Recharging a seemingly dead beyond repair vex battery

[Big Dave2]

Just a piece of information that I thought someone here may benefit from someday.

Twice I have brought back those little vexilar type gel cell batteries from the dead. The first time it was in a friends aqua-view camera. He hadn't used it for a couple of years and when he went to try and re-charge it he couldn't get anything to happen. The battery would not accept a charge so he gave up on it and was going to buy a new one. I told him I would take it home and give it a try. Every day I would put it on the charger and every night take it off the charger. I did this for 2 or 3 days and on the next day it started charging! Eventually it took a full charge and seems to work fine.

Just this week I did the same thing with the battery on my spare vexilar. After a couple of days now it has accepted the charge and should work fine now.

Hope this helps someone. At least it tells you not to give up on the battery right away. You may be able to get another season or 2 out of it.

[Aces In The Hole]

Thanks for the info. My battery for my Aqua Vu went out. I'll have to try this and post the outcome.

[lovebigbluegills]

Thanks for the information. I just bought a new vexilar battery earlier this winter, and still have my old one. Maybe I'll have a spare battery now that is fully functional.

[Sifty]

Thanks for the info , I will have to try it on one I have laying around.

Sifty

[Iceboy]

Nice! So your battery kicks out over 12 volts now? I have two gel cell's at home that I can't get to output more than 10.7 volts, which is just a little too low for some applications. Perhaps I will try this and see if I can get the voltage coming out of them back up!

[Big Dave2]

Nice! So your battery kicks out over 12 volts now? I have two gel cell's at home that I can't get to output more than 10.7 volts, which is just a little too low for some applications. Perhaps I will try this and see if I can get the voltage coming out of them back up!

I never tested mine to see how many volts it is kicking out but it works to power the vex just as well as it ever did. I'm not sure if it will last as long but I don't mind re-charging more often. I also know that these batteries will not last forever but I figure I am money ahead if I can get 1 more season out of them.

[FishinChad]

Great info, just found out one of mine is dead, I will try to revive it now!

[fishwater]

If you want to rejuvenate older gel cell batteries that aren't holding a charge or giving a good potential difference (voltage), the trick is to pulse the battery with current around 2-3amps repeatedly. The pulses will cause some of the sulfate accumulation on the terminals to get cleared away. I pulse batteries 20-30 times then hook the battery up to charge, then drain and repeat. Battery pulsers or desulfators are becoming more commonly available.

[lovebigbluegills]

Pulsing...basically having one post hooked up, and taking the other lead off and on a bunch of times before finally leaving it on to charge??

[Walterwontfalter]

There are several inexpensive "smart-chargers" out there that you can buy that will "recondition" batteries. I have one and have brought half a dozen deep cycle batteries back to accepting a full charge. The pulse or recondition cycle runs a low amp charge on and off for 24 hours and like someone said above it breaks up the sulfate on the lead plates allowing the battery to accept a full charge. I've reconditioned one gel battery so far and I'm about to try another tonight.

[hovermn]

Sounds like the smart pulsing chargers pay for themselves in short order, huh?! At $15-20 a battery, it doesn't take long...

[snoozebutton]

Thanks Dave and fishwater!!! So far mine are good but I'll file this info away until I need it.

[Ed Carlson]

In the Charging Tips section on the Vexilar web site it also recommends this. It can take up to 6 days to re coop a long diminished gel cell unmaintained battery.

So what do you have to loose to try, nothing really. It's potentially shot already so as long as the charger is good let her go and see if she heals. If after a long 6 day charge it is still dead, well, your were right..it's dead.

Good tip though. There are other useful tips like that on the Vex site and well worth the read.

[Liar]

I have a deep cycle that sat on the garage floor for 2 years. I picked up a charger from black and decker at FF for 45$. Jury is still out but, the reading I did said it could take a month to recondition the battery. The new chargers are nice, has option for gel wet and another batt. type. you can check the voltage at the press of a button. My other charger is old though. Autographed by Henry Ford I think.

[bigbluepirahna]

Is it possible to hook the little vexillar batteries in tandem like we do in the boat on a 12 volt system. Just get some wire and gator clips and hook the like colors together on more than one battery. That way for the underwater cameras we could possibly get a whole day out of them without messing with switching batteries and losing picture quality as they start to diminish?

My main question is can you charge them back up in tandem to save on time and charger expense?

Just an idea, let me know if anyone has tried it or if it would work.

Thanks....

[FISHINGURU]

i've been charging my old battery for 4 days and the charge light on my charger will never go on...but it can take it out off the charger and hook it up to the vex and it will say 100%..only problem is it drains way faster then normal.

[Big Dave2]

i've been charging my old battery for 4 days and the charge light on my charger will never go on...but it can take it out off the charger and hook it up to the vex and it will say 100%..only problem is it drains way faster then normal.

I would try putting the charger on for a while and take it off for a while and repeat a bunch of times and see what happens. As was stated before, there's nothing to lose.

[FISHINGURU]

definatly nothin to lose...i'll give it a shot for awhile...i already went and got a new battery so that old one is up for experimenting lol...i was just gonna use it as a spare anyway.

[Meatwad]

Thanks, I brought my battery to life because of your advice. I will let you know how the power holds up tomorrow.

[Bullwinkled]

I have installed red and black female banana jacks (panel mount) on my Vex and Aqauview. I have male red and black banana jacks on my chargers so I never have to hook up at battery terminals. I also have a spare battery and a cable with male banana's at one end and automotive connector (same as used at factory battery terminals to hook up to spare battery). I can use this to parallel batteries and run all day on camera or backup vex if needed. A word of warning, I use red and black and always watch polarity when plugging in. Plugging batteries together wrong polarity will cause dangerous arcing, sparking, and melting of wires.

Banana jacks are available from Digikey. Automotive connectors available at NAPA.

Next year I am going to put some diode polarity protection in to prevent damage if reversed.

[Big Dave2]

Thanks, I brought my battery to life because of your advice. I will let you know how the power holds up tomorrow.

Great! Glad I could be of help to someone for once in my life!