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TEST REPORT
Date: July 16, 1998
By:
Joseph Szymborski, Director of Product Support
Re:
Solartech Can-PULSE Charging Device [now the Canadus battery energizer]
1.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this test was to evaluate the Solartech Products Ltd “Can-PULSE” device
which is claimed by its supplier to “… prevent battery deterioration by maintaining the
electrochemical balance within the battery and thus eliminating the sulfate build-up”. The
objectives of the experiments conducted were (i) to determine the general theory of
operation of the device, (ii) to determine if the device causes any negative effects on a fully
charged battery, and (iii) to determine if the device provides any positive effects in
recovering sulfated batteries. The intention of these tests was to assess if any damage would
result to GNB’s batteries as the result of applying this device, and to identify potential benefits
which could be realized from using the device in specific applications. This Test Report should
not be considered as a testimonial for or against this product.
2.
BACKGROUND
The Value Engineering Center received a request from Transportation Products Sales Co. to
evaluate the Solartech Can-PULSE device as the result of inquiries made from several railroads
which they serve and provide GNB batteries. Personnel from these railroads have indicated to
TPS that they have experienced good results using the Solartech Can-PULSE device on
company vehicles and even some diesel locomotive starting batteries. Most of this experience
however was undocumented and developed under uncontrolled conditions as might be expected
in the field, and thus TPS asked the Value Engineering Center to evaluate the device.
A Can-PULSE Charge Partner for use on 12-volt automotive type batteries and a 12-volt CanPULSE Motive Power Battery Maintenance System was provided by Solartech. In addition,
they submitted product data sheets and several technical articles which discussed how the
device works on lead-acid batteries to prevent the onset of sulfation and to recover batteries
which had become sulfated as the result of misuse and inadequate charging. The technical
articles showed electron microscope photographs of battery plates which were sulfated and
those which had been recovered following a period of regular charging with the Can-PULSE
device.
The scope of this project was to assess the operation and effectiveness of the Can-PULSE
device on VRLA batteries manufactured by GNB in the short-term. It was not the intention of
these tests to determine long-term effects on battery lifetime.
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3.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Two separate experiments were conducted to evaluate the Can-PULSE device. The first was to
assess the interaction of the device with a fully charged battery. This test was conducted to
determine if any obvious deleterious effects could be anticipated by the use of the device. The
second set of experiments was conducted to determine if the device would be useful in
recovering a battery which had been allowed to deteriorate because of an extended period of
storage without any charging. This test would determine if there was any validity to CanPULSE’s claims.
3.1
Experimental Setup
The Can-PULSE device itself is not a battery charger. The device works in conjunction with
conventional battery chargers to provide a proprietary pulse to the battery which is stated to
prevent the formation of lead sulfate on the battery’s plates. The device connects across the
terminals of the battery with one lead from the device going to the positive terminal and the
other lead to the negative terminal of the battery. The device does not interfere with or require
any modifications to the conventional charger used with the battery. The device is activated
only after the battery reaches 14 volts (2.33 volts per cell). The device does not draw any
current from the battery while the battery is on open circuit stand or on charge at a voltage less
than 14 volts. An LED on the device indicates when the device is activated.
The device was connected to a fully charged GNB Sprinter S12V370 Valve-Regulated LeadAcid battery. This is a “sealed” 12-volt monoblock battery used primarily in power standby
applications. This battery was selected because its VRLA design makes this type of battery
more sensitive to charging conditions than a conventional flooded type battery.
The charger selected to be used for these experiments was a Schumacher SE-50-MA-2 unit with
a switch selectable 2-amp or 10-amp output capability. Charging current was measured using
a 10-amp / 100-millivolt shunt connected in series with the charger output. The waveform of
the charging current was monitored using a Hewlett-Packard Model 54615B oscilloscope.
3.2
Interaction With A Fully Charged Battery
There was no change in the battery’s open circuit voltage when the device was connected to the
battery’s terminals, indicating that there was no parasitic current drain on the battery.
The battery was charged using the Schumacher charger both with the device connected and
without the device connected. The only noticeable difference relative to the battery when the
device was connected was a change in the charge current waveform. Without the device, the
charger’s output exhibited a small current ripple with an occasional random current spike.
When the device was connected to the battery, the charge current exhibited a significant
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increase both in the number of high current spikes, and in the amplitude of the high current
spikes. The current spikes were extremely short in duration and showed as a single line on the
oscilloscope even with the scope set at its fastest time base. With the scope, both positive
going current spikes (i.e., charging) and negative going spikes (i.e., discharging) were
observed.
There was no observable difference in the voltage of the battery when measured using a digital
voltmeter with or without the device, and the baseline current from the charger was unchanged.
There was no noticeable temperature rise of the battery with the device connected even after
being overcharged at the charger’s finish voltage for several hours.
Although it was possible to detect a significant number of high current charge and discharge
pulses of the order of 20 – 30 amps, the duration of these pulses was short enough so as to not
cause a significant perturbation of this fully charged battery. As a result of these
observations, it is my opinion that when used in conjunction with a properly adjusted
charger, the Can-PULSE device should not cause the battery to be excessively
overcharged or generate excessive heat which could be damaging to the battery.
No tests were run where the battery was continuously charged for an extended period of time
with the device connected. The device seems to be more appropriately used in applications
with intermittent charging rather than a continuous “float” charge, or in applications where the
battery is routinely subjected to a discharge which removes a significant portion of the battery’s
capacity.
3.3
Tests With A Sulfated Battery
To determine if the device could be effective in recovering a “sulfated” battery, an experiment
was conducted using two old 12-volt, 50Ah VRLA batteries which had been in storage for
several years. The initial open circuit voltage of these 12-volt batteries was measured at 6.40
and 6.66 volts. The impedance of the batteries was measured using a Hewlett-Packard
milliohmeter at 5.4 and 5.2 kOhms respectively. When connected to a 5 amp discharge load,
battery voltage immediately collapsed to 0 volts. For all practical purposes, these batteries
were completed “dead”.
One of the batteries was connected to the Schumacher charger without the Can-PULSE device
and allowed to be charged for a period of 20 hours. Charge current initially was less than 0.5
amps, but increased to about 1 amp for most of the charge period. At the end of this charge
period, the battery’s on-charge voltage was 13.8 volts (2.30 volts per cell). The battery’s open
circuit voltage measured 12.32 volts; however, the battery’s voltage immediately collapsed to
0 volts when connected to a 5-amp discharge load.
This part of the experiment shows that even though there are indications that the battery may be
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charging, such as a current flow and a reasonable open circuit voltage at the end of charge, the
charge was useless in converting the battery’s discharged (and presumably sulfated) active
material to a fully charged condition.
The second battery was then charged using the same Schumacher charger but with the CanPULSE device connected across the battery’s terminals. Once again, the charge period was 20
hours. This time the current immediately rose to greater than 2 amps and was maintained at 2 –
3 amps throughout the charge. Open circuit voltage of the battery after charge was 12.47
volts; its resistance was measured at 0.81 Ohms. Although this resistance is still greater than
what would be expected for this size battery (about 5 milliohms), it is far less than the initial
reading of 5.37 kOhms. When connected to the 5-amp discharge load, the battery operated for
45.9 minutes.
The first battery was then again recharged, this time using the Can-PULSE device. The charge
current rose immediately into the 2 – 3 amp range and the battery voltage rose to greater than
14 volts. After 20 hours of charging, this battery had an open circuit voltage of 12.76 volts and
a resistance of 0.197 Ohms. Although this is still almost 40 times greater than a “good”
battery, it is almost 25,000 times less than the initial resistance measured on this battery. When
connected to the 5-amp discharge load, the battery operated for 105 minutes, when just the
previous cycle it immediately collapsed to zero volts.
The two old batteries tested were still far below the performance of a “good” battery, but the
improvements which they did make were significant considering their initial condition. It is
safe to say that the charge given to the batteries with the Can-PULSE device connected
was much more beneficial in recovering the batteries than the charge using just the
conventional charger. Whether the batteries would fully recover is not known; however
improvements were made.
4.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The Solartech Can-PULSE Charge Partner was tested on both fully charged and badly sulfated
VRLA batteries. The device appeared not to induce any detrimental effects such as
increased voltage, increased charging current or increased heating on the “good”, fully
charged battery. On the other hand, when connected to a heavily sulfated battery, it
appeared to improve charge acceptance of the battery, significantly reduce its internal
resistance, and partially recover the battery so that it could operate at acceptable voltages
under discharge load. Based on these test results and the data provided by Solartech, it is
my opinion that the Can-PULSE device will not harm a “good” battery and can actually
help in preventing a battery from sulfating due to inadequate charge or abusive
operation.
(Reprinted with permission of Joseph Szymborski and GNB. Emphasis added.)
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