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Home » Battery Chargers » 2 Simple Battery Desulfator Circuits Explored

2 Simple Battery Desulfator Circuits Explored

Last Updated on September 1, 2021 by Swagatam 236 Comments

In this article we investigate 2 simple yet powerful battery desulfator circuits, which can be used to effectively to remove and prevent desulfation in lead acid batteries. The first method uses PWM pulses, while the second method implements a ordinary bridge rectifier for the same.

Sulphation in lead acid batteries is quite common and a big problem because the process completely hampers the efficiency of the battery. Charging a lead acid battery through PWM method is said to initiate desulfation, helping recover battery efficiency to some levels.

What is Sulphation in Lead Acid Batteries

Sulphation is a process where the sulfuric acid present inside lead acid batteries react with the plates overtime to form layers of white powder like substance over the plates.

This layer deposit seriously deteriorates the chemical actions inside the battery while charging or discharging making the battery inefficient with its power delivering capabilities.

Normally this happens when the battery is not being used for long periods and the charging, discharging processes are not done very frequently.

Unfortunately there's no effective way of tackling this problem, however it has been researched that the jammed sulphur deposits over an effected battery may be broken down to some extent by subjecting the battery to high current bursts while charging it.

These high current charging pulses should be well optimized through some control circuit and should be diagnosed carefully while implementing the process.

1) Using PWM

Implementing the method through PWM controlled circuit is probably the best way of doing it.

Here's an excerpt from wikipedia, which says,

" Desulfation is achieved by high current pulses produced between the terminals of the battery. This technique, also called pulse conditioning, breaks down the sulfate crystals that are formed on the battery plates. Short high current pulses tend to work best. Electronic circuits are used to regulate the pulses of different widths and frequency of high current pulses. These can also be used to automate the process since it takes a long period of time to desulfate a battery fully."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ABattery_regenerator

The circuit of a PWM battery charger discussed here can be considered as the best design for carrying out the above desulfation process.

How the Circuit Functions

The IC 555 is configured and used in its standard PWM control mode.

The output from the IC is appropriately amplified through a couple transistors so that it is able to deliver the said high current pulses to the battery which needs to be desulfated.

The PWM control may be set at low "mark" ratio for implementing a desulfation process.

Conversely if the circuit is intended to be used for charging normal batteries, the PWM control may be adjusted for generating pulses with equal mark/space ratios or as per the desired specs.

The controlling of the PWM will solely depend on an individuals personal preference, so should be done correctly as per the battery manufacturers instructions.

Failing to follow the correct procedures may lead to fatal accidents with the battery, due to a possible explosion of the battery.

An input current level equal to the battery AH level may be chosen initially, and reduced gradually if a positive response is detected from the battery.

2) Desulfating with a Transformer and Bridge Rectifier Circuit

To make this simplest yet effective battery desulfator with charger circuit you would just require a suitably rated transformer, and a bridge rectifier. The design not only desulfates a battery, it keeps the new batteries from developing this issue and simultaneously charges them to the desired levels.

At the beginning of this post we learned how to desulfate using PWM concept, however a deeper research shows that the process of desulfating a battery may not necessarily require a precision PWM circuit, the supply just needs to be oscillating at some given rate, and that's enough to initiate the desulfating process (in most cases)... provided the battery is still within the curing range and is not beyond the reviving state.

So what would you need to make this super simple battery desulfator circuit which will also charge the given battery, and additionally possess the ability to keep the new batteries from developing the sulfation issue?

A suitably rated transformer, a bridge rectifier and an ammeter are all that's needed for the purpose.

The transformer voltage must be rated approximately 25% more than the battery voltage rating, that is for a 12V battery a 15 to 16V supply may be used across the battery terminals.

The current can be approximately equal to the Ah rating of the battery for those which need to be revived and are badly sulfated, for the good batteries the charging current could be around 1/10th or 2/10th of  their Ah rating. The bridge rectifier must be rated according to the specified or calculated charging levels.

Desulfator Schematic using Bridge Rectifier

How Bridge Rectifier Operates as a Desulfator

The diagram above shows the bare minimum requirement for the proposed battery desulfator with charger circuit.

We can see the most standard or rather crude AC to DC power supply set up, where the transformer steps down the mains voltage to 15V AC for the specified 12V battery.

Before it can reach the battery terminals, the 15V AC goes through the rectification process through the attached bridge rectifier module and gets converted into a full-wave 15V DC.

With a 220V mains input, the frequency before the bridge would be 50Hz (standard grid spec), and after rectification this is supposed to become double that is at 100Hz. For a 110V AC input this would be around 120Hz.

This happens because the bridge network inverts the lower half cycles of the stepped down AC and combines it with the upper half cycles, to finally produce a 100Hz or 120 Hz pulsating DC.

It is this pulsating DC which becomes responsible for shaking-up or knocking down the sulfate deposits on the internal plates of the particular battery.

For a good battery this 100 Hz pulsed charging supply ensures that the sulfation ceases to occur on the first place and thus helps to keep the plates relatively free from this issue.

You can also see an ammeter connected in series with the supply input, it provides a direct indication of he current consumption by the battery and provides a "LIVE update" of the charging procedure, and whether or not anything positive might be happening.

For good batteries this will provide the start to finish info regarding the charging process, that is initially the needle of the meter will indicate the specified charging rate by the battery and may be gradually expected to drop down to the zero mark, and that's when the charging supply needs to be disconnected.

A more sophisticated approach can be employed for enabling an automatic cut-off once the battery is fully charge by employing an opamp based automatic battery full charge cut off circuit (the second diagram).

Using High Voltage Pulse

The configuration detailed below provides the most up-to-date methods of desulfating lead-acid batteries. It is a circuit which routinely supplies quick yet intense pulses to the battery, while discharging the battery marginally between the pulses.

This technique, as much as recognized right now, is the best way to knock of undesirable build up of sulphate crystals and to bring back the battery plates into a good condition.

Because the voltage necessary for the high voltage pulses comes from the battery itself (this might appear a little bizarre initially, however the discharge of the battery is likewise a part of this technique), it is advised to hook up a charger in parallel with the battery and desulfator once the battery has not much capacity remaining.

Pulse generator

It could be noticed in the circuit diagram that the parts needed for the desulphator tend to be extremely humble. The circuit consists of a couple of stages: a high voltage generator constructed using IC1, IC2d and T1, that generates the charging pulses, and an indicator circuit which involves not more than 3 op amps (IC2a, b, c) and three LEDs, that indicate exactly what condition the battery is in.

Let’s go through the pulse generator initially. Just like the other parts of the circuit, its supply voltage is obtained from the battery itself through K1. Although we’re discussing the supply voltage, this must have a pretty consistent voltage and should be devoid of any spikes (except those produced by the circuit itself).

Inductor L1 works like a suppressor, and is included in order to eliminate undesirable voltage spikes, along with C2 and C3 which work like smoothing capacitors.

LED D1 illuminates as soon as the supply voltage is switched ON. To proceed with the pulse generator, IC1 (a 4047) produces a square wave having a frequency of 1 kHz and a duty cycle which typically is 50 PERCENT. When the Q output of IC1 turns high, FET T1 switches ON. This results in a (discharge) current to move through the battery by means of L2, that boosts linearly until the voltage across R4 is approximately 0.35 V; the current can now be around 1 A.

At this instant comparator IC2d changes state, triggering IC1 to be reset and T1 to become switched off. The stashed magnetic energy inside L2 now gets converted to a voltage spike, which is inflicted to the battery through D3. How big the spike is can be determined by the condition of the battery.

If the battery is in a decent condition and its internal resistance is rather small, in that case the spike voltage level may also be reduced (under 15 V). In case the battery has a high internal resistance then the peak level of the spike could be as huge as 50 V. Its highest magnitude will be restricted and equal to the value of the two series connected zener diodes, D4 and D5.

LED Indicators

Considering that the health of the battery could be dependent on how big the charging pulses are, we have included a straightforward LED circuit which indicates the optimum value of the pulses. The 3 comparators IC2a-c evaluate the peak value inside C4 and changeover at voltages of 15, 20 and 30 V correspondingly.

Therefore in case the battery is in a reasonably good shape, the green LED (D8) illuminates, with a under-performing battery, the yellow LED (D9) lights up, and with an incredibly bad battery the red LED (D10) glows.

We have an information that needs to be pointed out regarding the indicator circuit: in order to prevent all three LEDs from illuminating simultaneously in response to a high peak voltage, they are attached in parallel to a single common series resistor (R9).

Since the red LED carries a smaller voltage drop compared to yellow LED, they may in no way illuminate together. But the yellow and green LEDs have got a identical voltage drop, so a similar technique will not do the job here, which explains why the green LED comes with an normal diode (D7), hooked up in series with it.

You will find three alternative methods through which the desulfator may be used. The first is to apply it within an existing system (inside a car as an example) to avoid sulphation from taking place inside a battery having minimum sulphation.

The advanced desulfator circuit is built-in with the system by hooking it up straight to the battery using shortest possible cabling. Because the circuit could be kept connected forever, absolutely nothing more needs to be done.

The current consumption is approximately 20 mA, therefore the battery might discharge in case it is not charged up from time to time. Recovery of batteries which have previously sulphated can be carried out in a couple of techniques. The first method would be to charge the battery, eliminate the charger and after that hook up the desulfator circuit.

Since the power for the charging pulses is derived directly from the battery itself, it is going to gradually discharge. This technique needs to be observed carefully because a completely discharged battery must be recharged quickly.

Most likely in real life many charge/discharge cycles will probably be necessary before a terribly sulphated battery could be restored to life. Since the approach described above needs a great deal of attention and has a danger that the battery could be left in a discharged condition unnecessarily (which can be extremely harmful to a lead acid battery!), another method can be perhaps much better.

The battery is coupled to the desulfator circuit, using a trickle charger hooked up in parallel. This implies, no chargers must be integrated that supply a current of 7 A or higher, yet one that provides a optimum of 1 or 2 A. This could be left coupled to the battery endlessly with no issues.

You'll also like:

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  • 3.  Simple 48V Automatic Battery Charger Circuit
  • 4.  High Voltage Battery Charger Circuit
  • 5.  Simple Ni-Cd Battery Charger Circuits Explored
  • 6.  How to Select the Right Charger for Li-Ion Battery

About Swagatam

I am an electronic engineer (dipIETE ), hobbyist, inventor, schematic/PCB designer, manufacturer. I am also the founder of the website: https://www.homemade-circuits.com/, where I love sharing my innovative circuit ideas and tutorials.
If you have any circuit related query, you may interact through comments, I'll be most happy to help!

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  1. Satyam says

    Good day, Swagatam,

    I didn't get nF capacitors (not available at the shop I went to), I bought a 1 microF and a 100 microF. If I substitute these into the circuit, how will it affect the output?

    Thanks,
    Satyam.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Good day Satyam,

      The circuit needs to be operated with high frequency so a 1uF or 100uF will not work.

      1nf = 0.1uF, so can try other closer values like 0.22uF etc. or any value between 0.01uF to 0.1uF will also do.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      oops, correction: 1nF = 0.001uF

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      better use a 680pF for pin6/2 and 103 or 0.01uF for pin5

      Reply
    • Satyam says

      Good day,

      Thanks for your quick response. I've built the circuit with the components that I described, however I'll keep looking for the correct capacitors. (I got some surface-mounted caps yesterday, but destroyed them trying to install them.)

      I suspected that my frequency would be affected. Using f= 1/(0.693 x C x (R1 + 2R2)), the frequency of my circuit would be somewhere around 300 Hz, whereas your design is for 300 kHz. Does that sound about right?

      At any rate, I'm using it on a number of car batteries where I suspect sulphation. Will come back & update when I replace the caps, or with results.

      Best regards.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Higher frequency would produce better effects according to me, however the pwm pulses would finally decide the optimization rate.

      Reply
  2. electronica2000 says

    Swagatam:
    Excellent circuit, I'm about to try arm. I'd appreciate if you tell me regularly cnveniente a zener and 100 ohm resistor voltage to the 555 and ensure it does not overheat.

    Thank you for your attention

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      thanks electronica,

      the IC can work safely with upto 15V, yet for extra stabilization you may use a 7805 IC for it.

      Reply
  3. electronica2000 says

    Swagatam:

    Swagatam:

    Thanks for your reply and recommendation. If working at 555 with 5 volts regulated from 7805, the oscillation frequency is not affected?

    Are pleased to greet and congratulate again the excellent circuits published.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Thanks Electronica,

      yes it will not be affected.

      Reply
  4. electronica2000 says

    Swagatam:
    Very nice, I appreciate your attention to my queries. Best wishes from Guatemala.

    Hugo

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      You are welcome Hugo!

      Reply
  5. Nawnit Arya says

    Hi Swagatam, I have installed automatic voltage stabliser for home supply,
    the only problem is, when it starts, initialy it supply high volts(300 ) for less den 1 sec. den it functions well..
    Pls let me know what is the problem n how can i fix it..

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Nawnit,

      You will need to add a delay ON timer at the output of your stabilizer as shown in the following link, a similar situation has been addressed at the bottom of the article.

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2013/02/make-this-simple-delay-on-circuit.html

      Reply
  6. Nawnit Arya says

    Thanks buddy,
    will it work fine upto 4 kw load?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      You will have to select the relay appropriately, I think a 30 amp relay would do the job.

      Reply
  7. Nawnit Arya says

    Thanks Swagat,
    sorry for one more problem,
    I inspected the stablizer, it has 24 volts relays, so i need to operate the "delay on" circuit on 24 volts instead 12 volts.
    What modification i need?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      You will have to use a 24V relay in the circuit, that's all, no other change would be required.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      The 24v supply for the circuit can be derived from the stabilizer board itself.

      Reply
  8. Nawnit Arya says

    Thanks Swagat,
    Tryed smthing diffrnt with the stablizer that i must share wid u.
    There are 5 taps in auto transformer, 1st n 3rd tap has been used as input with a relay control and rest for output wid 2 more relays.
    I inspected the 1st relay status at power on, it was making 1st tap as as input for 1 sec then change it to 3rd tap as input, so there was high volt at power on.
    I interchanged 1st and 3rd tap input with relay.
    Now its working good .

    Reply
  9. Nawnit Arya says

    But m not sure if it will be failed for high voltage input. Vl try to make a diagram of switching.
    Please comment.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      It's difficult to guess how it will do with high or low voltage condition, we can't say without practical testing, let's see…

      Reply
  10. Nawnit Arya says

    Hi Swagat,
    I need a signal strength meter for direct to home disc alignment at roof.
    Can it be made simply at home with transistor and led.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Nawnit,

      UHF Signal meters are complex devices, not within my reach.

      Reply
  11. Swagatam says

    Thanks!

    The negative will go to the rail which is connected to pin#1 of the IC

    Reply
  12. Sean-K says

    Hi Swagatam, your circuits are incredibly practical. Thanks for sharing and explaining.
    I am a bit confused as I read the thread as I saw reference to a 100K pot and L1 inductor but the circuit above for PWM 555 pulser does not show these. What am I missing ?
    2.bp.blogspot.com/-L9UBEjJp8XU/UUQLd8oW6YI/AAAAAAAADkk/FlaSh6PwIos/s1600/battery+desulfator+circuit.png

    Sean

    Reply
  13. Swagatam says

    Thank you Sean,

    Actually the circuit has gone through many changes since it was first posted, so please ignore the previous comments as those are with reference to the previous diagram which had quite a few flaws.
    The present design looks to be easier and viable.

    Reply
  14. Sean-K says

    Thanks for your clarification. I was curious about the use of the inductor (i.e. collapsing magnetic field/pulse, etc).
    Anyhow, I will try this circuit out as its simple enough to make. I would like to try to revive some large capacity (100AH) NiMh batteries I have pulsing with high current. I am hoping the technique will lower the internal resistance of the batteries even though the chemistry is different (i.e. they don't sulphate).

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      I wanted to keep it simple, so I eliminated the inductor part, I hope it works for you….:)

      Reply
  15. Sean-K says

    Hi Swagatam
    Finally have parts to make the pwm but looking for a hi current supply.
    It occurred to me that lead acid batteries will not sink as much current as it starts to get full. Does the circuit take this into consideration ?
    When the transistor is on, is it essentially grounding the battery ?
    When it is off, is there any ringing without an inductor ?

    Sean

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Sean,

      If the voltage is set at some higher level then that will force the battery to sink the current which in turn will hopefully initiate the desulfation process.

      Here you can try with a 15V DC, current may be equal to the AH level of the battery and the pot set to provide short pulses.

      When the transistor is ON, it connects the negative of the battery to the negative of the power supply completing the circuit for the battery so that it receives the required charging pulse.

      No, there won't be any ringing effect due to the absence of an inductor.

      Reply
    • Sean-K says

      hi Swagatam,
      Thanks again for your reply. How do I limit the current ?
      I planned on using an old server power supply or rewinding the secondary of a microwave transformer. Won't the circuit try to pull all the current it can unless its limited ?
      Sean

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Sean,

      The circuit will not draw anything above 5mA, as long as the voltage does not exceed 15/16V mark, above this anyway the IC555 would get damaged, so I don't think any current control for the circuit would be required.

      Reply
    • Sean-K says

      Hi Swagatam, I think you mis-understood my question.
      With your circuit you recommend limiting the current to the battery initially to 1C. so if I have a 40AH battery, I should limit the pulse current to 40AH. I was asking how I could do this since I don't have a power supply with a current limit. I am thinking of making a power supply by stepping down 240VAC to 15VAC and rectifying it. But this will not be limited. Is there a clever way to control the max current the battery draws ?

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Sean,

      You can select a transformer rated at around 20 to 30 amps, that will itself take care of the current…actually the current is not a critical value, anything higher than the normal charging method can be employed, and expected to work here.

      Reply
  16. Sean-K says

    Thanks again Swagatam, will update the thread with my results.
    btw, I read somewhere (maybe here..) that the high current pulse may burn out shorted cells restoring even batteries that are considered unrepairable.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Sean,

      Then that would be an added feature of this design.

      Looking forward to your updates…best wishes!

      Reply
  17. m.a.m.hathiq says

    i am very proude of you . how can i indicate this circuit is working after design

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      keep a voltmeter attached with the battry, if the voltage increases gradually within 4 hrs means it's working.

      Reply
  18. Swagatam says

    please ignore these initial comments, the diagram has been modified and updated differently, so these comments have no relevance with the present diagram.

    Reply
  19. Abu-Hafss says

    Hi Swagatam

    I have read some of above posts talking about an inductor L1. Where is that inductor, I can't see it in the circuit or any reference in your article?

    By the way, I am working on a trickle charge desulfator. I am considering to integrate a circuit to measure battery's internal resistance (BIR). There are a few BIR measuring circuits on the net but, they need to take occasional measurement manually. Here are two of them:

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20969135/internal-resistance-tester-for-batteries-2.jpg
    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20969135/accutest.jpg

    My idea is to have three-LED indication……..the red LED to indicate high resistance, yellow to indicate medium and green for very low resistance. The BIR circuit will operate in parallel with the desulfator circuit. The illumination of the green LED would indicate that the battery has been desulfated, now it is ready to use.

    A relay could be used to connect the BIR circuit to the battery periodically to check the status. A latch can be deployed to keep the indicator LED on but, I just cannot sort out how to get the output on LED as the output is just 5-50mV.

    Can you please help me in this regard? If required, I can send you the links of the sites to have the description of those circuits.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Abu-Hafss,

      In the original design I had used an inductor but later found that it could be avoided and came up with the present design , the inductor related comments that you see were posted with reference to the earlier design

      A BIR could be a very useful ad-on.

      50mV can be amplified by using a opamp may be. What do you think?

      Reply
    • Abu-Hafss says

      Hi Swagatam

      Here is my basic design for LED indication of BIR status. The reference voltage is 12mV.

      https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20969135/BIR%20indicator.gif

      But, later I realized that the output is is mVAC. Any suggestions, how to deal this issue?

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Abu-Hafss,

      I am not able to recollect the previous discussions and the simulation made by me with reference to this diagram, so not able to figure out much about the circuit, if you can point out specific concerns in your diagram then probably I can try suggesting my opinions.

      Reply
    • Abu-Hafss says

      Hi Swagatam

      Kindly refer to my post of January 12, 2014. Here is the link for your ready reference.

      https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20969135/accutest.jpg

      The battery internal resistance is measured in mVAC. A good battery would show less than 12mVAC. And with higher internal resistance would show more than 12mVAC.

      I am just wondering how to compare the fluctuating mVAC with a reference voltage.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Abu-Hafss,
      I think it would be a better idea to use a LM3915 IC for detecting the relevant voltage levels because the opamp circuit could become too complex.
      Refer to the last diagram in the following article, the mic can be removed and the transistor may be directly fed from the 100k pot output

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2012/03/how-to-make-vibration-detectormeter.html

      Reply
  20. Abu-Hafss says

    Hi Swagatam

    I came across a desulfator circuit which, apart from the regular desulfation process, also shorts momentarily battery terminals as shown here:

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20969135/Desulfation.gif

    I want to know, couldn't the signal from the 555 pin#3 be directly fed to the gate of the mosfet (point A) or at point B?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Abu-Hafss,

      How does this circuit desulfate…is it by charging and shorting the battery alternately? I could not understand the concept.

      Reply
  21. Abu-Hafss says

    Hi Swagatam 🙂

    One complete cycle includes 3 steps:

    1) 15 sec pulse charging
    2) 1 sec delay for settling
    3) 100ms shorting battery terminals

    I am just curious about the driving of the mosfet as I asked in my previous post.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Abu-Hafss 🙂 how are these three steps implemented because i can see only one active input from the IC 555.

      I wanted to know the relevance of the transistor stages for answering your question correctly.

      Normally we know that a mosfet gate can be integrated with any IC output may it be a 555, a cmos or a opamp, as long as the voltage is below 15V

      Reply
  22. Abu-Hafss says

    Hi Swagatam

    Since I was focusing only on the mosfet so I didn't gave you the details of the other sections.

    As mentioned earlier, one cycle consists of mainly 3 steps + 1 step to monitor battery voltage. Each step is controlled by a 555 and another 555 is controlling all these 4 ICs (the entire cycle). If you want to have a look at the circuit, here it is.

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20969135/Desulfator%204-stage.gif

    I am sorry, that is maximum available resolution of the picture.

    Now, I repeat my question in other way. If the mosfet can be driven directly by the 555, why the author deployed 0.8A transistors to drive the mosfet. You can find them at the top-right corner. I haven't linked the website as per your general instruction however, if you want to see the circuit description I can send you the link.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Abu-afss,

      It could be for allowing the mosfet to conduct and restrict correctly, especially the use of the push-pull (PNP/NPN) stage which ensures safe charge/discharge of the internal cap of the mosfet, because as we all know how sensitive these mosfets can be at times.

      Reply
  23. Carl Corbeau says

    Hello Swagatam,

    I would like to build a hi/lo adjustable relay/contactor.
    Say ….12v on 13.5 off
    I could then put it in series with any charger.
    It would be great for maintenance and prevent over charging.

    A variant of this could also kick in a discharge cycle.
    This would be good for desulfating.

    Do you have a design lik this?

    Yours
    Carl

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hello Carl,

      Please see the last diagram in the following link, it'll fit your need well:

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2011/12/how-to-make-simple-low-battery-voltage.html

      The second relay shown is not relevant, you may remove it.

      Reply
  24. m.a.m.hathiq says

    how can i indigate this is working correctly irf 540 get heat?

    Reply
  25. Avenger says

    Lead Lead Sulfate PbSO4 is part of battery charge discharge cycle. The structural form of PbSo4 makes the difference. While amorphous PbSo4 is reversible while hard crystalline PbSO4 is irreversible and inactive. Shallow cycle batteries never have to be discharged under 12.5 volts. If this happens an immediate charge will consume and transform PbSO4 in to Pb, H2O, PbO2 and H2So4. If let staying there for sometime the PbSO4 crystallize and turns inactive. To make a long story short if battery isn’t in use immediately use Float charging with a battery trickle. Harbor freight tools sell a battery trickle (Floater) for $9.99, which I bought on sale for $6.0. The manufacturer 13.2Volts was only a promise, but replacing VR1 with a 100-Ohm trim pot, I can adjust the voltage from 12.6V to 14.25V. I set it at 13.25V but this is only the first aid. What you need is EQUALIZE the BATTERY; this can be done at 14.5V for some hours. During this process the strong cells start boiling but the weakest cells continue charging. This can be done with a battery tender. I bought one from Wal-Mart connected to my VW Touareg and the next day the relay was chattering ON / OF non-stop. Measured Voltage a found 14.85 Volts. The electronic system of the car was fighting hard against this stupid tender. I solved the problem building up my Battery Tender with precision voltage Window 14.5V stop charging and 12.6V restart charging giving the battery a chance to rest, RELAX. Charging a discharged battery you have to deal with Bulk Charge Current Density that depends from electrode surface and is expressed on mA / Cm2. If a have to deal with an accidentally fully discharged battery I use my Automatic Smart Battery Charger, with Equalizing and reconditioning features.

    Reply
  26. gigi morphe says

    hi
    I just realise in the circuit there is no ground to the circuit?
    if we use power supply to connect to this circuit the plus 15V pole goes to the battery and the circuit where then the negative pole goes?
    I know if I use coil and transistor I have to connect the negative pole to emitter but on mos fet not sure looks like this one joint missing from the circuit
    could you please correct me if I am wrong?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      The line connected with pin#1 of the IC is the negative line and must be connected with the power supply negative.

      Reply
    • Carl Corbeau says

      So Avenger is saying that there is no coming back from hard crystalline PbSO4 .
      OUCH!
      One should have all batteries under full time trickle charge.

      Avenger ,…. which one of Swagatam's designs did you use for your charger?

      Carl

      Reply
  27. gigi morphe says

    thank you I already done it just downloaded the ic pin out then I know the number 1 leg is the ground.
    thank you again for your fast response and attention.

    Reply
  28. deepurenj says

    Is it possible to desulphate my 6v,5ah sealed lead acid battery by this ckt.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      yes it's possible

      Reply
    • deepurenj says

      How it to be possible?what changes in the ckt for 6v,5ah sla battery desulphating.and how much time taken to desulphate.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      use 10V supply with 3 amp current,
      use TIP122 instead of the mosfet
      time is not known……. also the result may not be positive, will depend on how much your battery may be recoverable.

      Reply
    • deepurenj says

      Thanks for your information.tell me the Pin connections of TIP122 while using instead of mosfet in this ckt.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      pls check its datasheet

      Reply
  29. imanul sofian says

    Hi Mr. Swagatam, newbee here.
    So I've finished assembling the circuit, how to tell that it's working before I start attaching it to the battery? I mean is there some type of indication there or do i've to measure anything first?
    thank you.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Imanul,

      There's no circuit which can guarantee a perfect desulfation in dead batteries, so you can only hope that this circuit produces the intended results as it's designed as per the standard recommended specifications.

      Use the circuit for about 4 hours and then check the battery with an appropriate load, if the charge sustains for an appreciable amount of time you can assume it to be revived, otherwise you may repeat the procedure with some change in the PWM frequency and/or the input current to the circuit and check the response in a similar manner.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      …please change the 1n caapcitor with a 10uF capacitor.

      connect an LEd across pin3 and ground via a 1K resistor.

      When switched ON this LED must flash rapidly indicating a proper functioning of the circuit, changing the pot would change the flash rate on this LEd

      you can keep the new capacitor connected and use the circuit for the required purpose, it won't make any difference in the performance.

      Reply
  30. Nasif Reyal says

    Hi,

    I started building your old circuit and only realized you have changed them ,but I have bought parts for the old diagram,so can I build the circuit without the inductor with the TIP122 ,or should I Change it IRF540.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi, I changed the circuit a long time ago may be a half year ago, it's strange you are building it now.

      I would recommend you to make the above shown design instead of the earlier one since adding a coil will not make much of a difference.

      Reply
  31. Nasif Reyal says

    I've built the first circuit and when i connect the battery the coil heats up and smokes

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      please try the above circuit without the coil, the TIP122 will need to be upgraded if your battery AH is higher than 20AH

      Reply
    • Nasif Reyal says

      my battery is 80 AH

      Reply
    • Nasif Reyal says

      Can I use IRF540N instead of IRF540

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      IRF540N will do and will work for an 80AH battery

      Reply
  32. Abdul Habib Anwari says

    can we ad two LEDs to show it is charging and one for it is charged?

    Reply
  33. Josue Ladera says

    Hi swagatam! Is there a need to change some parts of the circuit if my battery is ranging 7 to 14 amp?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Josue,

      no changes would be required for your mentioned application.

      Reply
  34. Josue Ladera says

    Hi swagatam! What is the ideal mosfet for a below 20amp battery?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      IRF540 is the ideal mosfet as shown in the diagram

      Reply
  35. Swagatam says

    Hi Mikel,

    you can connect an LED across pin3 and ground with a series 1K resistor but it will appear continuously glowing due to high frequency pulses from the IC

    Reply
  36. Swagatam says

    Thanks Mikel,

    changing 1nF to 1uF will reduce the frequency or the pulse rate, but that will not affect the results, so it's OK.

    the mosfet and the supply voltage are also OK, but the current input must be well over 20 amps for desulfating a 100AH battery, so make sure the supply current is at this level.

    Reply
  37. Jusi Bayani says

    Sir, I'm planning to add this circuit on my existing 72v ebike charger. It has 6 pcs.12v 20ah battery connected in series. Would it be possible? What ic regulator should I use for LM555's supply voltage? And what mosfet would you recommend?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Jusi, yes you can try it, just make sure to disconnect the battery positive from the shown point and connect it with the +72V supply……..and connect the positive of the circuit with the positive of last 12V battery in the series which has its negative connected with the bike's ground or the bike's negative….

      the negative of the circuit can be joined with this ground that is the common ground line.

      Reply
  38. Swagatam says

    Thanks Sachin,

    shorting would be advisable only if the battery has sufficient charge on it, unless it's charged fully, shorting won't induce any effect on the plates.

    The pulse charger explained in the above article is the ultimate way of dealing with this mess, if the battery responds and wakes up to the pulsed charging only then the shorting of the terminals can be tried, however as shown in the video a high amp resistive load would be more appropriate than shorting since here we don't have to worry about the delay period in ms

    Reply
  39. Alaa Jennoud says

    Good day to you sir.
    Thank you for sharing all the great work.
    A few questions about this circuit :
    1. What is the 5k POT for ? & how to adjust it ?
    2. Does the IRF 540 need a heat sink ?
    3. The negative of charger is directly connected to IC Pin #1 ?
    4. How to connect a LED to this circuit, that illuminate when connect to battery ?
    5. Any harm if connect to the battery permanently ?
    Thanks a lot in advance .

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Good day Alaa,

      1) 5K is for playing with the output pulse width, which might in turn help to implement a optimal desulfating effect….it could be a matter of some trial and error and dependant on the connected battery condition. however it's not so crucial, you can keep it at the center to begin with

      2) Normally it shouldn't require a heatsink, however you can test it practically by touching it, to be on a safer side..

      3) yes the negative of the charger needs toeb connected to the pin#1 line of the IC

      4) charging indication might not be possible, however an ammeter may be connected in series with the battery positive to get a direct reading regarding the batt response to the charging procedure.

      5) yes if the battery begins responding and desulfating…an ammeter can be used for monitoring the same as explained in the above point

      Reply
  40. ASAD ALI says

    which simulator i can use to make this circuit and can have a dead battery in it for charging?
    if you plz don't mind…can you plz send me the whole process from the begining till the battery desulphation.. what all the pins are doing … plz .. i will be gratefull to you.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      simulation is not required, just procure the parts and the build the circuit, the circuit is explained in the articles itself…

      Reply
  41. hui says

    is there any inductor on the above schematic ????

    Reply
  42. khairiel anwar says

    Thanks for circuit skema

    Reply
  43. conundrum says

    Interesting circuit. I had a thought, perhaps this could be combined with adding a very small (<3ml) of acid to each cell technique for unmucking dead SLAs typically run to death in UPSs.
    If they are at 0.0V I doubt any technique will work but its the ones which have good voltage but next to no capacity that could be salvageable.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      thanks for updating this info, appreciate it!

      Reply
  44. hisham bahaa-aldeen says

    hi mr swagatam,i hope you are good
    i suggest to add a simple mosfet driver using a transistor cause 555 output voltage is weak and thus will overheat the mosfet,i tried before to connect 555 output to mosfet gate with a resistor and mosfet gets hot.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Hisham, I am good thanks,

      555 IC has an output that's more powerful than most ICs, however mosfets never require a powerful signal to operate, they just need a voltage above 9V for operating optimally.

      You can try reducing the gate resistor to 10 ohms and check the response….or may be the load you have connected could be above the mosfet range

      Reply
  45. hisham bahaa-aldeen says

    cause mosfet need at least 5v to operate normally.
    best regrads

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      IC 555 will produce a voltage that's exactly equal to the supply voltage, so in the above case the output will be 15V at pin3…not an issue for the mosfet.

      Reply
  46. Unknown says

    Can we use this circuit for sealed lead acid battery 6 volts please reply

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      yes can be tried…

      Reply
  47. irfan lodhi says

    can i use irf640 instead of irf540…..or is it work without toroid coils which are arranged in order to make hi pluses.. that is 1000uH and 200uH

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      torroid coil is not necessary….i am not sure about IRF640, if its current/voltage specs are compatible then it can be used

      Reply
  48. Faith Jumbo says

    Hi swagatam please i need your help i have a 12v battery@200A and they are 4 in number connected in parallel and i want to make a charger for it, a charger that provide at least 80A for the battery connected in parallel please can you give me pulse width charger circuit with cut off that can handle such high current thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Faith, the 80 amp is supposd to come from the transformer of the charger power supply….you can use any relay based automatic charger posted in this website and attach a 14V 100 amp power supply to its input for achieving the required results.

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      PWM is not required for this

      Reply
    • Faith Jumbo says

      Please can u give me the link to relay base automatic charger

      Reply
    • Swagatam says

      you can try the following

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2011/12/high-current-10-to-20-amp-automatic.html

      Reply
  49. Unknown says

    sir, i want use led for pulse show in this circuit where i connect please help

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      connect it from pin#3 to ground through a 1K resistor, but the LED will appear continuously lit with any frequency higher than 4Hz

      Reply
  50. untung suharto says

    I just build it, but not work and then checked using an oscilloscope nothing pulse or voltage spike Yo the battery.
    Adivice me, give solving about this problem.

    Reply
  51. Swagatam says

    it means your 555 is not working or a is faulty, replace the 5K pot with 100K and replace the pin6/2 capacitor with a 100uF, and check the output if it generates the pulses or not…if still not, then you may think about changing the IC

    Reply
  52. Faith Jumbo says

    Sir I'm really proud of you for ur good works and quik response you are one in a million. Sir about the above circuit can it be use to charge a 12v@600AH and if yes what modifications should i do. secondly the circuit seem not to have charge control which means one needs to monitor the so that it dont get over charge if that be the case how can i add a cut of can i use this circuit https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2013/03/automatic-lead-acid-battery-charger.html?m=1 from this your post if yes how i attached ithttps://www.homemade-circuits.com/2013/03/automatic-lead-acid-battery-charger.html?m=1

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Thank you Faith,

      you can use the above circuit for charging any desired battery, through appropriate modifications in the mosfet value.

      for your application you will need to replace the existing mosfet with a 100amp rated moefet…

      Reply
  53. Faith Jumbo says

    Thank u for the reply

    Ok can connect mosfet in parallel so that the current can be shared among them.

    secondly the circuit seem not to have charge control which means one needs to monitor the battery so that it dont get over charge if that be the case how can i add a cut of can i use this circuit

    https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2013/03/automatic-lead-acid-battery-charger.html?m=1 from this your post

    Again is the mosfet N-channel or p-channel

    If N-channel is it the drain that gose to the negative of the battery? While source to ground

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      yes connecting the mosfets in parallel will also work to increase the amps.

      I won't recommend the linked 555 based design, instead you ca use the following one

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2011/12/self-regulating-lead-acid-battery.html

      the mosfet shown in the above desulfator article is an N channel, and its source is connected with the negative line.

      Reply
  54. Faith Jumbo says

    Again should my duty cycle be 95% or 100% advice is needed in this case

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      duty cycle can be a matter of experimentation , start with 50% initially

      Reply
  55. Faith Jumbo says

    Hi you are the best
    I made this charger and its really working thank you very much please how do i include cutoff to this circuit

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      thanks Faith, you can use the following circuit for the cut off

      ttp://162.240.8.81/~homembc5/2011/12/self-regulating-lead-acid-battery.html

      Reply
  56. Faith Jumbo says

    Sir this what i observe i noticed that even when there is no gate voltage to the mosfet the battery is still charging i went as far removing the 555timer to confirm this and notice the battery was charging please what could be the cause and how to correct it thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Faith, I think your mosfet is already burnt, or was originally faulty….instead you can try a TIP35 BJT, because BJTs are normally more rugged than mosfets and do not get burnt mysteriously…

      Reply
  57. Faith Jumbo says

    Sir please answer me let know way forward

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      I have already answered, please press the "load more" button to the hidden comments

      Reply
  58. Swagatam says

    Faith,

    I think you are not able see my replies because you are not pressing the "load more" button….unless you do this you won't be able to see the hidden replies.

    your second question is very strange, and It can be difficult for me to figure out the solution until I check the circuit practically…

    Reply
  59. Swagatam says

    it is not shown by mistake, but it's understood, otherwise how the circuit will work?

    Reply
  60. Peter says

    Hi Mr. Swagatam, thanks for the very good information all over the site. I have an AC to 24v DC transformer and would like to know how to get the voltage down to 15v and can I then use that? Your help is much appreciated.

    Reply
    • Swag says

      Hi Peter, you can add 12 to 14nos of 1N5408 diodes in series with the positive line, this will drop the 24V to 15V

      Reply
    • Peter says

      Thanks Swag,
      If I understand it is 12 1N 5408 in series?

      Peter

      Reply
      • Swag says

        yes that will do!

        Reply
      • Peter says

        Thanks

        Reply
  61. Peter says

    Hi Mr. Swag,
    Hopefully the last question. Can I use a 7815 voltage regulator instead of the diodes? What would be advantages /disadvantages.

    Many thanks

    Reply
    • Swag says

      Hi Peter, you can use 7815, but it will allow only upto 1 amp current for the battery….

      Reply
    • Peter says

      Thanks a lot. I will use that until I can get the diodes.

      Reply
      • Swag says

        sure, you can.

        Reply
  62. Peter says

    Hi Mr Swag,
    I have now built the circuit with the diodes in series, but find that the diodes get very hot after about 10 minutes. The Ic and mosfet however do not. Is this normal?
    I have checked for solder bridges and found none. Input to the diodes is 20vdc and to battery pos 15.2 VDC. Output from the mosfet drain is 12.4VDC. Any help will be appreciated.

    Reply
    • Swag says

      Hi Peter, which diodes did you use? check the current consumption during the charging with a series ammeter and make sure to use diodes that is rated 2 times more than this measured current consumption

      Reply
  63. Peter says

    Hi Mr. Swag,
    Thanks for the reply. I used the 1n5408 diodes in series. Would I measure the current at the output of the Mosfet or the output from the diodes?

    Reply
    • Swag says

      Hi Peter, you can connect the meter in series with the positive supply line …anywhere…. the current must pass through the meter, that’s the requirement.

      Reply
  64. edy mulyono says

    hello sir Swag .. is the circuit above whether it can be connected with car alternator with 60 Ah battery and if required fuse. thanks (sorry I use google translation ?)

    Reply
    • Swag says

      Hello Edy, it may be possible if the alternator output is suitably rectified, filtered and regulated at around 15V

      Reply
      • edy mulyono says

        Thanks Mr. Swag

        Reply
  65. Engr. Bayo Osiyemi says

    FRANKLY SPEAKING, YOU’RE REALLY DOING A GREAT JOB!!! SOMETIMES I WONDER HOW YOU GET REMUNERATED DOING ALL THESE…… MY WORRIES IS HOW TO GET A CHARGING CIRCUIT WITH ADJUSTABLE CHARGING CURRENT. PLS e-mail me.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Thank you! please specify the maximum charging current limit for the battery?

      Reply
  66. Engr. Adebayo Osiyemi says

    Thanks a million times for finding time, out of your obviously tight schedule, to go through my mail and respond so urgently.

    I wouldn’t mind a charging current that could be varied between the neighborhood of 0 to 20A .

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Thank you, it’s my pleasure!! I have a power supply design which has this feature, you can find it here!

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/universal-variable-power-supply-circuit/

      Reply
  67. Engr. Adebayo Osiyemi says

    Many thanks for this selfless service.
    I will go through the circuitry and do the needful, while hoping that I will not come across any difficulty as I set off to prepare it.
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      No Problems!

      Reply
  68. Abdul-Hafeez says

    Hi Swagatam. Your contribution to knowledge is highly appreciated. Kindly provide formula for calculating the pulse frequency for the circuit above.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Thank You Abdul. you can get all the required information , in the following post:

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/timer-ic-555-explained/

      Reply
      • Abdul-Hafeez says

        Thanks a million! Quite explicit.

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          Thanks! Happy to help!

          Reply
  69. jindro says

    sir can i do this? add a 7812 regulator before pin 8 and 4 of 555, sorry i dont know how to attach a image here

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Jindro, yes you can add it, if your battery is rated at over 15V

      Reply
  70. Rohit says

    Hi Swagatam,
    Is it possible to design low cost battery-desulphator.
    How much it cost if we go for bulk production.
    will you help me.
    Rohit
    8288883678

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Rohit, the second circuit is the cheapest one…you can replace the bridge with a single diode to make it even cheaper

      Reply
  71. Lins Roberto Pereira, says

    How are you doing? Please, the indicated full load cut-off circuit, you can receive these 15v, as it says 12V input, on the relays? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      You can use 14.5 V or 15 V with a 12 V relay, no problem with that.

      Reply
  72. Lins Roberto Pereira, says

    Please. which data can I use to make a diode bridge? Because all the bridges I made, it’s getting very hot, I even changed the 110v x 17v transformer, I replaced it with a 110v x 12v one anyway, it keeps getting very hot. So which diode can I use to make a diode rectifier bridge? thanks.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      It means your battery is consuming too much current. By the way which diode did you use? you can try 6A4 and see the response

      Reply
  73. Lins Roberto Pereira, says

    How are you? I used diode 6A10, and it still gets very hot. with the 110v x 12v transformer. Thanks for your attention.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi, What is your battery Ah?

      Reply
      • Lins Roberto Pereira, says

        lead acid 60 AP

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          OK no problem, in that case the best way to avoid diode heating is to use a 5 amp transformer. This will never allow the maximum current exceed 5 amps, so your 6A10 will never heat up.

          Reply
  74. Ivor Barnett says

    Hi
    Can I de-couple two unequal batteries e.g. 1 – 12volt 90 a/hr battery and 1 – 85 a/hr battery with diodes but charge them from two separate chargers?
    I have a caravan with a 90 a/hr battery wired into the internal circuits and I also have another 85 a/hr battery with it’s own charger. I would like to connect an inverter to both batteries in parallel thus having
    175 a/hr at my disposal but only for the inverter. I would like to continue powering the rest of the 12 volt circuits from the original 12 volt 90 a/hr battery but would like to have the added possibility of not draining the original (90 a/hr) battery completely, thus leaving power to run the internal fridge, water pump, lights etc. if the drain from the inverter becomes exessive. I have access to dual 40 amp schottky diodes which I thought that I could implement for this purpose but I am not sure HOW.
    As the available power from these two batteries is much, I don’t want to experiment with it but would prefer to find a tried and tested circuit. You can guess why!
    Can you help, please?
    Thanks and regards
    Ivor Barnett

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      The assumed idea by you is possible. You can connect the anodes of the schottky diodes with the positive of the batteries, and join their cathodes with the inverter positive.
      You can get a rough idea from this article:

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/parallel-battery-chargerchangeover/

      Reply
  75. Nozapo says

    Greetings, think I will be making one of these pending some information as in the following circuit, can you inform me of the missing connection. In the case of the trimmer resistor, can it be replaced with a single resistor, given that no test equipment/o-scope is available to tune. Pin 5 of the 555 timer doesn`t seem to go anywhere. I am leaning in the direction of pin 5 going to the 220k trimmer?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      The IC 555 circuit shown above is correct, pin5 must be terminated with a 10nF capacitor as indicated to avoid stray signal pick up. Single resistor is not recommended because you must have the facility to optimize the frequency to get the best results.

      Reply
  76. Darrel says

    helo sir can we use a 100hz IC555 astable circuit to make this battery desulfator. please guide on it

    Reply
    • SM says

      Any reasonable frequency can be tried, it is a matter of experimentation, there’s no mandatory rule for the frequency

      Reply
  77. Adeyemi says

    Good day sir, please how many days can I use to desulphate a battery left for 3weeks. What discharge level can the battery reach. Is it charging and discharging or continuous charging will be effective. Thanks Swag

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Sorry Adyemi, It can be difficult to predict or assess the results for batteries which are not in a proper condition.

      Reply
  78. Seun says

    Thanks Swag for this piece. Please is it possible to design the pwm prototype to be connected to battery only without using external power supply? If yes, how

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Seun, PWM circuit without a supply connected to battery?? sorry I did not understand your question…

      Reply
  79. Seun says

    Please Sir, can I measure the pwm effect by a voltmeter

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Yes you can, the voltage will be proportional to the duty cycle of the PWM

      Reply
      • Seun says

        Thanks for your reply.
        Please is it OK to also add pwm desulfator when trafo inverter
        charging is already present to a new battery.

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          If you use a simple pulsating DC for the battery charging then the desulfation can be automatically implemented

          Reply
  80. Seun says

    For the transformer based desulfator, at what battery level do I cut off the battery full using 15v DC charging voltage

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      At 14.4V

      Reply
  81. suat kaleli says

    Hi Swagatam;
    I’ve seen a desulfator circuit which consisting of 220 AC input with serial connected 18 mF 400 V AC capacitor and output DC high voltage (about 300V DC) and low amphere after rectifier bridge diode. My car battery will support my UPS device circuit and at the same time my UPS will desulfate the same battery.(in order that to keep ECU data on) Please advise if this no good idea. If so then please advise I may use the above circuit with 555 IC but IRFZ44N instead of IRF 540. Thanks

    Reply
  82. suat kaleli says

    Hi Swagatam;

    I realized that my previous message is not logical. Please do not consider since the UPS would be damaged. Thanks again.

    Reply
  83. Seun says

    Please what is the effects of using two desulfators on one battery.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      I don’t think that is required, and won’t have any different effect

      Reply
      • Seun says

        Thanks Sir for your reply, pwm desulfator working well. More grace to your elbow.

        What modifications are needed to make 48v desulfator.

        Thanks Swag.

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          That’s great Seun, glad it is working! For 48 V, you will have to provide the 48 V separately to the battery and the MOSFET, and power the IC 555 circuit by stepping down the 48V DC through a 10k resistor, 12V zener, and a 100uF capacitor

          Reply
          • Seun says

            Thanks so much Sir, please where can I put LED to light during pulsations

            Reply
            • Swagatam says

              Between pin#3 and ground via a 1k resistor. but you cannot see it flashing since the frequency is too high…

              Reply
            • Seun says

              If possible,I want to see it flashing

              Reply
              • Swagatam says

                for flashing you can reduce the 555 frequency to 1 Hz.

                Reply
        • Seun says

          Good day Swagatam, for 48v desulfator, which is more efficient 1 single or 2*24v desulfator

          Reply
          • Swagatam says

            2 circuits cannot be used, only a single 48V circuit will be enough

            Reply
  84. suat kaleli says

    Hi Swagatam;
    Considering above first circuit with 555 IC. I see some familiar circuits with 200 uH inductor. Please advise if that is better to use inductor in such desulfator circuits or not. My other question is how we can test the desulfator circuit if there is no osilloscope device. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Suat, inductors can produce sharp spikes of boosted voltage which might to some extent help speed up the desulfation, but there are no strong evidences confirming the facts. The results can be tested with meters, like ammeter or voltmeter. Initially, an ammeter may show no proper response but slowly it may start showing some current reading indicating that the battery is absorbing current and getting charged.

      Reply
  85. lobrito ariovaldo says

    Swag por favor publique um carregador automático para bateria estacionaria com fonte de corrente constante .

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Lobrito, you can try the following design, it is current controlled:

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/regulated-car-battery-charger-circuit-for-garage-mechanics/

      Reply
  86. suat kaleli says

    Hi Swag;
    Considering the desulfator circuit with 555/IRF540, I have got two questions;
    1- If I would use IRFZ544 instead of IRF540?
    2- My source is about 5 Amperes capacity however I am able to limit the curent. My battery is 60 or 72 Amperes. So, please advise which ampere I should let the desulfator to absorb it.
    Thanks too much.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Suat,
      1) IRFZ544 will work
      2) 5 amp is OK for 60 Ah battery.

      you can increase the voltage to 16 V for greater effectiveness…

      Reply
  87. Dan Meister says

    Hi, my name is Dan. I’m a mechanic (retired) and I live in Elko BC Canada. I was wondering if you have tried a pulsed current with a small AC component to de-sulphate a battery? I know there would be some AC using a rectifier bridge (0.7V), but maybe a little more say 2 or 3 V at timed intervals. thx looking forward to your reply – Dan

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi, no I haven’t tried adding an AC element with the pulsed DC, but it looks a good idea and can help enhance the effect.

      Reply
  88. Seun says

    Good day Sir, please does some batteries form sulfation more and faster than the other. Thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Seun, sulfation depends on the battery manufacturing quality and how it is charged and discharged

      Reply
      • Seun says

        Meaning less quality battery sulfates faster and more than better quality, right.

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          that is correct….but using it badly can do greater damage….

          Reply
          • Seun says

            Thanks for quick response. For lead acid battery, how often should one desulfate, and for how long in a day.

            Reply
            • Swagatam says

              You must desulfate a battery only when its performance drops, otherwise no need to desulfate….however, using a pulsed charging can avoid a good battery from getting desulfated, and increase its life….and also make sure the battery is never over charged, which is a big reason for battery performance dropping and battery slowly desulfating.

              Reply
  89. Paul Roth says

    please clarify what you mean by “The current can be approximately equal to the Ah rating of the battery” to help me size my circuit. For example with a battery rated at 10 Ah, what would be the required current through the battery? E.g. 1 amp for 10 hours? or 10 amps for 1 hour? My understanding of an Ah value is both an amperage X a time. Thus a 10 Ah battery could deliver 100 amps for 1 hour (theoretically). Ah does not specify a current. Thanks for your help. Your circuits are exciting and I would like to try desufonating some lead acid batteries using this method.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      A 10 Ah lead acid battery can deliver 10 amp for 1 hour and that’s it maximum capacity, which will ultimately destroy the battery sooner or later, so this rate is not recommended for lead acid batteries, for Li-ion batteries it may be fine though.
      I meant that for 10Ah, use 10 amp current, however this may be OK only for a deeply sulfated battery, so the exact rating is not predictable….you can start with a 1/10th of the Ah current rating and then increase to its full Ah level gradually, and this voltage must be pulsed using a PWM circuit as shown in the above diagrams.

      Reply
  90. Chi Li says

    I have a variable voltage transformer and thinking to use a single diode circuit to built a desulfater . Since only half of the ac waveform will be useful, should I use 32V ac voltage to drive the single diode desulfator? Will it be more or less effective than the bridge rectifier circuit? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Single diode rectification will also work for desulfating a battery, however 32 V may not be recommended for a 12V battery….if you want to use a 32 V supply for a 12V battery you can connect a 24V series bulb to protect against accidental high current

      Reply
  91. Fikret Colak says

    Hi there,
    Just build and made it work your circuit with IRF540. Desulphated my 12V 7 Ah battery. As I can not measure the frequency, I set the pot in the middle.
    Prior to the desulphation checked the output close to 15 volts. Desulphation lasted about 2 hrs.
    After desulphation twice, my battery is now working condition, lights the 25 watt car lamp for at least 30 minutes.
    Thank you very much.
    During the desulphation process, I measured that my battery draws around 7 amps. Is this OK or likely to be that way or not.
    If you can answer this I will appreciate..
    All the best.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi, glad you could use the concept successfully for your battery, however the main indication of a sulfated battery is that it won’t accept current properly, but you are saying that your battery is accepting 7 amp current which indicates that your battery may be already in a good condition??

      And providing 7 amp current to a good 7 Ah battery can be extremely harmful for the battery.

      So the results are contradicting.

      So please first confirm whether your battery is really sulfated or not?

      Reply
      • Fikret Colak says

        Hi, thank you for the answer
        The battery was well sulfated for sure. It was 11.6 v and 0,03 amps before the desulphation..
        The contradicting part is, during the process, amp drawing is quite high from the circuit. (I measured with multimeter, serial to battery on amps position). Since I am not an electronics engineer, I make these circuits and make some basic measurements. What I do not understand is if your circuit capable of giving high amperage with 15 volts dc to the battery ? If it is, then the circuit is fine and running. (as far as I see..it is.)
        But for sure, my battery is well working fine after two rounds of desulphation. Thank you again for your answers.
        Best regards

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          OK, it is good that your battery is working normally, but now make sure not to use more than 1 amp for charging the battery. For this you can either add a current limiter circuit to your power supply, or use a power supply which has a maximum output of 1 amps.

          Reply
          • Fikret Colak says

            Ok, will do.
            Thank you for the answers.
            Have a great day.
            Regards

            Reply
    • Kenan says

      Zafer abiden ögrendin yutubda?

      Reply
  92. Sadashiva karanth says

    I am having 12v 120ah battey to inverter,but it is 9 years old so for I hadn’t done desulfation.I want connect first circuit along with 3 amp bridge rectifier.How to set the pot,what may be current

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      The adjustment of the pot is a trial and error process. You can use around 15 V as the supply input and use the minimum pot adjustment to get the minimum pwm output. Then charge the battery with this pwm for many hours and keep checking the response. If it doesn’t work, try increasing the PWM and so on….

      Reply
      • Sadashiva karanth says

        Thank you for good information l will try this

        Reply
  93. Imsa Naga says

    Dear Sir
    in the circuit “Using High Voltage Pulse” would you be kind enough to share details such as core
    size, wire gauge in swg, number of turns etc. for the L1(10mH) and L2(100uH)3A inductors?
    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hello Imsa, L1 can be any small 10mH readymade inductor. L2 can be built using a 1 mm copper wire over an air core former. Keep experimenting until you get the indicated inductance value of 100uH.

      Reply
      • Imsa Naga says

        Thank you very much… will try out and see if I can make it work….

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          You are welcome!

          Reply
  94. Herman says

    You might want to use a modified microwave transformer in the first circuit . Remove the secondary and put 14 turns of high current electrical wire in its place. Cheap and effective?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Thank you for the update, hope the readers find the suggestion useful!

      Reply
  95. Johnson olugbenga says

    Dear sir,
    Good evening, my name is Johnson oluugbenga, many thanks for your effort in putting so much of your time in solving our problem. I have an Idea of how to desulfator a deep cycle lead acid battery, it goes like this.
    1. First open the cover on the cell
    2. Put some distilled water into it to cover the cell
    3. Apply one of your desulfator say the one with 4047.
    Pls I hope I make some sense because I have been running away from deep cycle battery for long as it’s not easy to desulfator them. Thanks hope to hear from you sir.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Thank you Johnson, I appreciate your feedback, and I think what you are saying may be correct and must be tried to get better desulfating results.

      Reply
      • Johnson olugbenga says

        Thanks sir for your quick response, am going to desufate one of my 200ah and I will post the results thanks God bless.

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          You are welcome Johnson, wish you all the best!

          Reply
  96. VairaMuthu says

    Dear Swagatam,

    I want to use the circuit “Using High Voltage Pulse” for tubular batteries of 160Ah / 12V C10 type. If you have the proto type circuit board which you shown here or may be a bare pcb and components which I can assemble, then let me know how to purchase from you? Also suggest what changes need to be done on MOSFET / schottky diodes for higher AH batteries?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Dear Vairamuthu,

      I am sorry, I do not have a PCB design for the mentioned project so it will be difficult for me to provide it to you. For a 160 Ah tubular lead acid battery, you will need to charge it at 0.1C rate, which is at around 16 amp current.

      I saw your simulation results, as given below. It appears to be a basic boost converter circuit and should have worked. You can try removing the D3. D4, and the coil L2, and then check the results.

      simple boost converter simulation for battery deulfator circuit

      Reply
  97. MUTHU says

    Hi Swagatham,

    I modified the circuit a little bit as shared, Applied pulse width of 10% Duty of 8kHz and I am see this waveform on the simulator. Is this correct? please clarify.

    battery desulfator voltage spike application

    What should be the peak of the pulse that gets applied on Battery? When I increase duty cycle the peak pulse voltage to battery increases (close to 46V) and MOSFET / schottky diode / Toroidal inductor gets heated up. Is this expected?

    Thanks Muthu.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Muthu, I guess you are referring to the last circuit. I have not tested it so can’t say much about the peak spike voltage from the inductor. I will suggest you to keep the PWM to a level where the inductor, mosfet and the diodes remain cooler. The peak is not critical actually, any value that comes out without heating the inductor and the associated parts should be a good value.

      Reply
  98. VAIRAMUTHU says

    Thank you Swagatam. Yes, my ask was based on the latest circuit that I shared. What is the impact of 220uH -> 330uH inductor value change? I see pulse little widens for latter – is that all?

    If I make PWM duty cycle to <8% (8% ON and 92% OFF) then no heat and doesn't need a fan, but the peak pulse measured on battery is around 20V or less but above 14V.

    So question is what is the ideal peak value of pulses that must be applied to the battery for desulfation? what is the impact of frequency here. Basically I want to know what is best suitable frequency & pulse duty cycle & peak value of the pulse for best result on desulfation.

    Also, is there a way to remove shorts within the tubular battery (one if the cell is partially seems shorted) – any suggestions?

    Then, I was googling thru' some desulfator liquid (esp from this website: .ecoglobe21 dot com Japan engineers claims it is 100% efficient and doesn't need any extra electronic circuits for desulfation) – still searching where can I get this Ionic Functional water. While searching I came across this "Thermoil Battery Desulfator" – is this same as Japan folks claim – not sure – but still exploring.

    Any good suggestions is highly appreciated.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Vaiaramuthu, I received only the oscilloscope waveform through your email, the other image was not visible, was it from the above article?
      Anyway there is no ideal value for the spike pulse level, because the desulfating level of different batteries can be different….but according to me for a 12V battery the spike pulse should not be beyond 20 V.

      Sorry I do not have any idea regarding how the short circuit between the internal cells can be removed….will need to be researched only.

      Reply
  99. VAIRAMUTHU says

    Thank you Swagatham.
    So for 12V tall tubular batteries, the spike pulse must be <20V (understood, will tune my circuit).
    What about the frequency? which one is best suitable / resonant freq for desulphation? 1kHz / 10kHz / 120kHz ? Is higher the better? if so which is optimal to select?

    Regards,
    Muthu.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      Hi Vairamuthu, sorry presently I do not seem to have the details with me regarding which resonance frequency will be most suitable for a battery desulfation. I will look for it, if found will update it here for you.

      Reply

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