AGM battery left idle 5 years: any hope?

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Tom Wootton

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Jun 3, 2004
12
Hunter 26 Yankeetown, FL
I haven't touched my Lifeline AGM battery for 5 years. Is it likely to hold any kind of charge after that long? If so, is there any preferred method of charging it for the first time in so many years?

Thanks in advance

Tom Wootton
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
just put the charger on it and go.
 
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Steve Dion

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Tom:

I would charge the battery and then do a load test. You may think it is charged, but until it is throughly tested you will not know if it is going to serve you well or not.
 
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Benny

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Sep 27, 2008
1,149
Hunter 320 Tampa, FL
Chances are that battery is toast but go ahead and put a charger to it and see what happens. You may need a strong charger (35+ amps) to activate the charge and if it does charge fully, beware of false capacity.
 
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Mike B1026

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Jun 17, 2007
402
MacGregor Mac26S Victoria Tx
Some auto charges won't charge a battery if your voltage is too low. In that case you can put a second 12 volt battery in parallel. The charger will "see" the higher voltage and begin charging them. IF your old battery comes up some, you can then remove that second battery and continue the charging.

Lifeline may have more info, I know Optima addresses this issue on their website.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
probably the simplest test is to install it in a car, jump start the car and run it. After a half hour run to the store if it starts the engine there is hope. Take your jumper cables with you.
 
zeehag

zeehag

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Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
just whack it with a mallet and charge it for 24 hours. then charge it for another 24 hours. dont put a hole in it-- just a nice tap to de sulfate it if needed. then it should charge ok.

if ye do what ross says, then just drop it from about a foot in altitude then do the rest. i promise it works.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
zeehag said:
just whack it with a mallet and charge it for 24 hours. then charge it for another 24 hours. dont put a hole in it-- just a nice tap to de sulfate it if needed. then it should charge ok.

if ye do what ross says, then just drop it from about a foot in altitude then do the rest. i promise it works.
Click to expand
Just drive across Baltimore and don't try to miss the pot holes and you won't need the mallet. lol.
 
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arghhh

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Apr 7, 2010
19
House Boat Seattle
Most likely the battery is completely sulfated. If you can get it to take any amps from a charger most likely it is going to all be converted to heat and can cause a thermal runaway condition, or even explode. I would recommend getting a few dollars from a recycler and getting a new battery.

Check the voltage with a multimeter before you hook anything to it. If you are below 10 it's not worth the risk.
 
Jalepeno

Jalepeno

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Mar 2, 2008
406
Cal 25 mk II T-Bird Marina, West Vancouver
Been there and done that.

I agree with ARGHHH, the "whack it with a mallet" trick has not worked on AGM's for me. If the voltage is less than 10 volts it is probably best to just get a new one.
 
RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
zeehag said:
just whack it with a mallet and charge it for 24 hours. then charge it for another 24 hours. dont put a hole in it-- just a nice tap to de sulfate it if needed. then it should charge ok.
Click to expand
Not such a bad idea as it sounds, as it may loosen the sulphation on the plates - but it may result in a 'shorted' battery.
If simple charging doesnt restore the battery, get a high frequency 'battery desulfator' (included as a function on many of Vector, etc. "smart chargers")
 
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