never used, but dead golf cart batteries

bgarrett

Craigslist has some 'new' never used golf cart batties at 1/2 of new cost.
I looked at them, dead, they show no volts and the specific gravity was so low it barely registered

Is there any hope these could be charged and be usable again?

Dapdan

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

hey bg,

I personally would not risk it for 1/2 price. I would if they were free since a sulfated wla is hit or miss when trying to recover them say using a desulphater. Even if you flushed it and changed out the electrolyte it is still a hit or miss added to the cost of new electrolyte. From my reading apparently only a few days below 50% dod with no charging the sulphating process begins. remember wla lose charge quickly(2-10% a week) so a battery at 100% could be discharged to 50% inside 8wks. I think for batteries showing what you have measured they would have been store for more than 2 months that is not worth any money. If they were free you could use them to experiment with.

cheers
Damani

from beautiful, breezy Barbados

bgarrett

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

When I called, the lady said they had been sitting "a couple" of months which means 6 months
When I got there the guy said about 4 months--woah, now the truth is closer to a YEAR! haha

I didnt waste my money!

Dapdan

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

well you shoulda asked for gas money since they waste you time and money but can't replace your time :>

cheers

bgarrett

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

dream on, Dan.
The guy tried telling me they would "charge right up and be ok"

niel

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

some people, like the ones trying to sell those batteries, just do not know anything about them and think they can be run down to nothing and just be recharged back to like new. they may or may not have been trying to take you, but i'm leaning they weren't along with being ignorant on the subject. they could very well have been stored 4 months, but without a full charge to start the storage period with.

BB.

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

They probably could have charged the batteries too before they sold them...

That would either allow somebody to do some load testing, or tricked them into thinking they bought good batteries with a quick volt meter check.

Or--they did try to charge them, and the charge did not hold (does not sound like it though--with them reading zero volts)...

In any case, probably saved you a bunch of cash by not charging them first.

-Bill

cow_rancher

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

So...

What happens to a deep discharge battery if it's left without a float charge?

I have 2-3 in an RV that I haven't used in years.

Are they dead?

Rancher

BB.

Re: never used, but dead golf cart batteries

More than likely... Also, if you hooked a little trickle charger up with no other controls or checking the water level in the batteries--they too would be dead by now (speaking from experience).

-Bill