fred derf

Sol,

Your dad added EDTA which is a chelating agent, It binds to the Lead sulphate on the plates and strips them leaving fresh lead. 

DDT as one should know from "silent spring" is an insecticide/pesticide. 

I have used EDTA on batteries in the past, its easy to get on Ebay, people use it when they make soap.

Fred

cyric30,

I have picked up a few ex Telephone batteries.  The thing to remember is that they run them either in a 24v or 48v configuration.  If they find the configuration not up to par, they replace all the batteries.  Usually it is only one or two of the two volt cells that have tanked.

I usually bring a multi meter and check them out first, its easy to tell which ones are junk.  If there is 2 12v batteries one battery is usually toast the other is perfectly fine.  That way you can leave the bad ones behind since they are HEAVY.

I've run my cabin for the last two years on a set.

fred