Acid Lead battery restoration recovery 2 of 3 INCLUDES UPDATE 2018 

Thanks Randy! Your method seems to have worked flawlessly. I did it with my truck battery that was no longer holding a charge. It sat installed in my truck for the better part of two years. The truck was rarely used. The process worked flawlessly! After reconditioning, it was holding a 12.9V charge for 12 hours before I put it into my vehicle and called it good. It's like I have a new battery! I did two baking soda soaks and flushed it out maybe 20 times in total with water, in order to get all of the sediment out of the battery.

This dude is the goat. He gave the measurements, the process, and how long he got out of the battery after the process. You get a sub for being thorough

Saw this 40 years ago with a 6 volt battery in an H-D Panhead. The owner threw his battery in a pail of water with the baking soda in Oct and took it back out in April, rinsed it out and re-filled it and rode again until Oct.. Great video, thanks.

I cannot believe this i followed your video and repaired all my batteries. THANKYOU, people who can afford it ,go out and purchase a new battery but people like me your video is a miricle.

Randy, You just saved me at least $100.00. Thanks. I followed your instructions and within 2 minutes my battery was putting out 9 volts (on a trickle charge). After a long slow charge, it restored my battery to new. I needed a battery for my winch on my trailer and this is perfect. It is a battery from 2009 !!!!

I had an Uncle who taught me this trick back in the 70's.Back then I couldn't afford to buy a new battery so, all mine came from the junk yard. Once I add the distilled water and Epson salts I always started my car with a different battery then switch them while the engine is running. I lived 45 miles out of the closest Town that had a grocery store. The drive to the store gave me enough charge I never had any issue of not starting for my drive home. I let my cars do the charging.

Randy, I want to thank you for this video. This helped save a Miata battery from 2012 that read at 3.86V (also had flakes of metal floating around in the cell) and brought it back to 13.3, which then held a resting voltage of 12.6v. There are some things I want to talk about that I did that might help others in this scenario. One thing I did was I used hot (just below boiling) distilled water mixed with the baking soda. I did this for two reasons: one the baking soda would absorb better just like the Epsom Salt, does and second to increase the reactivity of the baking soda. When you heat up particles they move faster and interact with the Sulfuric Acid at a higher rate. WARNING -- the heated baking soda will also increase potential for the fluid to fly up out of the cell. I also did 3 baking flushes, followed by ~20 filtered water flushes. After the 5th filtered water flush, I tested the pH which was around an 8.5pH. Now I knew the fluid coming out was safe to get on my skin and around me. So I took the battery and began flushing, though I noticed that the coloration of the fluid was not changing. So after the 20th or so flush. I took the battery, flipped it upside down on two 2x4's, so that the holes to the cells were exposed. Then, I took a hose and ran it full blast back and forth between the cells for about 5 mins. The water was still coming out rusty so I decided to just give up. For a final flush, I added a 1:4 distilled water-distilled vinegar flush twice. I did this because even after 20+ flushes, the acidity was still around 8pH. Why is this? I don't know -- my thoughts were the baking soda left over or the pH of the local city water I was passing through a filter was at 8pH. The acidity was brought back down to a 5.5-6pH after two vinegar flushes. Then I added the electrolyte fluid and charged it with an LST 12V Battery Trickle Charger that does it at 1100mA. It is a digital charger, but it's minimum input voltage is 3v. After my flushes and induction of electrolyte fluid, my battery the battery read around 5.5v. So way above the chargers minimum threshold. I searched for an analog charger but they just don't seem to make them anymore! The battery charger had a desulfation stage where it pulsed 14.5v for around a day or so then began charging a constant 13.6v for 3 days then it read "charged." Last thing I did before I tried cranking it was plugged it in and ran my headlights for around 20 mins, then recharged. It dipped down to 11.8v then charged backed up to 12.6. Since then it's started my Miata ~20 times. I hope this helps anyone reading this. This video was a big help and saved me $170. Thanks again!

This guy makes me feel like I'm learning a life lesson from my daddy ♡

As an Electronics service engineer for the past 45 years...this guy has impressed me very much, everything he says makes perfect sense, especially with the rinsing of the individual cells with the Baking Soda and the Distilled Water , AND the epsom salts mixed in with the Distilled Water to finish!!...Excellent idea!!...and...it's GREAT for extending the life of a battery!! .... 5 x stars for this video!!

Good video showing how you rejuvenate the battery as well as the solutions needed.

Like a teacher, you teach everything deeply and showing the right way of cleaning the battery and replaced with epsam salt and correct measurements, these things no one was told by the you tubers.i am also doing a try to my 10 years old battery thanks a lot .May the god bless you

Very well done video. I have watched several other video on this very topic and found them missing information or moving hastily on to the next step, leaving confusion. You have explained very well, throughly and completely. Thanh you.

Randy, you need to put something between the funnel and the opening of the battery to allow the air to escape, this way you can just pour the water in with little or no resistance.

Hey Randy great instructions I'm a hill billy from Va. Piney in river and listening to you made me think of whare I came from and who I am . Thank you .. I saw another gentlemen put baking soda in the acid to make in better some how . Maybe it's like pissing on a jellyfish sting .. lol 😂 keep on rocking it bro..😎

Thanks Randy, I followed your process and had great success in restoring a 6 year old lawn tractor battery. This process worked like a charm and I only spent $2.00 for the materials and a little time.

BEEN WORKING ON CARS FOR 50 YEARS AND LIKE YOU SAVED MONEY,NEVER EVER TOOK MY CARS FOR REPAIR. MY BATTERIES CAME FROM THE SCRAP YARD AND I DID JUST WHAT YOUR DOING.I PAID 8 BUCKS FOR A BATTERY vs 89.00 AT AN AUTO STORE

Your video is infinitely more concise than other videos I've seen on this subject . Stressing the safety is the most important part . Thanks for your video Mr. Schartiger and all the best for an excellent Happy New Year . Lefty

I have looked for this video for a while. I have two dead batteries i need revived. I had watched this video sometime back but then I never thought i will ever need it. I watched so many videos on RU-vid but they were all useless. You have nailed it! Thank you

I did the Baking Soda 3 times and rolled it around the drive way. I found a 5 gallon container of Battery acid at a auto parts store for $26.00. Worked like a charm going to do all my batteries.

Just tried your method I liked that you cleaned out the battery with backing soda,it was the only one that used this method,you seemed like you know what your doing,this is a 2011 battery 12 volt for my Tundra I’ll let you know how it works .Thanks Ron

This is the guy it taught me how to charge my batteries and it really worked for two years now the batteries are going strong

None of you guys use a rubber mallet! Lightly tap the bottom of the battery and it helps break up the calcifaction that fuses them. The major problems are normally on the bottom. Rinse them out before adding the acid with fresh distiled water.

I friend over 20 years ago told me about how he did this, now I know what he was talking about, lol. This think about all the money I could have saved lol. Thank you and keep up the good work.

Great job with being as detailed as possible! You made it so even a kid could do it. Thank you for your descriptive, professional, and detailed video.

You are a good man! Thank you for your honesty and experience!

Thanks for showing us this guarded secret! I'll be trying this soon!

Gosh.where do I start. Watched a fukton of these videos and you are right they are not clear or complete. I was just riveted by you and so appreciative that you explained everything. Your techniques are different and I could maybe offer 1 suggestion but with almost 1000 comments you probably won't even read this but I still wanted to share with your channel I'm going to try your techniques before I piece together what I can get from the other videos I have watched. Although after watching your video and the information you articulated I at least feel know what the heck I'm doing. Curious to see what other videos you got. Thank you brother.

That's a trick that will definitely be tried out here. Thanks for sharing.

Useful Video! Clear, direct, helpful add-ins Good Job Randy!!

Finally, somebody that uses actual measurements ! Thank you Randy

Awesome! Plain, simple & honest instructions and actually works. Thanks Randy

Have seen a good number of battery re-con videos and read courses and PDFs on the process. I really like this. I have some old batteries and will try these methods.

this works very good. When finished and done right works better than new. My son would have his stereo and woofers cranked right up and had to use a chaeger to it to work and said ,son give me that battery for a few days and it will be better than new and i gave it back to him and he looked at me and said riigghht like he didnt believe me but hooked it up and keeps thanking me. what did you do dad. i cant kill this battery . the music just keeps cranking out and holds a charge. thank to Randy Schartiger. he is the best at battery restoration

This is really smart. I never would have thought of it. By using the baking soda, you are neutralizing the acid. This seems counter productive at first since lead sulfate is usually dissolve by acids like HCl. So you wouldn't think to neutralize the acid, but since its in a battery, which uses acid to make electricity, and electricity forms the lead sulfate in the first place, you are actually preventing any more from being formed, and allowing them to actually break up and be carried away in the basic baking soda solution with your shaking of the battery.

Immensely helpful... Thank you from a single mom on a tight budget. Have a great day.

I really enjoyed the thorough and honestly simple presentation, thank you for this informative video.

Great video ,great instructions, Great teacher , very very well explained ,10 out of 10 👍

Your method is the best I have seen. I have always just added Epsom Salts directly to the electrolyte in each cell then charge overnight. I have extended every battery 4-5 years with this method. Great video. Thank you sir.

Peace. Thank you for the warm welcome back. 😂. I watched this video a while back and always wanted to try it. Recently I needed a new battery and kept the older one to experiment with and have some small lawn mowers and other stuff using batteries. Thank you professor and when I get around to it ill let you know. Thank you

Glad that I stumbled across your channel Randy. Your method for restoring lead acid batteries is by far the best method I've seen, and the most thorough. Also interested in your work on guitars & such. I will recommend your channel & especially this video series on restoring batteries to others. Thanks........NEW SUBSCRIBER.

I'm gonna give your method a try NOW!! Thank you!

Best battery rejuvenation vid I have seen.

Yes ....thank you for mentioning the amounts of ingredients!!

All the info on battery technology and he is still nice enough to let us know the school bus is running. Thanks because I got so caught up in the video I forgot to pick up my kid.

Thankyou for posting and showing the baking soda concoction i never done it and the salt but i will the next time keep posting

ru-vid.com_video?v=C6p1a_Yw6_Q&ref=share if anyone has the time it'd be greatly appreciated!

This guy is Awesome. Great info and detail on restoring a battery. He seems like a very patient man with a kind heart, two of the qualities I value the most. You sir are a True gentalman in every sense, and I thank you sincerely for that in addition to taking your time ( aka your life ) to help the rest of us. Hope you are able to stay safe in these perilous times. Cheers !

thank you for taking the time to make and post the video ... followed the procedure and in the process of charging the battery now

very good and reliable fix for knackered lead acid battery's, ive saved 3 bike batterys, one was nearly 20yrs old !!!

Best restore video! Worked for me, did my trickle charge for 48hrs. Good to go!

Hey Randy man just when I think I've seen all of your videos up Pops another one! At least 50 years ago an old brother of mine showed me this trick back in the days when everybody mostly used that type of battery. And it does work I have done this many a time in the past years. I have been watching you for at least 5 years now and truly enjoy watching your videos! The old boy that taught me this trick was from Virginia and very knowledgeable about certain things and taught me a lot about character in people and it's too bad at some people do not have any character! The word hillbilly in the dictionary is a Michigan potato farmer. And to call someone a hillbilly has no character. Some people's children. Thanks for sharing another good tip Randy and I hope to watch your videos for another five years Lord willin. You get a triple thumbs up brother.

thank you mister Randy this saved me money and agravations God blessmyour heart for helping others in good faith,,this planet needs a lot of humans like you ..to keep existing/

THANK YOU SOO MUCH!! I tried you instructions, took a 6 year old dead battery... 5.8 volts, " serviced " it.. it's now rocking 12.9!!!

I did this simultaneously to watching this video. I found a lot of heavy metals came out of the battery, so I filled it with water and drained it until it came out clean, about 6 times. I let it drain for about 15 minutes and filled it back up with the old acid and Epson salt saluton and it works perfectly. Thank you for showing us how to properly do this!

Hi Randy, Actually you are not "restoring" a lead acid battery, you are converting the lead acid battery to an alkaline battery. I love it! There are a couple of alternative electrolytes that can also be used... aluminum sulfate (used for pickling) and copper II sulfate (a footwash for cattle) I hope the alkaline version holds up to below freezing weather, that's my only concern.

Greetings from South Africa. Love your video. I'm busy with my deep cycle battery at the moment. They're so expensive that it's worth the effort. I even think it's a good thing to do as part of a maintenance program.

Superb video !!! Excellent... helpful... terrific... better than live TV... a fabulous find on RU-vid... :) Go get 'em Randy ! Your direct line ancestors invented the wheel !!!

U can tell by his look and demeanor hes tested this and hes one to trust cause hes tried it.

Thank you very much for your information that helps a lot

Thanks for sharing these, my family lives off the grid and we have a few old batteries I will definitely be restoring!!!

Well done brother, did a good job showing us how to do it. I for one really appreciate it. Power to the people!

great vid and great details!! very knowledgeable. Thanks

Thanks, just did 2 batteries that were unable to hold a charge. Very descriptive.

This is good info period. If you order a battery online and they ship it, it doesnt have the acid in it. Sometimes they send the crystals to male the solution, but you can buy a big bag at advance or napa pretty cheap. Nice change, Randy.

i saw your video a few years back i was lookin again cause i forgot what to do ...none these other dudes coul get my confidence...glad i found you again

God bless you buddy for taking the time to show us how to do this, cheers from Uk👍🍻

I'm a new sub. Seems like you among all the youtubers know alot more.ty so much... Hek I have 6 batteries. Sht

Awesome video! Great information, Thanks for sharing!

Thank You Randy, your Video is So informative. I watched a different video BEFORE I watched this video and it didn’t work BUT.......Like you said.....NO BAKING SODA Was mentioned except to put it in the pan to neutralize the acid from the battery. NO Measurements of how much salt to put in the water. He was doing it with a measuring cup. 1 ounce of water. I’m gonna try it your way and I will be back to give you my results

Love thi guy! Wish I lived in his neighborhood. Thanks brother.

Great video! In fact by far the best I've watched on this topic! The attention to details and the emphasis on safety and accuracy is not only very professional, but very reassuring. Great job sir.

Randy. I’m wishing I had seen your video first before I went out and bought a new battery but it makes sense how it cleans the plates on the inside of battery

GREAT VIDEO AND WELL SPOKEN ON A SUBJECT THAT IS SORELY NEEDED IN A WASTEFUL THROW IT AWAY SOCIETY!

Randy thanks my grandfather used to just add baking soda to his batteries but couldn't remember the next step.So thanks for the info and also taking me back to a better time in my life, remembering my grandfather

I tried my first one with this procedure over the weekend. With an 995 cold cranking amp exide diesel truck battery. Trickle charged for 36 hpurs. It came up to almost 14 volts. WOW! This procedure worked just like it shows in this video and IT WORKED FOR ME! saved me 250 bucks. How long it last is yet to be seen. Will report back in 1 month. Thanks randy!!!

I have been searching for someone who had a way (and made a video) to demonstrate results with this method. Thank you very much Randy. I will subscribe.

thank you Sir for your effort putting this out there. Ive not a chance yet to fact check it as i do videos i might use the information from but i do appreciate your taking the time you did just to try help others and btw,...sure seems like you know what your doing anyway!! Smile You are what people should be aspiring to be .....just helpful and or kind to their fellow man... i didnt say respectful but be clear, i shouldn't have to say that. To the idiots who mocked you for ANY reason....they are themselves simply sad excuses. You ARE a Gentlemen of the South Sir. Thank you again.

You mentioned" at the beginning of the season " since you put the lawnmower away in the winter, I would pour the acid out of the battery at the end of the season into a clean plastic jug and store battery dry and in the spring put the acid back in . And like the motorcycle batteries that you buy and fill with the electrolight it should be fully charged. This will prolong the battery life where you will never have to buy a new battery again! I like the video , peace !

fair play to you this is amazing I have always thought you needed to get the acid from somewhere, I have a pile of battery's in my workshop waiting to be scrapped...not anymore going to give this ago I think 10 out of 10

you are the real deal, Mr Battery Man.

Unreal how it bubbles up like that, bet there’s a fix going too! Good video!

From one old Hippy to another old Hippy, I'm going to give'er a try . I have 8 old batteries in the barn... Thanks

i did thos about 20 yrs ago and i figured I'd refresh my memory and i new it involved baking soda. i watching all the others vids and i was like wheres the baking soda? i thpught i might hve lost my mind or i done it wrong 20 yrs ago. but watching ur vid i was reassured i i didnt lose my mind. plus it seems like all the other vids wasnt explaining every step. like skipping over steps. thx for vid

Sir Thank you for making this useful and informative video .I enjoyed your narration .

I appreciate that you mentioned the lead in the old battery acid and how you can't just dispose of it even after you've neutralized the acid. No other video on this subject that I've found even mentions how to dispose of the old acid. Where do you take it so you're not dumping lead all over the place?

I worked for a place that buildt car batterys and the only difference between the expensive batteries is the distance from the plates to the bottom of the plastic box where they will eventually short out!

This works! Thanks for showing us. And the crime scene at 6:25 on the house and slab is funny!

Thank Mr. Shartiger. You sound like family here in east TN. I've researched this video many times. One thing is rapid discharge then recharge over and again seems to help also.

I so appreciate this gentleman! He definitely is a great teacher; methodical and presenting the information step-by-step. I am going to get my battery out of our Honda and go through the steps. Lots of time with Covid-19 keeping school teachers and administrators home. There's a reason he has over 1.3 million views (4/20/20). You are going to save me a great deal of money. Well done, Randy!

This is a chemical reaction, not an electrical 'short'. Sodium Bicarbonate = Baking Soda. And it is a smart additional step for descaling/desulfating the battery inside. Mostly because it creates such big bubbles when it comes into contact with acid. And if it comes into contact with any acid beneath some of that sulfate scaling on the lead inside, it has a very good chance of knocking it loose from the lead. That will then expose the lead to the electrolyte later. The more surface area you can gets exposed, the better. If you had something similar to the shakers they have to mix paint at the paint stores, that would also help shake loose some of that sulfate from the lead plates. Not so sure about the Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts) as the electrolyte. It may work well in a pinch. It may work just fine. I simply do not know. You could have taken the original contaminated electrolyte and pass it through some coffee filters to remove that lead sulfate scaling sediment. My main concern on this is that you're mixing metals -- lead and magnesium. The new electrolyte will coat (electroplate) those lead (metal) plates with magnesium (metal) rather than lead when the charge is added to the epsom salt electrolyte.

Thanks so much for sharing your expert experience

I love this guy. Baking soda wins period!!!

This works- as long as no dead cells you can save your battery. They are pushing almost 200$ now so this is a cost effective approach. I prefer Epsom salts. This process got a car quest battery to last 12 years- it is working on an advance battery gold unit going into 4 years, after dying after 3...

You rock man, this is incredible info and incredibly helpful.

That's a great way to save some cash. Q-ball is looking good! Rock on brother!

Thanks Randy. Excellent lesson !!!

Best class I ever had, dude saved me about $190.00 (what AutoZone wanted to charge for a replacement battery) I follow his instructions and my old battery works like new. I even use what he said for a lot of old Pb batteries for my Solar system.

After watching several of these RU-vid presentation for battery restoration a friend pointed me to Randy's presentation. Randy's is the ONLY presentation that shows the Correct method to insure your battery is properly restored and will Keep a charge. This is a true restoration vs those other quick/simple methods that only work short time. Good job Randy, thanks for an accurate and correct restoration presentation.

Good detailed vid! Thanks from your friends in northern Ontario Canada 🇨🇦

Thank you for your time and patience in the making and explanation of each step in your video. Worked like a charm on my mower batteries just I didn't have a charger so I just hooked up the batteries after replacing the fluid and ran the mower for a while and it cranked after turning off after an hour. Saved me some $$$$