[Step-by-Step Guide]: Car Battery Restoration At Home

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Hey there! Are you looking to restore your old batteries? Or DIY battery reconditioning process? Battery restoration at home is quite an easy affair and it doesn’t need any kind of technical skills or knowledge. However, you must take enough protection, as the battery solution is acidic and it can cause burn injury if you are not careful enough.

Now you may ask us ‘is it worth the effort?’ The answer is “Yes!” A typical car battery lasts for around 5 years, and after that, it starts to lose its power. Result? You buy a new battery and the old one goes to the landfill. On the other hand, reconditioning batteries can save you quite a few bucks and it also lowers the number of old batteries thrown into the environment.

Additionally, if you are looking to start a secondary income route, then you can even start a business of refurbished car batteries. These refurbished batteries are seeing quite a bit of demand nowadays, just Google ‘refurbished batteries for sale near me and see the result.

So, enough of all these Gyan! Now let’s just start our journey to reconditioning a battery.

Why is Car Battery Recondition Needed?

Reconditioning batteries basically refers to the process of rejuvenating old batteries, which increases the capacity of the old, worn-out batteries and helps them to hold a charge for longer. So, never throw old batteries into landfills; you can still recondition them up to three times.

And not only for cars. If we look around us, most electronic devices are operated by batteries, starting with alarm clocks, cellphones, laptops, headphones, remote controls, cars, motorcycles, etc. Now you may ask, ‘Are all the batteries the same?’ The answer would be, ‘No! Not all the batteries are the same.’ Currently, we have NiCad, Lithium-ion, NiMH, and lead-acid batteries.

However, reconditioning is a great way to save money and reuse batteries of all kinds. So, let’s dig deeper to learn how to restore batteries at home.

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Benefits of Battery Restoration at Home

With time, each battery loses its juice, and after a certain period of time, your old battery will no longer be efficient enough to start your car or do your daily work. Once your battery is damaged, you have two options: to buy a new battery or to recondition a battery. Reconditioning batteries can be a very good option to save money if your battery is not severely damaged.

So, the advantages of battery restoration at home are;

i) Reconditioning batteries can save you a decent amount of money. Refurbished batteries can save you around 25-50% of the retail cost of a new car battery, which is around $75-$100.

ii) Battery restoration at home is also good for Mother Nature. It can reduce the number of pollutants thrown into landfills. Batteries often contain acidic solutions, which damage the environment massively.

iii) Lastly, reconditioning batteries can give you the most important knowledge to start a car battery reconditioning business. This business requires little capital, and you can expect decent returns from it.

How to Do a Car Battery Restoration at Home

After all the discussions about DIY battery reconditioning, we will now discuss the step-by-step guide to car battery restoration at home. Just keep in mind that reconditioning batteries is not a big task, but you need to take some extra precautions as batteries consist of acidic solutions, which also contain lead and can cause burn injuries.

Things you need to recondition a battery

1) Mask

2) Disposable rubber gloves

3) Goggles

4) A battery charger

5) Flathead screwdriver

6) Distilled water (3.7 liters)

7) Baking powder

8) Bucket

9) Toothbrush

10) A battery terminal cleaner

11) One Apron

The Procedure of Reconditioning Batteries

i) Firstly, use a wrench to remove the battery from the car. Before reconditioning a battery, wear all the protective gear to protect yourself from any accidental acid spill. Always try to work in a well-ventilated area and keep any open flames away from that area.

ii) In the second step of car battery restoration at home, prepare a paste-like solution of baking soda and water in a 2:1 ratio to remove the corrosion on the battery terminal. Now, get a toothbrush, dip it into the solution, and rub it against the corroded terminal. Slowly, you’ll see the reduction of corrosion. You can also use sandpaper grit or steel wool in case of hard corrosion.

iii) After removing the corrosion, use your voltmeter to measure the voltage reading of the weak battery. If the reading is anywhere between 10V and 12.6V, then your battery needs to be reconditioned. Remember to connect the red wire to the positive terminal and the black wire to the negative terminal.

iv) In the fourth step of car battery restoration at home, you must remove the battery caps using a screwdriver. Then, pour all the old electrocyte solution from the battery into a non-metallic container.

v) In the fifth step of car battery restoration at home, you must prepare a solution based on Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) and distilled water. Mix 120gms of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) in 1 liter of distilled water, and mix well until the entire Epsom salt gets dissolved. Refill each cell with the newly made solution and close the caps. Don’t use tap water, as it may contain harmful chemicals for the batteries.

vi) In order to do a car battery restoration at home, you now have to recharge the newly reconditioned battery with a 3-phase smart charger, which is set to 12 volts. Now, charge the refurbished battery overnight.

vii) Turn off the charger in the morning, connect the battery to the car, and ensure all the cables are securely fastened.

Now complete the entire process by disconnecting the battery and charging it to the brim using the smart charger once a week for two to three weeks for better results.

So, this was the step-by-step guide to restore car batteries at home. We hope, that we have shared much-needed details about reconditioning batteries and their advantages.

If you want to learn more about reconditioning old batteries, visit EZ Battery Reconditioning. You can also opt for various flexible courses that will help you understand the process of reconditioning different kinds of batteries.

We understand you might have some questions about car battery restoration at home. So, we have created some FAQs for you;