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The Battery Builder’s Guide
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by Phillip Hurley
M A S WHEELOCK MOUNTAIN Publications
copyright ©2008 Phillip Hurley all rights reserved
illustrations and e-book design copyright ©2008 Good Idea Creative Services all rights reserved ISBN-10: 0-9710125-6-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-9710125-6-1
Wheelock Mountain Publications
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is an imprint of Good Idea Creative Services Wheelock VT USA
Table of contents
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How to use this e-book . .................iv
An INTRODUCTION to WORKING with BATTERIES Safety Recommendations for Battery Builders Protective equipment ......................4 Rehearse for safety ........................5 Safety for lead burning ...................7 Mixing chemicals safely . .................7
M A S An Introduction to Lead Acid Batteries
The chemistry of lead acid batteries . . 12
Charging ..................................... 13
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Types of lead acid batteries ........... 14 Hybrid batteries — the ultrabattery.... 16
Battery Components Battery case ................................ 22 Plates ........................................ 24 Straps . ....................................... 24 Terminal posts and intercell connectors ................. 25
DESIGNING BATTERIES
Basic Battery Design System voltage ............................ 29 Packaging the battery ................... 29 Amp-hour capacity . ...................... 29 Choosing plate type . .................... 30 Electrolyte and specific gravity ....... 32 Battery cases .............................. 33
Life cycle of pasted vs. solid plates.... 19 Alloys vs. solid lead for battery plates ......................... 20
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Table of contents
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Estimating Cell and Battery Output Cell Voltage ................................. 38 Amp-hour capacity . ...................... 38 Design parameters and characteristics of Plante plates......................... 38
M A S Estimating output by weight of sheet lead .............................. 39
Solid plate output table ................. 40
Design parameters and characteristics of pasted plates. ...................... 41 Calculate amp-hour capacity by volume .............................. 42
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Pasted plates output table ............. 43
Calculate weight of active material. .. 44
Electrolyte
Measuring specific gravity ............. 45
Desirable range of sulfuric acid concentration . ........................ 46 Electrolyte preparation .................. 48
Mixing electrolyte solution ............. 50
Determining electrolyte volume ...... 52
Calculate the specific gravity range. .. 52 Calculate the total weight of electrolyte per cell . ................. 53 Calculate the volume of electrolyte per cell . ................. 53 Specific Gravity Table A ................ 54 Specific Gravity Table B ................ 56
Calculate amp-hour capacity by weight ............................... 44
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Table of contents REBUILDING and RECYCLING BATTERIES Reconditioning and Rebuilding Batteries Reconditioning vs rebuilding ......... 59 Assessing discarded batteries ....... 60 Reconditioning ............................ 61 Battery reconditioning by charging.... 62 Water treatment ........................... 64 Rebuilding batteries . .................... 66 Battery malfunctions ..................... 66 What battery parts can be reused or recycled? ........................... 72
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Recycling lead for battery building.... 73
Draining the electrolyte ................. 77 Opening the battery case .............. 81
The mechanical approach . ............ 82 Applying heat . ............................. 83
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M A S Recycling Battery Parts
Assess the condition of the lid . ...... 83
Separating the groups of plates . .... 86
Repairing case covers . ................. 90 Processing negative plates for reuse ................................ 91
LEAD CASTING
Tools for Melting and Casting Lead Stoves for melting lead . ................ 94 Crucibles . ................................... 95 Heat and splash protection ............ 97 Other miscellaneous useful tools .... 98
Lead for Foundry Work Melting new lead .......................... 99 Melting salvaged lead ................. 101
Making Molds for Lead Casting Making forms ............................. 105 Mold platforms ........................... 108 Table of Contents continued on the next page
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Table of contents Making molds for lead casting, continued Release agents ......................... 110
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Plaster of paris .......................... 111 Mixing plaster ............................ 112 Pouring the mold ........................ 113 Removing the pattern and form .... 113 Cleaning and curing the mold . ..... 115
M A S Pouring the Lead Practice pouring ......................... 118 Using flux . ................................ 119 Casting straps without slots ......... 120 Casting straps with slots ............. 121 Aligning the mold ....................... 123 Melt and pour ............................ 125
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Finishing Castings
Casting Connectors and Seals Connecting rods ......................... 131 Casting pocket nuts .................... 133 Casting sploot seals ................... 137
Casting Plates Methods for casting plates ........... 141 Making a plate mold ................... 142 Release agent ........................... 145 Melting the lead ......................... 145 Measuring lead for the melt ......... 146 Level the stove . ......................... 147 Simple plate mold . ..................... 153 Finishing the casting . ................. 154 Casting plates without a mold ...... 155
WORKING with SHEET LEAD
Tools for Working Sheet Lead Smoothing sheet lead ................. 162 Making the cuts . ........................ 164 Making Plates from Lead Sheet Smoothing the lead . ................... 166 Finishing the plates .................... 177 Table of Contents continued on the next page
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Table of contents LEAD BURNING
Adding Plate Texture Surface treatment for Plante plates... 178
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Preparing Plates from the Burning Rack Making Plate Grids from Sheet Lead
PASTED PLATES
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Mixing and Applying Paste Using a binder ........................... 186 Mixing in the electrolyte .............. 187 Paste formula and preparation . .... 188 Safety procedures ...................... 189 Set up the work area .................. 192 Pasting container ....................... 192 Prepare the grid plate ................. 193 Measuring the ingredients .......... 193 Prepare the dry ingredients ......... 195 Adding wet ingredients ................ 196 Pasting the plates . ..................... 198 Curing and drying the grids ......... 199
Plate Burning Rack Design and function . .................. 202 Side slider rims .......................... 205 Combs ...................................... 205 Leveling feet .............................. 208 Tools ........................................ 210 Materials . ................................. 211
Tools for Lead Burning Torches . ................................... 212 Putty for lead burning ................. 213 Preparing surfaces for burning ..... 214 Cleaning the work pieces ............ 214 Lead wire .................................. 216 Post molds ................................ 216
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Burning Lugs onto Plates Burning lugs .............................. 218 Laying in a melt ......................... 223 Burning Plates into Groups Set up components in the rack ..... 224 Prepare the components ............. 226 Set up heat shield cloth . ............. 227 Set up the containment dam ........ 227 Final check . .............................. 230 The burn ................................... 231
M A S BATTERY ASSEMBLY Plate Separators
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Materials used for separators ....... 236
Battery Assembly Assemble the elements ............... 247 Fit and install the elements . ........ 249 Install the cover ......................... 254 Add the electrolyte ..................... 257
CHARGING and FORMING Plate Forming
Forming and charging basics ....... 259 Designated vs. actual voltage . ..... 259
Forming for Plante plates ............ 259 Forming cycles . ......................... 260 Discharging ............................... 261 Initial charging for pasted plates . . 264
Separator shape . ....................... 236
Ribbing ..................................... 237 Mesh ........................................ 238
Making sleeve separators ............ 239
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Table of contents Equipment for Forming and Charging Charging from the grid ................ 265 Manual chargers ........................ 266 Smart chargers .......................... 267 Charging multiple batteries .......... 267 Chargers for either grid or solar ... 268 Solar chargers ........................... 269
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M A S Charging and Forming Procedure Sequence for charging ................ 273
Discharging sequence for forming Plante type plates ................. 276 Next cycle for forming ................. 277
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Final charge .............................. 277 Safety during forming and charging.. 278
Wiring and Connectors
Formulas for working with batteries. 285
Tests, performance characteristics and statistics ....................... 286
APPENDIX Resources
Safety clothing and equipment guidelines ............. 291 Compliance Codes ..................... 292 Safety equipment and clothing ..... 293 Material Data Safety Sheets ........ 293
Materials and Tools Resin codes .............................. 294
O ther Titles of Interest.. ...... 301
Gassing .................................... 278
Equalization charges .................. 279 Electrolyte levels ........................ 280
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An Introduction to Lead Acid Batteries spongifying the lead on each plate, which enhances the performance of the cell. The porous sponge plates of Plante’s experimental cell produced about 7.25 amp-hours per pound of lead and had an efficiency of about 72%. Plante continued experimenting and improving on his lead acid cell for the next twenty years. Although the Plante batteries worked very well, they were not viable as a commercial offering because the process for forming the plates took a long time.
M A S A solid plate, with scoring to increase surface area.
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In 1881 Émile Alphonse Fauré developed a different process for plate preparation and drastically reduced the time it took to make plates. Rather than forming the solid plates by the tedious process of charging and decharging through many cycles over many days, Fauré filled grids with the appropriate chemical compounds so that the batteries could be put into service after one initial charge. This made the manufacture of lead acid batteries an economical enterprise, as they could be mass A pasted Fauré plate produced at a fast rate.
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An Introduction to Lead Acid Batteries Terminal posts and intercell connectors Terminal posts are the visible lead posts that you see on batteries. The number of terminal posts on a battery can vary. Most consumer batteries have two: one positive and the other negative. Most individual battery cells within a case are
M A S
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connected in series (positive to negative) to add voltage. The cells are connected via intercell connectors which can either be external or internal.
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Internal intercell connections
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Basic Battery Design Case covers need to fit well and be sealed, and have ports with caps for filling and venting. If you make your own covers, recycled caps can be used, which can save you some fabrication work. Or, you can purchase new caps like the flip-top vented caps shown in the photo.
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M A S Case covers can be sealed with Viton® caulk and then epoxied to retain the cover to the case. If heat is used for sealing or unsealing, here are the melting points for some commonly used materials:
New vented flip-top caps for a recycled case lid
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Polypropylene — 320°F
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High density polyethylene — 248°F to 266°F
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Low density polyethylene — 221°F to 239°F
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Polyvinyl chloride — 413°F
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Recycling Battery Parts
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When everything is ready and in place, unscrew the caps from the battery cover and place the caps in a plastic container for cleaning.
Next, twist off the terminals with a pair pliers. Terminals are easily removed in this manner. Place the terminals in a receptacle for cleaning and melting.
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Recycling Battery Parts Removing the battery elements Once the lid is off the case, remove the elements from the battery. If they have intercell connections, the elements will be attached to each other through the cell wells. To get the elements out of the cells you need to cut the intercell connecting rods. I usually use a thin chisel to bend the strap attachments away from the cell walls so that I can get at the connecting rods with the chisel. Then, hammer the chisel gently to sever the connecting rod between the intercell connectors. However you can do it, each element needs to be disconnected from the others so that you can remove it from the cell well.
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Once the intercell connectors are cut, pull each element from the case. In some batteries the plates will have expanded so much that they become tightly retained in the case. To test for removal, grab both of the group straps and pull straight upward. If they do not budge you may need pliers to grab the group straps. If the case tends to move upward as you pull the plates, you can use your feet to hold it in place while you lift the element.
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Making Plates from Lead Sheet The scribe lines are deepened with the linoleum knife, being careful not to stray from the scribe line. The linoleum knife deepens the cuts quite well if you work slowly.
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The fanout knife is used to finish the cuts.
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Burning Plates into Groups
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M A S The burn
Burning the lugs to the strap is pretty straightforward. Start by melting the protruding lug tops down to the surface of the strap and then melt the lugs and strap together in one continuous melt. If you need to add lead to voids or to even out the surface you can do so with the welding wire while burning.
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Battery Assembly Adjust and align the holes in the intercell connectors with the holes in the cell walls and slip the threaded lead rods through the connectors and cell wall.
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Test the pocket nuts on the threaded rods to see if the connection is tight. If they are a bit loose, add a thin lead connecting seal over the threads (see page 137). Press the seals onto the threads. Be careful not to drop the seals into the cell well, otherwise you will have to remove the element and retrieve the lost seal.
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