No hurry to reply to this one - I won't be reading replies until Monday. I seem to have accumulated a surplus of decent car batteries. Now I know that it'd be best to just use them, but with 5 batteries between 2 cars I'd be swapping them about every few days. So any suggestions as to the best way to store them until they're needed - which could be a while?
As usual, I'll be grateful for your thoughts.
when I had the garage we just charged them up every 6 months (actually we didn't we had a man who did) Derek
CHarge them & stick them in the freezer. Recharge them annually
But do not, whatever you do, store them on concrete.
Unless you've got a supply of historically interesting vintage rubber cased batteries it won't make a blind bit of difference
Charge them fully store them somewhere cool. Ensure they have sufficient electrolyte if they are wet flooded cells. Get a trickle charger designed for the correct chemistry and trickle each one for 8 hours a week or so.
Needs to be more often for wet cells to prevent sulphation.
Won't make a blind bit of difference unless the battery was used on the Ark.
PMSL. It's different. I can see someone complaining soon that his freezer is unable to make the electrolye go solid though!
Why, then, was I given this advice three weeks ago when I bought two new leisure batteries?
Ahh you just need a better freezer :-)
Chris Bolus wrote on Fri, 22 Apr 2005 22:26:23 GMT:
Well, obviously someone is giving you incorrect advice.
So either you were given this advice because the salesman was an idiot, or you were given this advice because it's true.
But I'm sure you knew that. I'm not so sure why you asked, though.
Cos you bought them off a clueless prat who know's very little about batteries. I'm trying to think of a polite way to phrase that but the information content remains the same, arguably if you have a battery which is chilled at the base then all the chemistry only takes place in the top of the battery & will reduce the life of the battery but it'a A: unlikely to be an issue in anything other than a submarine & B: there's nothing magic about concrete.
Is a solar panel recharge an option? Look on Maplin's site
Would this really work, my freezer goes down to -25c
Would the electrolyte not freeze, expand and spill out, like beer!!!
Andy
Not thoughts but the facts
A 75% charged battery freezes at -35C, a fully charged battery at -57C, so unless you stick it in a medial sample freezer, no.
Thanks for reminding me, I'd been thinking of trying one of those more out of curiosity than anything else. Perhaps that's one taken care of then...
Excellent! Thanks Huw. I'm rather relieved that I don't need to drain them and store them dry.
And I've just done a recount and found another one.
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