Battery

[Mtractor]

If a 12volt tractor battery was run down because of a short and set that way for 4 months would it take a charge? The battery is only 2years old so I have it on a slow charge and I think I will leave it on there all night and see what happens. I checked the water level and it was fine. What do you guys think?

 

[David G]

I have seen them not take a charge after being flat for that long, especially in the winter. It might end up charging, but probably won't last too long.

 

[RayP(MI)]

I'd suggest trying to recharge at very slow rate. Also suggest that you remove from tractor, charge in an open, plowed field, far from people, machinery, buildings. Most likely, it won't take a charge, if it does, probably going to be pretty weak, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[Roy Ward]

Plates will corrode and short out. Be careful charging, a good charger will indicate a shorted battery.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

If the battery had a chance to freeze there will be a slight distortion in the plate packs. What this means is that it's possible two plates could be touching slightly, and if this short is burnt through during charging, and fumes are present, the battery will explode. Any battery you are unsure of should be completely filled with water and charged outdoors, under a box. Cut the power to the charger before going near the battery. If the battery is heating, it is shorted and not worth further effort.

 

[Jon Hagen]

If that deep discharge did not warp the plates enough to cause a short, you have a chance. The plates will be badly sulfated, but a charger with a desulfator function can reverse the sulfation over time.
You need to slow charge the battery for several days
I have a shumacher charger and several of the little batteryMINDer charger /desulfator/ maintainer units that have revived several badly sulfated batteries, returning them to near 100% capacity over time.

The worst was a large battery in a Hough payloader. I bought the loader as a rebuilder. It had been rolled upsidedown and remained there for several hours (Killed the driver:-(, so all the electrolyte leaked out, then sat in a salvage yard for a year.
I refilled that one with electrolyte and charged it for 72 hours, then connected a batteryMINDer on the desulfate mode every hour the loader was parked. It took nearly a month for the batteryMINDer to dissolve the sulfation, but eventually the battery returned to very good cranking power. it ran 3 more years until a cell shorted.
batteryMINDer

 

[old]

You never know about one like that. I have a couple out of old trucks that where dead as a door nail but charged up and are just fine and I have had others that did not take a charge. Charge it up and give it a try all you have to loose is a little time and maybe a few penny for the power it takes to charge it up