Hi Mike, Marshall's entirely correct.
Current can't flow both directions in a series circuit at the same time. "Cell reversal" cannot happen except as Marshall described. But ... I haven't figured out if such a condition could occur with a dead battery connected between two good batteries in an *open* circuit. On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 13:38:16 -0400, Mike Monett <[email protected]> wrote: >Re: CS>Answer to Catherine, warning to Mike Monett... >From: Marshall Dudley >Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 09:41:21 > > Putting a partially discharged battery in series with good ones > > will not cause a reverse current, but can cause a current to be > > forced through it when it becomes totally dead which might be a > > problem. > > This is exactly the problem. Current flows in the reverse direction > as he described. This causes gas to build up. Batteries that are not > designed for recharging have no way to vent this gas. Eventually the > battery explodes. > > > To get a reverse current requires the battery to be installed > > backwards, or in parallel with one or more batteries that are not > > discharged. Out of 3 possibilities, he chose the one that was > > wrong. > > No. When the batteries are in series, the strong batteries charge > the weak one in the reverse direction. This is called cell reversal. > > If the battery is not designed for recharging, gas buildup causes > the battery to explode. -- Dean -- from (almost) Des Moines -- KB0ZDF -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. Instructions for unsubscribing may be found at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
