Battery repair -- epoxy or silcone caulking

[ray66v]

Do as i have done many times , cut a piece from a lug or a non important protrusion on the battery . Clean the tip of a soldering iron so it is clean Copper and melt the piece into the hole . Melt the surrounding area a little with the tip and then add the filler , just as you would with Oxy welding . It will bond perfectly and never leak .

Yes, I fixed many dozens of batteries over the years in the body shop, this way. It is very easy.

I prefer to use a small butane torch to warm the area, then melt the piece of filler plastic to the point it drips into the hole and seals it. Tilt the battery if necessary, to stop leakage during the repair.

A Bondo spreader will also work for the filler material.

With an endless supply of damaged batteries, I went decades without ever having to buy a battery when I needed one.

 

[Johnagain]

Personally I think you are crazy to try and fix a $25 battery. As others have mentioned it will cost $5-$10 may be more to buy whatever it is you need to fix the problem so you are at 1/3 the cost of a new battery to try and fix the old one that you might only get another year of life out of it. What happens if the fix doesn't hold then you have to do it again and who knows what further damage it might do without you knowing that the patch didn't hold. If it was a $100 battery and had a life span of 5-6years then I might try to fix it but for a $25 lawn mower battery it's not worth it.

 

[jas67]

Personally I think you are crazy to try and fix a $25 battery. As others have mentioned it will cost $5-$10 may be more to buy whatever it is you need to fix the problem so you are at 1/3 the cost of a new battery to try and fix the old one that you might only get another year of life out of it. What happens if the fix doesn't hold then you have to do it again and who knows what further damage it might do without you knowing that the patch didn't hold. If it was a $100 battery and had a life span of 5-6years then I might try to fix it but for a $25 lawn mower battery it's not worth it.

This is a Diesel garden tractor. It takes a larger battery that most lawn mowers. It cost me $60. The damage is at the top front edge. It doesn't leak just sitting there, but I don't want acid sloshing out either.

 

[tallyho8]

They started putting plastic tops on batteries about in the 1960s. Until then the tops of the batteries were made of something like roofing tar.

 

[Transit]

I'd go with Soundguy. Use the product made for the job. The way battery acid [Sulfuric Acid] works is very much like burning with a flame. Sulfuric acid attracts water, any compound that contains water and it doesn't have to be water as H2O, just the elements making up water, some H some O, the acid will pull the water out of the item leaving behind ash, usually carbon. Over simplified answer, you get the picture. If you have some battery acid, try mixing some sugar and acid. Let it sit a few days and take a look at the results.

 

[Eagleview]

I thought I might demonstrate how easy it is to plastic weld a crack in a battery . It took about 10 minutes from start to finish . I used a hacksaw to cut the case to replicate a crack , then I used a piece of emery tape to scuff the area before washing with water . I then cut a sliver of plastic from a hold down lug on the same battery so that the plastic is compatible . It is then a simple matter to melt the sliver into the crack with a clean soldering iron tip and then smooth out with the iron . As you can see , it is nearly an invisible repair that will last . If the battery was only worth 50 cents , I would still repair it to get the remaining life out of it .

Strewth , you'd think we were living in a throw away society or something .

It's not the monetary worth of an item that decides if it repaired or not , it's more than that .

 

[Johnagain]

Good Job Iron Horse!
I learned something good today.

 

[ray66v]

I thought I might demonstrate how easy it is to plastic weld a crack in a battery . It took about 10 minutes from start to finish . I used a hacksaw to cut the case to replicate a crack , then I used a piece of emery tape to scuff the area before washing with water . I then cut a sliver of plastic from a hold down lug on the same battery so that the plastic is compatible . It is then a simple matter to melt the sliver into the crack with a clean soldering iron tip and then smooth out with the iron . As you can see , it is nearly an invisible repair that will last . If the battery was only worth 50 cents , I would still repair it to get the remaining life out of it .

Strewth , you'd think we were living in a throw away society or something .

It's not the monetary worth of an item that decides if it repaired or not , it's more than that .

It seems so often to be the case on TBN, you offer the solution based on experience with the problem. Then, almost no one seems to want the answer.

 

[JMynes]

J.B. Weld

It can fix anything!

 

[jas67]

Iron Horse -- thanks for the recommendation. I "welded" it with my solder iron using the glob of plastic that was left on edge of the battery by the belt.

It seems to be sealing up nicely!