The 9 year old 6 volt battery went dead in my tractor. Heard if you put an asprin in each cell being it's an acid sometimes it will clean it and bring new life to it. Bought an old lawn mower with a dead 12 volt battery so put the charger on it for 12 hours but didn't take juice. Dropped an asprin in each cell 2 nights ago and put the charger on yesterday and lo and behold it took juice and is still holding juice today but don't know if it will be enough to start the mower. Had the charger on the tractor battery for 12 hours and didn't take juice so put an asprin in each cell and put the charger on. Will let you know if it took juice and starts the tractor.

Jerry,

Suggest you be very careful where you mention this aspirin idea. The "Battery Mafia" could come looking for YOU. Especially if the aspirin idea works!!!

Bill.

Aspirin is indeed an organic acid (acetosalicylic acid to be specific). The acid in a wet cell battery is Sulfuric acid, a mineral acid. The Aspirin tablet also contains lubricant and fillers to help make it a pill and a convenient size. These additives can add to the material that sloughs off the plates which is lead/lead sulfate and binder. It is the build up of this conductive material that "shorts" the cell and renders the battery useless.

After the battery and chemistry lesson the question remains "Can you rejuvenate a ‘dead’ battery by adding something to the cells?” The answer, yes temporarily! The most effective are chelants, which combine with insoluble metal salts (like lead sulfate) to make them soluble. So what are some chelants? Among the best is the sodium salt of tetraacetic acid (another organic acid). Structurally it has similarities to the acid in Aspirin.

Oh, darn! More chemistry. But, what does it mean? Yes the Aspirin tablet can temporarily rejuvenate a cell. But for how long? Maybe just enough to get you to a place where you get to walk back home or call the wrecker on the cell phone to get the vehicle towed. Or you may get lucky and it will still be at home when the battery goes “dead” again.

My recommendation is to take the Aspirin with a big glass of water yourself just before going to the store to buy a new battery. The water and Aspirin will do you more good that way instead of in the battery.

Hey Jerrygolf: Your old 6-volt battery lasted 9 years....which, in itself, is amazing. I would say you really got your use out of that battery, so do what Chippy Dippy says and get a new battery.

Hee Hee. All I had to lose was 9 asprins and it was a fun experiment. I'll let you know how long the batteries last. The 9 year old battery did come back to life but for how long I don't know. Now to watch out for the "Battery Mafia."

Jerrygolf, if you have a good old 6 year old 6 volt battery, keep it around the shop to test out the various 6 volt accessories, run a radio test, and when one of those new six volt batteries bite the dust you will have an immortal replacement one, never buy a new battery unless you need one, they start to die as soon as you get it home from the store anyway. You can always find a place to buy a new one...... except when you need it the most anyway! (just carry a box of Bayer Asprin in the glove compartment..Ha! If it don't work,...Use it for the headache you will soon have...You probably need to take a nice walk along the Interstate and get your hair and some sundry other features rearranged anyway. I really enjoy getting to change a tire on my truck ,hunting the jacking directions and getting sucked out from under the truck when a couple of 18 wheelers go by a few inches from me at 80 MPH! it is exalerating! Where did I put the Extra Strength Excederine? (well so much for the spell checker), maybe R.G will come up with a good one........

in seattle we worship caffine,also contained in most asprin...varooom. again agree with junk/dog. a new battery is heavenly. do it. jim

MrMack,
I don't drive my lawnmower or tractor down the Freeway. We have more sense than that up North. :p However, with the 3 old lawnmowers, without the decks, I got for the grandkids to use like tractor pulls, drag racing, ect. it does seem like the Freeway around here sometimes but these batteries are good enough for that. Saved $115 so far.

I can be with you on the riding lawnmower batteries, I have three of them, It seems that when one quits we buy a new one, then take a second look at the old one and buy another hundred dollars worth of parts and get it back in working order. The grandkids around here seem to be allergic to lawnmowers, or anything that generates sweat, but they give the golf cart heck!It seems like every year I am buying a new battery or two, maybe I will get a large bottle of Bayer. I don't keep any old batteries, I have to get that old battery disposal fee back!

In the early 70's, JC Penny sold a "lifetime" free full replacement battery, (expensive in ’74, $49.99 + tax). You had to keep the paperwork for replacement and it had to be in the original vehicle that the battery was installed in at the time of purchase for the free replacement.

When Penny's stopped doing auto work stuff it sold its’ battery stuff to Firestone.

I bought one of these batteries for my new ’74 Chevy pu in ’74 and I have never had to buy another battery for it to this day. I have had the battery replaced a number of times and every time I get a smile and then I make sure I put the new paperwork in the glove box.

That is my only ‘happy’ battery story…

I only wish I had gotten one for my ’57.

Good for you. I remember the Muffler commercial where the older gent would drive his Model A in and say..."hello ....boys!!" I have one of those on the 68 Impala, the paper work came with the car, and the P.O. made sure I knew about it.

When I purchased my 38 chev in June 1951 I looked at the battery it was dated in 1942! It was still in there when I sold the car in early 1953. I recall that about that time there was some kind of battery life extender on the market. Don't recall the name of it. Probably another bit of snake oil advertising.

I'm waiting for all of the dead batteries behind my shop to become antique batteries so I can sell them on ebay....LOL.

Or melt them down into sinkers...