Last few posts I made got moved to another catagory?? Hope this stays A good number of us store our cars for a period of time, especially those of us that live here up North. Technical question- If our cars are to be stored for a long time it is necessary to attach a battery tender on the battery or charge it periodically other wise you have shortened the life of the battery or ruined it.That it sulfates?? Can someone explain this to me gene
All I can give is personal experience with seasonal use batteries that sit all winter. I have had very good battery life by simply doing nothing. I leave them in the machine all winter still connected since there are no electrical drains. I might put a slow charger on them once through winter but thats about it. Last set of batteries I replaced were 15 years old with no issues. Worked perfect right up until the day they died. And we get real winter here in Sask.
Can't answer the sulfates question but I have done both battery tenders and nothing (let them sit in the car all winter) both have worked for me.
I always disconnect the Bat. when I am Not using it since there are Little Rodent's running around Here if they chew on your Wiring & the Bat is connected you know what could Happen.! Just my 3.5 cents or when the Cow's come Home.!
During my Military career I worked part time at Sears auto centers off and on. What they taught us is that when a battery discharges it loosens the lead on the plates. This allows the particals to come off and settle in the bottom of the battery. Sooner or later they will build up and short out the battery. Our rule of thumb was if a 5 year battery was discharged it now became a 2.5 year battery. If it was discharged again it was a 1.25 battery. My Roadster has sat at various times for over 6 months with no noticeable loss of battery power BUT it has no parasitic draw on the battery. Yours could be different.
What is sulfation? During use, small sulfate crystals form, but these are normal and are not harmful. During prolonged charge deprivation, however, the amorphous lead sulfate converts to a stable crystalline and deposits on the negative plates. This leads to the development of large crystals that reduce the battery’s active material, which is responsible for the performance. There are two types of sulfation: reversible (or soft sulfation), and permanent (or hard sulfation). If a battery is serviced early, reversible sulfation can often be corrected by applying an overcharge to an already fully charged battery in the form of a regulated current of about 200mA. The battery terminal voltage is allowed to rise to between 2.50 and 2.66V/cell (15 and 16V on a 12V mono block) for about 24 hours. Increasing the battery temperature to 50–60°C (122–140°F) during the corrective service further helps in dissolving the crystals. Permanent sulfation sets in when the battery has been in a low state-of-charge for weeks or months. At this stage, no form of restoration seems possible; however, the recovery yield is not fully understood. To everyone’s amazement, new lead acid batteries can often be fully restored after dwelling in a low-voltage condition for many weeks. Other factors may play a role. And there you have it, KK
Huh ! Info came from a local battery sales company with a very good reputation and been around for some time . He explained the process but lost me with all kinds of electrical terms . The plates loses something ???? if not charges for Months ,settles to the bottom and can short out the battery or shorten it's life . Sorry I can't explain the process he mentioned. Is there a battery guy out there??
I can tell you I use the Battery Tender on both my '51 Chevys'. One is 6 volt, one is 12 volt, neither one has had a battery problem since I began using the Battery Tender 8 years ago.
Well..... Even if it's not driving season, ALL my fleet get's fired up and run for a period of time. Always good to keep the juices flowing. If a month goes by , and I don't have a fire up- now's the time to really start inspecting things......If something cant sit for a month, then there's problems. Although things do take a dive now and then, but a good check up always stands. Results may vary........
I'm a firm believer that batteries which are allowed to slowly discharge over time will have a shorter life. Thus, I try to keep them on Battery Tenders (or comparable maintainers) all of the time.
Where I live we put are cars away around end of november and they are gotten out in april hopefully. I charge the battery once or twice during the winter. Last battery lasted 12 years, and it takes some real juice to turn over my blown 406.
I use battery tenders on everything including my mower. I have had very good luck with battery life. A few Model A guys I know get 1 or 2 years on a 6V battery. I got 6. I'm sold on tenders.
VoltsWagon used to ship there cars over here with a small photo cell panel suction cupped to the inside of the windshield to keep the battery fresh (that's what I was told anyway). I've been using one of these on my Poncho for about 8 years now and never had a problem. Car sits all winter with the battery disconnected. One of the small units Canadian Tire or similar sells would work great for this - plus its free power!!
I typically disconnect the battery in the fall when the car is put away, and leave it until spring. If it's in good shape and fully charged it should be okay; they tend to discharge more slowly when it's cold out.
Been using Deltron Battery Tender Jr. Have several, For years now, they work, now have some batteries 8 years old, where I was replacing at 2/3 years. Genuine good product.
Lead-acid batteries should ideally be kept fully charged at all times, if possible. Sulfation if left unchecked permanently reduces the capacity of the battery. It will change the internal resistance as well. The charging system does not like this at all. This is why one should always buy the freshest battery when possible, and charge them overnight even when new before installation. Sulfation accelerates at anything below about an 80% charge and especially, during hot weather. This is one reason why batteries don't last as long down south, and manufacturers used to have different construction techniques and a different specific gravity of the electrolyte. Heat, and vibration, are the great enemies of batteries. It's true that a lot of batteries die the first freezing cold snap of the year, but it was the heat of the summer (and discharged state) that did the damage. The cold weather just exposes the weakness, because of the reduced current capacity of the battery as the temperature goes down, and the increased current demands as the crankcase oil turns to molasses etc. Stationary lead acid batteries can last 20 years. Most people don't get anywhere near that kind of life in an automobile. Storing a battery without doing anything will work, because cold weather slows down chemical reactions, provided there is no parasitic draw. This is why Battery Tenders have taken off in popularity, modern vehicles have all sorts of gee-gaws and sensors and computers and modules that draw considerable current for up to an hour after shutdown, and then present continuous low level drains due to radio presets and security systems and things like that. Cold weather is an excellent method of storing batteries, provided they are fully charged. A dead battery will freeze at +20F, whereas a fully charged battery is good to go at -50F below. It makes sense to bring a battery indoors in extreme cold simply for increased current capability, or provide external heat. If storing a vehicle for long periods in extreme heat (above 80F) it also makes sense to bring it indoors where it's cool. Batteries like to swap electrons now and then, they can "moss over" even when on a float charger. Crank the engine over for a few seconds or use a carbon pile and then recharge now and then. Keep them clean, Windex works great because it has ammonia and neutralizes any crud. I keep batteries on a float charger, and though everyone says it's a myth, I keep them off the floor.
I knew a guy who lived in New York state and had a good battery that was 14 years old. He kept it on a trickle charger
I also use battery tenders over the winter on all of my stored vehicles. I do one other thing. Several years ago, I had a problem with a tender that went bad and overcharged a boat battery and ruined it. Since then I have used a cheap mechanical timer (available just about anywhere for about $10) that plugs into the wall socket. I then run extensions to the various tenders. I have found that setting the timer to charge the batteries for two 15 minute periods a day keeps them up just fine. I have had no problems of any kind since I started doing this. I leave my 1999 F150 in Minnesota over the winter hooked up this way. I had to install the second battery in it 4 years ago.
I got tired of having low batteries and not being able to start my cars when i wanted to go for a drive. So bought a bunch of cheap battery maintainers and keep them plugged in. No more low or dead batteries, and easy starts after sitting for a while.
I ordered a case of these and now almost everything with a battery has one installed. No issues and so far the batteries have all stayed topped off! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000...aintainer&dpPl=1&dpID=41S3N7tu0PL&ref=plSrch#
The only issue that concerns me, although mostly with OT modern computerized rigs, is during thunderstorms. I don't like the idea of anything connected to the power grid hooked to the vehicle electrical system. Instantaneous voltage spikes from even nearby lightning strikes can be massive. For example modern residential electrical code requires a single ground point. Prior to this, my dad was a constant TV watcher and he had to replace them several times. The cable company had their own ground rod. The TV was the "fuse" in this arrangement basically. What I'm getting at is voltage spikes can reach huge voltages for a split second. It's unusual, but every now and then the power co. can screw up. Not pretty!
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