Anyone try to "recondition" 6v batteries.

[Endless Trails]

I have 4 6v batteries on my toyhauler. It has been out of use for a few years and the batteries were sad last weekend when we had our first trip on it. We were on hook ups so it wasn't a show stopper.
I read you can pull 1/2 or the acid out of each cell and replace it with epsom salts / water at a 7/20 ratio then charge. The idea is the mineral in the epsom salts will clean the sulfates off the lead. I plan on dry camping at pismo this weekend and don't want to fork out for 4 new batteries.
I am going to try it either way just looking for feedback.

 

[Exploder_M]

I dont have patience doing stuff like this with batteries because they are so crucial to starting our vehicles or in your case, running your toyhauler electrical. 2 most neglected systems on vehicles are cooling systems and batteries. Nobody thinks about them or touches them until they fail then they get addressed.

Now aside from my rant, I have not tried this procedure but I have added distilled or regular water to many 6 volt batteries over the years that were low, below the top of the plates and this only extended the battery life for 1 or 2 months. The batteries were then junk and had to be replaced after that couple month time. For 6 volts. I've had good luck with trojans and interstate batteries. US batteries (red top and white body) are complete junk.

Did the batteries have a lot of white or blue corrosion on top of terminals from letting them sit for years? And were the cells dry or low?

Report back to us how this procedure works, I'm interested to see.

 

[Endless Trails]

I generally don't have the patience either but what I have less of right now is the $1000 for new batteries.

So I had not opened them before looking into how to fix them and they were dry. I checked them about a year ago and they were still full from the year in storage off property so something changed. Because of this I don't have a lot of faith that this is going to be any sort of long term fix this time. I got them toped off with a combo of 7/20 Epsom salt/distilled water and straight distilled as needed to bring to the top and have a seperate charger on each pair. I was getting some good bubbling with the charge going so we will see what they are like when I get home. I am mainly hoping to get through this weekend without purchase to buy me some time before next trip.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Had the same issue on the 4 batteries on my RV. My recommendation is to ditch them all together.

As you said... $1000 for a set of 4 new shitty batteries didn't seem like a solid game plan so I just purchased a lithium. So for your 6v battery system to work properly, all 4 batteries need to be good. If one is bad it brings the whole system down to a shitty performing battery system.

A few positive factors for lithium.

The single 200ah lithium battery I bought replaced 4 100ah 6v as far as battery usage goes. 6v lead acid can only be discharged to 50% of usage therefore your 100ah battery really is only good for 50ah x 4 = 200ah.
It only cost $600 for the battery I purchased. The wiring is a lot more simpler since you don't have to run series and it weighs dramatically less.
Now if I went to splurge I can get a second battery I'd now have twice as much power as I did before and it'd all fit in the same spot as the 4 batteries I previous had.
Battery I purchased - Amazon product

One issue with going lithium is if you are charging these batteries off of the alternator on your truck you'll need to then spend some money on a DC to DC charger so you don't overload the alternator and burn it up. With that said... I didn't have much time like @obaja stated... You don't know you need new batteries until they aren't working... so I just ran a on/off battery switch to mine and I just charge it off of the generator or while plugged in. I bought the DC to DC charger I just haven't spent the time to wire it up.

Last benefit I saw is that I can now run my microwave or a coffee maker just off of the inverter when the batteries are topped up. Pretty rad IMOP

Now to actually try and help your current situation for this weekend.... I have 6 newer (1 year old) 6v batteries that you could borrow. I'm down here near Escondido.

 

[Endless Trails]

Appreciate the offer but being in Simi that would be a big back and forth drive. I will definitely be looking at best options when replacing them.
Right now I have 4 of the Duracell G2C 215 ah. I would love to go to AGM but the cost to performance really doesn't make that a great option I don't think.
Wouldn't you need to ensure the Generator charge controller is regulated to the correct output so as not to damage the lithium battery? I know that it is important in the RC world.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Appreciate the offer but being in Simi that would be a big back and forth drive. I will definitely be looking at best options when replacing them.
Right now I have 4 of the Duracell G2C 215 ah. I would love to go to AGM but the cost to performance really doesn't make that a great option I don't think.
Wouldn't you need to ensure the Generator charge controller is regulated to the correct output so as not to damage the lithium battery? I know that it is important in the RC world.

No. It's kind of a myth for RV stuff. I think the RC world is different because they are 'fast' chargers. Not sure because I really don't do much RC stuff.

To get the most out of your lithium batteries you would want a lithium charger. All that would do is basically charge the batteries faster and therefore you'd be using less solar or generator time to have a full charge. My Inverter/charger is older but has a few different settings so I just charge them at the AGM rate which is close to what a lithium charger would do. Probably just takes an extra hour or two to fully top it up if it were fully drained.

Sorry I couldn't help out more with the batteries.

 

[Motiracer38]

RC batteries are lithium-ion polymer, or Lipo, which pack more power in a smaller package but are a bit volatile. RV batteries are lithium iron phosphate, or LiFe batteries which are way more durable. These are the round type found in power tools since the NimH batteries passed on