Pulse charging lead-acid batteries to improve performance and reverse the effects of sulfation

When lead-acid batteries are improperly charged or discharged, useful power delivered to loads diminishes. One cause for this is a phenomenon generally referred to as sulfation. One possible method that has been proposed by many to reverse the effects of sulfation is to recharge the lead-acid battery using a pulse charger. To gain a better understanding of the possible benefits of this type of charging, a pulse charger/discharger was constructed. Cycle testing was then done on six pairs of batteries to compare the pulse charged batteries to conventional full-wave rectifier charged batteries. The results of the tests showed that pulse charging failed to improve the condition of sulfated batteries. Pulse charging did resulted in substantial improvements if the battery's condition was classified as fair. However, pulse charging had little effect on the condition of batteries in excellent condition.