Battery terminal brushes

[rslaback]

I've always used the cheap metal cased battery terminal brushes and I think I am done with them. The female sections usually bend the wires within the first few uses or even come out and in some cases the male section doesn't even fit well in the battery cable. I've also had the male section just spin in place as they are just held in tension.



I'm not really a fan of the plumbing style brush as those don't really spin well without removing the battery.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a mushroom style brush that is worth owning?

 

[WWheeler]

These are what I use, but the first thing I do with that VIM brush is take a cut-off to get rid of the handle so it also can be chucked in a drill. It works fine with the handle, but in a drill it's just a LOT faster. Takes seconds each to make the posts & terminals shiny shiny, and they last a long time before they need replaced.

EDIT: BTW, I can't take credit for this though. Pretty sure it was youtube channel vid, I think flatratemaster, who made this tool combo and drill mod suggestion. I can attest it was a good one.

 

[WWheeler]

Yeah, here's the video where flatratemaster recommends this battery tool combo.

 

[Fedwrench]

to be honest, I've never thought about using a brush in a drill to clean a battery terminal or cable end. I guess if there's that much corrosion, there wouldn't be much left of the cable end A small potato salad container with baking soda & warm water is my favorite for corrosion.
I've always used a fitting/tube brush because, they're cheap and some are tough and durable. For the battery post, i like this NAPA blue tee handle brush but, they've tripled in price since I bought one last.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NW_728226

https://www.zoro.com/black-swan-fitting-brush-34-11005/i/G0483918/

https://www.zoro.com/ezred-power-drill-wire-brush-34-ezbk534qd/i/G902576792/

 

[WWheeler]

to be honest, I've never thought about using a brush in a drill to clean a battery terminal or cable end. I guess if there's that much corrosion, there wouldn't be much left of the cable end [...]

The cars I see very often have >5 yr old batteries that have never had the terminals cleaned. I pop the hood looking for a no start complaint and the first thing I see are the cables going into two piles of crusties on the battery, so bad I'm lucky if I can even see the terminals. That's just a normal day.

 

[Fedwrench]

The cars I see very often have >5 yr old batteries that have never had the terminals cleaned. I pop the hood looking for a no start complaint and the first thing I see are the cables going into two piles of crusties on the battery, so bad I'm lucky if I can even see the terminals. That's just a normal day.

The batteries at work last 2-3 years max. It's a combination of desert heat and additional vehicle electronics.

 

[toolenthusiast]

I took the male end from one of those cheap brushes and epoxied it into a socket so I can drive it with an impact

 

[EDRJR]

I'm partial to the shaving style cleaners. Just got this from JDTCO to back up my 50 year old Snap on. $13 shipped.

STEELMAN Multi-Function Solid Metal Battery Terminal Clamp and Post Cleaner | JDTCo.

PROLONG BATTERY LIFE - Helps to prolong battery life by ensuring better contact with less strain UNIVERSAL FIT - Designed to fit most dual top-post style automotive and marine batteries SOLID METAL - Solid metal construction holds up to heavy-duty use for years of repairs CLAMP REAMER - Tapered...

www.jerseydiscounttool.com

 

[bonneyman]

Blue Bird battery tools had terminal cleaners incorporated into the tool. The # 11 pliers had a spring steel scraper built into the handle to clean the battery terminals, and the # 20 plier/spreader had grooves in the head to clean out the insides of the clamps of top post batteries.

 

[rslaback]

I'm partial to the shaving style cleaners. Just got this from JDTCO to back up my 50 year old Snap on. $13 shipped.

STEELMAN Multi-Function Solid Metal Battery Terminal Clamp and Post Cleaner | JDTCo.

PROLONG BATTERY LIFE - Helps to prolong battery life by ensuring better contact with less strain UNIVERSAL FIT - Designed to fit most dual top-post style automotive and marine batteries SOLID METAL - Solid metal construction holds up to heavy-duty use for years of repairs CLAMP REAMER - Tapered...

www.jerseydiscounttool.com

Ooh. I like that.

 

[bugzilla46310]

I put nickel never seize on my battery terminals and can’t remember the last time I needed to clean them. Had (still have) one like in the first post for the connector, but usually use a wire brush on the terminal post then put on the never seize.

 

[finn]

I've always used the cheap metal cased battery terminal brushes and I think I am done with them. The female sections usually bend the wires within the first few uses or even come out and in some cases the male section doesn't even fit well in the battery cable. I've also had the male section just spin in place as they are just held in tension.



I'm not really a fan of the plumbing style brush as those don't really spin well without removing the battery.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a mushroom style brush that is worth owning?

I find it amazing that the battery terminal brush like this that I bought from Sears forty years ago still works fine, but the newer imports from the past fifteen years are garbage after one or two uses.

Same basic design that Craftsman sold in the seventies, but cheapened to the point of being essentially useless.

 

[seber]

I quit using brushes after the first one gave up sixty years ago. There is always a piece of coarse sandpaper around for one quick swipe.

 

[finn]

I quit using brushes after the first one gave up sixty years ago. There is always a piece of coarse sandpaper around for one quick swipe.

The sandpaper works ok on the post, but not so well rolled up to clean the inside of the cable end.

Besides, I’m too cheap to tear up a fresh sheet of 80 grit every time I swap batteries around, or else I end up with little pieces of used sandpaper cluttering up the place.

Similar to using chalk to highlight the damper timing marks on my older engines. There must be a special place those bits of used chalk go to hide, and I doubt you can even buy sticks of chalk anymore.

Time has passed me by.

 

[rslaback]

I ordered one of the Steelman design tools. Amazon let me know it shipped and hid the item. I think their AI thinks it is a **** plug.

 

[yatg]

I ordered one of the Steelman design tools. Amazon let me know it shipped and hid the item. I think their AI thinks it is a **** plug.

 

[ChevyEFI]

The batteries at work last 2-3 years max. It's a combination of desert heat and additional vehicle electronics.

This. The 5-6 yo battery I replaced for someone recently didn't have corrosion to warrant anything but new felt targets at which to direct the diele. goop.

 

[dscheidt]

The sandpaper works ok on the post, but not so well rolled up to clean the inside of the cable end.

Besides, I’m too cheap to tear up a fresh sheet of 80 grit every time I swap batteries around, or else I end up with little pieces of used sandpaper cluttering up the place.

Similar to using chalk to highlight the damper timing marks on my older engines. There must be a special place those bits of used chalk go to hide, and I doubt you can even buy sticks of chalk anymore.

Time has passed me by.

I use strip sandpaper for a lot of stuff. Comes in a roll an inch or 1.5" wide, just tear off a piece. Great for all sorts of little jobs around the shop.
I initially got a roll at an estate sale or something for basically nothing, but I've bought replacements retail. I have 36, 100, and 220, I think.

 

[four.cycle]

@rslaback -

^ The battery post/terminal cleaner in your first post has been around at least since the 1960s. I've owned several of them. Also sold at least a dozen different brands. Some are pretty good - Indestro sold a fairly decent model - some are worthless: Wilmar (now "Performance Tool"), Zomax, Medallion, Hollywood Accessories all sold them, and they were all cheesy and effectively useless after about half a dozen uses.
The four-way metal job with the cutting blades is a favorite - there are really spendy models, and really cheap models, just as with the "brush" in your first post. (They are not as popular a seller as the "brush" model in your first post.)
The "pliers" work great for spreading the terminal end open, but other than that they are not as good for cleaning either the post or the terminal end.

Plain baking soda and Coca-Cola are much less expensive, they are already in your kitchen or refrigerator, and the mixture is incredibly effective on removing that bluish-greenish hair growing all over the top of the battery. Rinse with clear water after cleaning with the baking soda/Coca-Cola mix and a small brush. Works great.