...if you own deep cycle batteries. I bought one of these in 2001 as an experiment to desulphate eight 6 volt 225 amp hour deep cycle batteries.
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***EDIT May 9, 2013***
Contacted VDC Electronics yesterday to obtain information on the suitability of the 12117 for use with deep cycle batteries and learned that the model # for which the results in this review were obtained were actually for a Model# 12112, the predecessor to the 12117. The 12117 wasn't introduced until 2006. I had misread the model # on my unit when I wrote the review in 2009. I apologize for the error. That said, the 12112 and the 12117 are virtually the same technology with the 12117 having increase in output of about 30%. That would seem to speak fairly favorably of the results I obtained with the lesser powered unit.
VDC Electronics has confirmed that the 12117 "can be used with deep cycle batteries as a maintainer/desulfator", contrary to what the Amazon specifications might say. However, the 12117 is NOT certified for use with AVIATION batteries. The remainder of the original review continues below.
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The RV park where we were staying used these deep cycle batteries in their golf carts. They were going toss them in the dumpster because they were having to recharge them too often. These batteries were in bad shape as evidenced by the constant 6 amps being drawn after being hooked up to their "super" charger for many hours. Essentially, these batteries were so sulphated that they would not accept any more charge. With many chargers the charge current will drop to "0" as battery resistance increases when fully charged.
I mentioned tossing the batteries in the dumpster might be illegal. If they let me have them to do some tests and possibly recover them, I would dispose of them properly if I had no luck. I had just installed a solar panel system with a 2500 watt inverter on my 5th wheel and had only 1 pair of golf cart batteries that was already at least 2 years old. I needed more reserve battery power and calculated that I would need at least 6 of these batteries for the inverter to be of any real use to me. When using batteries in this manner, it is best to use batteries that are in similar condition and ideally from the same lot. Six new batteries were going to cost about $520 with tax.
I got them back to my rig and baselined the charge they would accept on my 10 amp charger. Indeed, they were not accepting any more charge. I paired these old batteries in series to get four 12 volt configurations and spent the next 4 weeks (1 week per pair) on this desulphator. I continued this process until my charger's ammeter would go to zero when the batteries were full, an indication that they were now in good shape. Ultimately, 2 of the batteries would prove to be unrecoverable, but the other 4 plus the 2 I already owned eventually recovered about 90% of their original amp hour capacity based on some standard tests I ran.
My inverter, combined with these recovered batteries, would run my 15,000 BTU air conditioner for nearly an hour, more than enough time to cool our 5th wheel while preparing and consuming lunch in 106 temps in Ca. deserts. The batteries would be nearly fully recharged by the solar panels and charge line from the tow vehicle by the time we reached our destination for the evening. With loving maintenance and care, they had lasted another 5 years providing countless hours of dry camping service! Finally, in 2006, I replaced them with new ones before an extended camping trip.
This charger/desulphator requires 115 vac and a minimum of 11 volts in the battery before you connect to it. So, if your battery is dead, be sure to bring it up the 11 volt minimum before hooking the unit up or it could overheat and be ruined. Also, most of the cheaper old style battery chargers don't have any voltage regulation. Consequently, the voltage these chargers supply to a fully charged battery can exceed well over 14 volts and will eventually "cook" the electrolyte out if you leave them hooked up. They can also overheat the battery, permanently damaging the thinner plate structure of automotive (starting batteries). The VDC model I bought in 2001 can be left on to maintain the charge in lead acid batteries. Check your operator instructions to be sure.
Shortly after recovering these batteries, I bought another desulphator from an Arizona solar supplier capable of desulphating a 1600 a/h battery bank that operates only off of the battery bank. This constant desulphating process along with proper battery maintenance is probably what helped sustain these batteries for an additonal 5 years. In the absence of a desulphator, deep cycle batteries should be "equalized". The interval depends on usage. I was doing it monthly. The equalization process requires a special charger and can be hard on batteries. Desulphation performs a similar function without the harshness of equalization. Desulphation plus judicial use of equalization can extract maximum life out of your deep cycle batteries. I wouldn't be without either one of these desulphators or a 3 or 4 stage battery charger.
A final note: Never let your batteries sit in a discharged condition. As a battery discharges, the sulphate that forms will be easier to return to solution whn prmptly recharged. If you let it sit, the sulphate can harden and be nearly impossible to return to solution.
Excellent Product; does what it's advertised to do. Comes with lugs/rings and alligator(battery) clamps and a long cord. Works like a cell phone charger, just connect it & plug it in. WILL NOT WORK ON A COMPLETELY DEAD BATTERY!! (If the battery is dead, use your bulk charger to boost it for a couple of hours and then connect the maintainer.) Once the maintainer reaches full charge, it goes into conditioner mode (green flashing light)which is desulphating the battery, exentending its life. Worth the $$$.
Buy BatteryMINDer Model 12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp (12V 1.33A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator Now
This is something that any guy with a garage and a car should have...especially if you have more than one car. I was more than impressed with this little desulphator/charger's ability to revive a battery that would have otherwise been junked. I have an e34M5 that is notorious for slowly killing batteries. After the battery was dead for over a month, I charged with my "big" battery charger as this cannot help batteries that are on the brink of death without being charged with a larger charger, then I put this on it for two weeks and it was nothing short of a miracle.
If you have a car that sits for long periods, you should get one of these little fellas.
Read Best Reviews of BatteryMINDer Model 12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp (12V 1.33A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator Here
I purchased the Battery Minder Plus to restore my boat battery. I am an electronics engineer and had researched what happens to a lead acid battery that causes it to loose its capacity. Though there are other causes, the most common one is sulphation, a coating that forms on the lead plates that is non-conductive reducing their ability to conduct electricity. My battery was so bad that even after many hours of charging on my charger's highest setting, it couldn't hold enough charge to operate the radio, much less engage the starter. I ordered the Battery Minder Plus (at roughly half the price of a new battery). It arrived this past Monday evening. Five days ago. Before I could begin charging, I had to force the Battery Minder into "Maintenance Mode" to start de-sulphating it. Basically zapping the battery with pulses of power that forces the sulphate to disolve. Eventually the battery began to take and hold a charge. This morning I was able to easily start the boat with only the battery. I'm very impressed. Very happy with the product. The manual that comes with it is a bit disorganized and quite redundant but most of the information you need is in there.
Want BatteryMINDer Model 12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp (12V 1.33A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator Discount?
I had a battery that the local parts store said was bad on their conductance tester, so I hooked it up to this little wonder.
First it started in charge mode then I checked an hour later and it was in desulfation mode. I took it back to the parts store
the next day (about 12 hours later) and he said he didn't understand it but now it was testing GOOD.
Needless to say I bought a second and am seriously thinking about a third and fourth one since I have a farm with lots of different batteries.
Well, now I have a THIRD one.. They are amazing !!!!!!
This review should apply to all similar chargers, regardless of what battery-charging plug is used to match with a particular phone. In my case, I bought it for the micro USB plug that mates with the LG Optimus V or S phones.
