Long Term Battery Storage

Anonymous Poster · Apr 14, 2003

Most small batterys die from Sulfration of the plates, or dehydration.
Many large batterys die from the same effects.
A fully charged battery will not freeze to under 20 below 0.
The best thing to do with a battery in any machine is to disconnect it. A connected battery is subject to parasitic draw and over time that will kill the battery and render it subject to freezing.
FIRE is always a possibility when a battery is connected.
Battery switches are cheap insurance against loss of a machine and the building it is stored in.
Trickle chargers are a nice idea, but they dehydrate the battery over time, and unless acid level is maintained, the charger will cook the battery dry, and it cannot be restored by adding water.
Finally, batterys should always be refilled with distilled water. Even minor mineral content in tap water will considerably shorten battery life.

SnailTraX · Apr 14, 2003

(PS. If you take the battery out of the tractor, don't store it on concrete, if you have to put it on the floor set it up on a plank or a piece of non conductive material.)

May I ask why? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Anonymous Poster · Apr 14, 2003

( (PS. If you take the battery out of the tractor, don't store it on concrete, if you have to put it on the floor set it up on a plank or a piece of non conductive material.)

May I ask why? )

This is an old bromide. It probably originated years ago when battery technology was way behind where it is now.

The colder a battery is, the lower its output. Couple a weak battery with a cold concrete floor in winter, compared to a weak battery stored off of the concrete floor, and there probably is a (very) slight difference in output.

Someone probably noticed and advised storing batteries up off of the floor at some time. No doubt, the rumor mill turned this into, "concrete floors discharge batteries," which of course, they don't.

It's in the same league with the "suppressed" 100 mpg carbureator story.

SnowRidge

SnailTraX · Apr 14, 2003

(This is an old bromide.)

I knew that, only I would have said it was an Old Wives Tale.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 15, 2003

Actually, Bromo doesn't effect batterys near as much as Alka Seltzer.
The reason batterys were not stored on concrete floors dates back to the time before plastic battery cases. Old batterys had hard rubber cases that were porous or capilary in nature, and the acid did migrate thru the case and react with the concrete.
Plastic cases have eliminated that problem, but only when they are clean.

Pacesetter300 · Apr 15, 2003

I store about six batteries in the winter. I hook them all up together + to + and - to - then use an electronic Sears battery charger (about $80) . It has a "maintainer" switch that trickles in any amp setting you want up to 20. I keep mine on all winter and they are fine in the spring. This year I put a new battery in the yard truck and had no problem all winter. An old battery will not maintain charge like that. Last year i needed to keep the battery on a separate charger as mentioned in previous posts. Worked fine, trouble is it was a pain to open the hood (because of snow and ice) to disconnect it in order to use the truck.
Pacesetter

Bird · Apr 15, 2003

( May I ask why? )

All good answers, I think. I like Franz's answer best, and I'm old enough that I still would never leave a battery on concrete; might not actually be clean enough on the bottom, and I see no reason to take a chance on getting any acid on the concrete when an old board would have absorbed it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anonymous Poster · Apr 15, 2003

The problem with battery chargers that have trickle mode is that they will still boil out the electrolyte. This dramatically shortens battery life. Sulphation is another issue. I have been using BatteryMINDer's for approximately 18 months without any boiling out problems. The manufacture still recommends checking the electrolyte level every week or two. If your battery is discharged, then it's quicker to use a standard charger to get the charge up and then use BatteryMINDer to finish charging and for maintenance. If your battery is on its last leg, no battery charger or BatteryMINDer can help save it. Batterymart.com has BatteryMINDer for $39.95. BatteryMINDer

thcri · Apr 15, 2003

Henry,

What I do with my boat every season is to take the battery out, and sometimes I do leave it in but I do disconnect one of the poles so that nothing can drain on the battery. I do once a month put a trickle charger on it to bring it back up to life. If you take it out, DON'T set it on concrete. Place it on a board. As far as leaving a trickle charger on it all the time is not good. I was also once told that if you put a charger on it make sure you disconnect it from the battery when not charging. If you leave the charger cables on and turned off some chargers will drain your battery.

There is a thing out there called battery minder, it is in one of the other posts and that probably is the best thing.

murph

Soundguy · Apr 15, 2003

( If you leave the charger cables on and turned off some chargers will drain your battery.
)

Most modern battery chargers use either an epoxy rectifier, or silicon/ germanium diodes for their bridges.. ( probably mostly silicon ). At battery voltages.. youre not going to get measurable quiescent reverse current flow.

I have worked on some vintage battery chargers.. these may have benn 50's or 60's vintage... maybee 40's.. but I doubt it.. they used selenium rectifiers.. those were a bit leaky... but anything with a modern solid state output should be fine.. if it is working correctly.... Same idea as the diode pack in an alternator.. prevents reverse current flow unless your diodes short...

Soundguy