any advice please.

Thanks...

[bottle]

Did a search found this lot: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1

 

The answer is somewhere in there.

[blodger]

I have a couple of megapulses and two other variants. They seem to help when recovering knackered batts or maintaining them in the shed. I got a 170ah lorry type starter battery for the boat and fitted one and there has been no drop in the voltage supplied yet. The old starter battery is wired up in the boot of the car as winter back up with the cheapest desulphator to avoid buying a new car battery.

 

What you have to watch is the battery capacity they can cope with. Some (most) cannnot cope with multiple batteries in banks. Also, they loose any effectiveness if you have to add in wiring to connect. I noticed that one type do not work below freezing, etc.

 

Most would say they are snake oil but I think there is some merit in their justification claims. Try & see

 

ETA they seem to work best when used in conjunction with charging which also replaces the small current they use. On the boat/car I use solar.

Edited December 27, 2012 by blodger

[dmr]

I would also be very interested in any real information about the success of these devices, and any genuine stories of success.

I am half tempted to get one and see what it actually does.

However sulphation is a big issue for liveaboard boaters and so if these things really do work then I am sure the word would have got around already.

Another issue for me is that the "theory" in the advertising blurb usually mentions crystals and resonance. Now as a bit of an old hippy myself, and also an engineer, I know that some resonances and crystals should be taken more seriously than others!

 

.......Dave

[blodger]

I would also be very interested in any real information about the success of these devices, and any genuine stories of success.

I am half tempted to get one and see what it actually does.

However sulphation is a big issue for liveaboard boaters and so if these things really do work then I am sure the word would have got around already.

Another issue for me is that the "theory" in the advertising blurb usually mentions crystals and resonance. Now as a bit of an old hippy myself, and also an engineer, I know that some resonances and crystals should be taken more seriously than others!

 

.......Dave

I think you are back though to there is nothing so good for batteries as correct usage and charging regime. Desulphators cannot really make up for the lack of that although they would claim to. Most batts get killed off by sulphation sooner or later so if a desulphator slows that down it is a matter of whether they save more in battery costs than their own purchase.

I only know I am still using batts and those that have been discarded by others which I believe the desulphators have had their part in recovering.

[Grace and Favour]

I would also be very interested in any real information about the success of these devices, and any genuine stories of success.

I am half tempted to get one and see what it actually does.

However sulphation is a big issue for liveaboard boaters and so if these things really do work then I am sure the word would have got around already.

Another issue for me is that the "theory" in the advertising blurb usually mentions crystals and resonance. Now as a bit of an old hippy myself, and also an engineer, I know that some resonances and crystals should be taken more seriously than others!

 

.......Dave

 

Well - - - if you're seriously going to fit a battery de-sulphator - - - - - - you'd better fit some of these 'fuel savers' to your boat then - - - and maybe even reconsider renaming it:

"Snake-oil charmer" (?)

[dmr]

I think you are back though to there is nothing so good for batteries as correct usage and charging regime. Desulphators cannot really make up for the lack of that although they would claim to. Most batts get killed off by sulphation sooner or later so if a desulphator slows that down it is a matter of whether they save more in battery costs than their own purchase.

I only know I am still using batts and those that have been discarded by others which I believe the desulphators have had their part in recovering.

 

I suspect that if a desulphator managed to slow down the sulphation process significantly then it would be a good purchase. For me if it meant having to equalise less often, or even do the 8 hour charge less often, then it would soon pay for itself. (Liveaborads typically charge for two hours each day, then do an 8 hour charge once per week and this obviously uses additional fuel).

My suspicion is that if you take a battery that someone has discarded as "dead", give it a really good charge with a desuphator attached, then it will most likely recover some of its capacity. However is it not the really good charge rather than the desuphator that has done this????

 

.........Dave

[vicafloat]

I used a Megapulse for several years and found that it extended battery life by about 6 months. However,I now use

Solar power (only a modest 30 watts) which trickle charges the batteries very nicely. Friends who have wind generators

confirm that the Solar option is by far the best

[dmr]

Well - - - if you're seriously going to fit a battery de-sulphator - - - - - - you'd better fit some of these 'fuel savers' to your boat then - - - and maybe even reconsider renaming it:

"Snake-oil charmer" (?)

 

I think that Fuel Savers are very different to De-Sulphators......

These "too good to be true" inventions fall into two distinctive categories.

Type "A" devises rely on crystals and resonance, and sometimes strong magnets.

Type "B" devices are the work of an eastern European scientist and also have a secret military connection.

 

All inventions, including perpetual motion machines, will fall into one of these groups, but fuel savers are usually Bs

 

Oh bugger, I am talking rubbish, I've just followed your link and it uses magnets, it is indeed a type "A" device.

 

.............Dave

[boathunter]

How about these then?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPITFIRE-MULTI-SPARK-IGNITION-UNIT-FOR-EXCELSIOR-MOTOR-CYCLES-RRP-20-/190683002414?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2c6597b62e

When I'd stopped laughing I broke one in half a friend had bought - 2 washers rattling around in a plastic case.

Edited December 28, 2012 by boathunter

[dor]

My suspicion is that if you take a battery that someone has discarded as "dead", give it a really good charge with a desuphator attached, then it will most likely recover some of its capacity. However is it not the really good charge rather than the desuphator that has done this????

 

I had a set of 110Ahr batteries that were showing all the signs of being severely sulphated after a couple of years. I took them home and gave each one a charge for several days, followed by about 16V from a bench power supply for 12 hours.

 

It definitely improved them and I had another 12 months use out of them.

 

However as others have suggested a decent solar panel is, in my opinion, the best way to preserve batteries especially for non-liveaboards who may go to their boat once a week or less. What kills batteries quicker than anything is leaving them partially charged.

[Tony Brooks]

How about these then?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPITFIRE-MULTI-SPARK-IGNITION-UNIT-FOR-EXCELSIOR-MOTOR-CYCLES-RRP-20-/190683002414?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2c6597b62e

When I'd stopped laughing I broke one in half a friend had bought - 2 washers rattling around in a plastic case.

 

Actually this is not as barmy as it looks but a shirt button would do just as well.

 

In the old days when a plug would not fire one trick was to cut the plug lead, trip the ends and twist each through opposite holes on a shirt or similar buttons. This air-gap forces the coil (or magneto) to produce a higher volatge before the gap ionises and this higher voltage can, sometimes, make a fouled or worn out plug fire.

 

Better off remagnatising the magneto or fitting electronic ignition.

[by'eck]

Actually this is not as barmy as it looks but a shirt button would do just as well.

 

In the old days when a plug would not fire one trick was to cut the plug lead, trip the ends and twist each through opposite holes on a shirt or similar buttons. This air-gap forces the coil (or magneto) to produce a higher volatge before the gap ionises and this higher voltage can, sometimes, make a fouled or worn out plug fire.

 

Better off remagnatising the magneto or fitting electronic ignition.

 

Agreed. An even simpler example is pulling one of the spark plug caps off a tad to allow a short air gap on a running multi-cylinder engine. You do stand a good chance of getting a belt through the HT lead though

 

First saw it done in Italy on an old 750 MV Agusta bike running on two cylinders. The guy just dabbed the connection on/off each plug once or twice until the missing cylinder chimed in. Got to ride it later

[ROBDEN]

Agreed. An even simpler example is pulling one of the spark plug caps off a tad to allow a short air gap on a running multi-cylinder engine. You do stand a good chance of getting a belt through the HT lead though

 

First saw it done in Italy on an old 750 MV Agusta bike running on two cylinders. The guy just dabbed the connection on/off each plug once or twice until the missing cylinder chimed in. Got to ride it later

As we're now talking about about bikes, I assume everyone's fed up of talking about Battery Desulphation Units.

 

Thanks all and have a great New Year

[blodger]

As we're now talking about about bikes, I assume everyone's fed up of talking about Battery Desulphation Units.

 

Thanks all and have a great New Year

 

Yes, but it was on the theme that snake oil works

[Keeping Up]

I once bought some triple-electrode spark plugs that promised better fuel economy, better performance, and the ability to run on lower-grade fuel. SInce the car I had at the time (a Triumph Vitesse) would only run on 5-star fuel, and used quite a lot of it, I thought they'd be worth a try.

 

At first I got only a slight increase in economy and no improvement in performance so I was about to classify them as "snake oil" but as they hadn't cost much more than the ordinary plugs which I'd needed anyway, I wasn't concerned. Then I filled up on 4-star fuel and the car ran better and more econmically so I filled up on 2-star. It ran amzingly well, with a huge increase in performance and much better economy.

 

There wasa garage nearby which sold 12 different grades of fuel. The top grade was 5-star, grade 11 was 4-star, and so on. Grades 8 and 9 were both rated at 2-star (grade 9 was recommended for 2CV's and grade 8 with some added oil was ideal for mopeds). Grade 7 had one star and grades 1-6 had no stars at all. I started to fill wthe tank with grade 1 fuel, which was only two-thrids the price of the grade 12 that I usually bought, and the garage owner came running out to warn me that I was using the wrong pump. Undaunted I set off down the road. Compared to the 5-star fuel I got almost twice the mpg, coupled with performance that was utterly unbelievable - for about a month, after which the engine literally exploded while I had my foot to the floor overtaking a line of traffic.

 

When I'd rebuilt the engine I tried to buy some more of those plugs, but they weren't available any more. Rumour had it that the manufacturers had been bought out by one of the major fuel suppliers, who then killed them off.