Community Forums

CHCam42 · 07-08-2011, 05:13 PM

RJ
Curious as to how much mineral oil is added to each battery. I have read that this works but the battery folks frown on the idea any reason on their part.

Nuge · 07-08-2011, 05:18 PM

WOW!! Mineral oil? That's a new one on me... Has anybody looked into the Tesla switch to condition and extend battery life? I've been reading up on it and think it would be something campers would benefit from. I've yet to build one, but I am collecting parts for a small scale test...

RJay · 07-08-2011, 05:57 PM

I spoke with a chemist(PhD) at Johnson Controls, the manufacturer of Interstate batteries because I had heard the battery warranty would be void if oil was used in the battery. The reason I was given is that they(JC) could not control the type of oil that somebody would put in the battery. I told him I used food quality mineral oil. His comment was “Well we can't control what other people put in their batteries”. Further into our discussion he told me they put oil in some of their batteries.

Before I put oil in the batteries I wanted to make sure I had enough distance to the bottom of the oil to the top of the battery plates so I could take accurate specific gravity readings. I found out from Interstate base on the battery's interior measurements that I could remove 4 oz. of electrolyte and add an equal amount of oil and have a half inch of clearance to the top of the plates to the full mark.

The best way to do it is use a eraser pencil with a half inch mark. Remove the electrolyte until you reach the mark and add the 4 oz. of oil, then replace the electrolyte until the battery is full.

You can purchase food grade mineral oil at Walmart for less than $2.00 for a 12 oz. bottle. I have 4 – 6 volt U2200 Interstate batteries which took, if I remember correctly, one bottle per battery.

If you are concerned about your warranty, wait until it expires then add the oil.

Ed S · 07-08-2011, 06:19 PM

Been reading up on this myself to recondition my golf cart batteries. Cool stuff to save a bunch of money rather than buy 6 new batteries. If it works great...if not well...........

RJay · 07-08-2011, 06:29 PM

Hi Ed,
Putting oil in the batteries doesn't do anything to prolong their life. It's done to cut down on maintenance and reduce/eliminate corrosion and watering intervals. It in no way interferes with the operation of the batteries.

ninos · 07-08-2011, 07:19 PM

the oil goes on top of the water when I remove the caps on the batterys, and if I need to add water do i add water then the oil or the oil first then water? Thanks Joe

Ed S · 07-08-2011, 07:30 PM

RJay,
ok thanks

RJay · 07-08-2011, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninos

the oil goes on top of the water when I remove the caps on the batterys, and if I need to add water do i add water then the oil or the oil first then water? Thanks Joe

Once the oil is in the battery just add distilled water as you normally would. If you need to add water after you add oil just add some of the electrolyte that you removed for the oil to top it off.

EngineerMike · 07-08-2011, 07:57 PM

You can do a Search here on iRV2 on "mineral oil batteries" and get a wealth of discussion on this topic.

Edison (Thomas) had a staple product back in the day called "Battery Oil." He was sufficiently proud of the product to put his signature on the bottle.

777 Driver · 07-08-2011, 08:01 PM

Google Thermoil.

Take care,
Stu

777 Driver · 07-08-2011, 08:04 PM

Also, search this forum for Thermoil.

Take care,
Stu

RJay · 07-08-2011, 08:16 PM

Thermoil is a lot more expensive than mineral oil.

777 Driver · 07-09-2011, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay

Thermoil is a lot more expensive than mineral oil.

No doubt about that. Their website does give some info about the theory. I think Thermoil is mostly mineral oil.

Take care,
Stu

Nuge · 07-10-2011, 02:42 PM

I've found another option for rejuvenating batteries:

Welcome to Renaissance Charge -

Sunlight R-Chargers

It seems we are just now catching up to all the designs of Nikola Tesla and these two sites have utilized his designs to manufacture the next big thing in battery care. I have spent a LOT of time recently reading the posts of those who follow Tesla and are trying to develop his designs into useful circuits for everyones' benefit. Looks like someone has succeeded!!