1. automotive and vehicles
2. electric vehicles

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The Battery
Builder’s Guide
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by Phillip Hurley
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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
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An Introduction to
Lead Acid Batteries
The chemistry of lead acid batteries . . 12
Charging ..................................... 13
TOC
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
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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
TOC
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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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
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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
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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
TOC
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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
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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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Table of contents
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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
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BATTERY ASSEMBLY
Plate Separators
TOC
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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Charging and Forming
Procedure
Sequence for charging ................ 273
Discharging sequence for forming
Plante type plates ................. 276
Next cycle for forming ................. 277
TOC
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.
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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
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Terminal posts for
external connections
connected in series (positive to negative)
to add voltage. The cells are connected
via intercell connectors which can either
be external or internal.
TOC
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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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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
pp
Polypropylene — 320°F
pp
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
TOC
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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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