# T-105 : Should I even bother?



## vpoppv (Jul 27, 2009)

So I got an old golf cart for $75. It has been sitting for several years. I understand that sitting is the worst thing for a battery. Anyway, the cart has 6 Trojan T-105 batteries. What should I do? I only have a 2/10/50 amp 12v charger. Should I buy a 6v charger? Should I put distilled water in them? Could I hook 2 in series and charge that way? Should I just recycle them given they have been sitting for years and thus unlikely to have any life? Should I have even posted this showing what a noob I am?


----------



## Zemmo (Sep 13, 2007)

Its true that sitting batteries don't tend to last long. But since you have them, they it won't cost you much to charge them to see if they can come back to life some. There are some tricks you can try to help revive them. Like the use of some Epson Salt and/or desulfators. I would try the Epson Salt trick, put the batteries in a series/parallel setup to make 12 volts and put your big charger on it. Cycle them a few times (charge and then drain) to see if they gain any AH storage. If they don't, then no big loss, keep them for the core charge when you get new batteries.


----------



## Guest (Aug 17, 2009)

Charge them then check acid readings then fill to 1/4 " above plates then discharge/charge cycle them a few ti
es to see if they hold charges. Don't overfill and do it after your charge or you my have a flood.


----------



## vpoppv (Jul 27, 2009)

gottdi said:


> Charge them then check acid readings then fill to 1/4 " above plates then discharge/charge cycle them a few ti
> es to see if they hold charges. Don't overfill and do it after your charge or you my have a flood.


You have a beautiful website, very professional. Where does one purchase quality shrink wrap tubing? Seems auto parts stores/Wal-Mart/Radio Shack is very pricey with little actual tubing....


----------



## Guest (Aug 17, 2009)

We have a local welding shop and a store just up from there that sells stuff to local electicans. I use them both and ordered a bunch off the Internet. I use every thing I can utilize and then some. Gotta be a good hunter and be willing to spend the time

Thanks for the compliment on the site. 

Pete


----------



## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

I am playing with similar batteries now - and they come back to life to be good enough for free batteries.

Just do slow charge first (2 amps), and check SG (specific gravity).

At some moment of charge batteries will start gassing. If SG is much lower than 1277 - keep gassing, but make sure not to overheat them. 
I get SG raise about 50 points every 4-6 hours of gassing at 15.5 volts per two batteries in series (i don't have 6v charger also). My Link of two batteries draws about 13 amps at gassingvoltage.

Note that 7.8v is the recommended gassing voltage per 6v


now, my charger is able to hold 15.5 well, but with your charger - be sure to control voltage yourself, as if volrage goes over the roof - bad things may happen.


----------



## vpoppv (Jul 27, 2009)

Stunt Driver said:


> I am playing with similar batteries now - and they come back to life to be good enough for free batteries.
> 
> Just do slow charge first (2 amps), and check SG (specific gravity).
> 
> ...


Ok, I went out and bought Epsom salt, 2 gallons of distilled water, and 2 hydrometers. So I need to put distilled water just above the "plate" and slow charge them at 2 amps in a series/parallel configuration to maintain 12v, and every so often I check SG. After, say, 8 hours of charging, if any cells show "dead" I should remove that battery and try to "epsom salt" it back to life? Sound like a plan? I really don't want want to mess this up....


----------



## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

8 hours at 2 amps is only 16 AH, while batts are 225 AH or so. 
So be patient, give them enough time to charge, at least 50 hours.
Slow charge CAN but not necesserily will bring them back.

I have never done salt myself, so cant recommend here, BUt I would first try gassing them, that may be enough. In my case there were cells that showed below average, but gassing brought them up. 
Now I have decent SG across all cells, but i can't check how many miles will those batts give in real life, but test discharge shows about 50-60 AH if discharging to 50%, which is not bad for free batts


----------



## vpoppv (Jul 27, 2009)

Ok, last question before I throw them on the charger. Do I leave the caps off while charging?


----------



## vpoppv (Jul 27, 2009)

Ok, I went and threw caution to the wind and put the caps on to charge, since I figured it would be a hassle for EV'ers to have to pull them off for each charge, so that must not be the way to do it. Anyway, after having two batteries (I decided to only do two at a time) on the charger for about 72 hours at 2 amps and getting 0 voltage, I'll go ahead and try the "Epsom salt trick". What have I got to loose at this point, right?


----------



## Sunking (Aug 10, 2009)

I am an avid golf cart modifier/builder as a hobby, but the batteries are toast if they have been sitting without a charge for 6 months or longer. And if they were dry, forget it. Trojan makes excellent batteries, but no one can make a FLA that can tolerate long periods without a charge.

However if you want to try something, here is what I suggest. FLA batteries that sit for a long time undercharged will develop sulfated plates. Brown crystals and sand looking particles in the bottom of the jar. These crystals raise the resistance considerable so that the battery cannot take a charge, unless you can apply a high enough voltage to break them down.

There is a couple of ways to do this with either a battery desulfator charger which is basically a PWM technique of high voltage pulses of around 1000 Hz, or use a charger with an equalize voltage setting. If using a equalization technique raise the voltage up until you get current to flow, for a Trojan about 20 amps or a C/10 rate.


----------



## vpoppv (Jul 27, 2009)

Sunking said:


> I am an avid golf cart modifier/builder as a hobby, but the batteries are toast if they have been sitting without a charge for 6 months or longer. And if they were dry, forget it. Trojan makes excellent batteries, but no one can make a FLA that can tolerate long periods without a charge.


 6 years, well maybe it's only been sitting for 6 years if I'm lucky....Oh wait, 6 months?? I think I've been communicating with the guy who owned it for longer that that!! Yep, all the cells are dry as a bone. I think I still have the receipt for the Epsom salt, maybe I can return that, the other gallon of water, and the hydrometer?  Naw I am in an angry mood, I'm going to sacrifice electrons for no good reason!!! Global warming? Hah! I just charge dead batteries for fun! Maybe I'll even start up a generator and burn gas to do it! 
On a more serious note, I know in my heart you are right, since I can't ever revive a car battery that's been sitting for a few months....


----------

