Matthew Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Seems it didn't like my graphs..hold on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Mid Range AGM Lifeline AGM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 When I worked at the Electrical Research Association years ago, the battery test area had wooden shelves and pallet type walk ways, not for any spooky bullsh!+ but just because 1, the wood wont conduct like metal sheds, 2, leaky acid would hit the floor and your shoes were above it and 3, if you dropped a battery it would bounce rather than crack :-) I think we're probably getting closer to the truth here! The chap who used to fill and charge all the batteries in my old job used to say concrete floors killed batteries, but I don't know what the real reason was. Personally I think the most important thing is to remove any drain and stick them on an automatic charger periodically if in storage over the winter, as they do lose charge. I have a nice little auto Maypole charger which puts out a regulated 14.4V (alternator voltage) so I usually put it on that for a while and has a trickle setting that sits the battery at about 12.8V (a fully charged battery after it's been left to settle should be about this). My V8 Discovery, first registered in April 2002, is still on its original battery over ten years later, so I must be doing something right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 It occurred to me that I have a battery that I took out of one of my previous projects (Numax MF24) which has been sitting on concrete for almost two years at the back of my workshop (just waiting to be stolen by our travelling friends!). It's had two cold winters + lots of rain and has been left unmoved and untouched. I've just been out and measured the voltage and it reads 12.63v (on a calibrated Fluke Meter) which equates to 90-95% charge. My Ah meter reads 61Ah - and it's supposedly a 70Ah battery. It was fully charged before leaving it out there, though I did not measure voltage or Ah for a comparison - but the readings would indicate that it has discharged by about 10%. Of course, a single measurement on a single battery is in no way conclusive - but I'm not persuaded that it needs sitting on something other than the concrete floor, nor any Juniper berries I'll just have to remember to charge it again some time over the next decade! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Matthew, I agree about Odyssey batteries. The only negative about them is they are not as resilient as some under poor charging conditions and over discharge. Treated properly - they are fantastic, if a little expensive! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Treated properly - they are fantastic, if a little expensive! Si Watch this space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark-d Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 After some searching on google this is the best answer I found Batteries used to drain faster if left sitting on concrete because concrete absorbs moisture, and the materials used to insulate the battery were not impervious to moisture. Hence a path was available to drain the charge from the battery into the moisture in the concrete if the battery was left in contact with it. A very long time ago, before plastics, car batteries were actually housed in wooden boxes inside a glass cover. Wood readily absorbs moisture from any source, even air. Moisture would cause the wooden box to swell & break the glass enclosure. Later, car battery housing was made of hard rubber with a high carbon content - also not impervious to moisture or electricity. Today's car batteries are encased in highly insulative thick plastic cases. Unless your car battery is an antiquity that belongs in a museum, it is safe to store for an extended time it sitting on concrete. It should not drain any more of its charge on concrete than if it were somehow levitating in mid-air. All car batteries will slowly drain no matter what you do. They drain more rapidly in hot weather & when high humidity is present in the air. If you happen to have retained them, I recommend that you store your battery with the terminal protectors in place on the posts on the top of the battery or inserted in the side receptacle terminals if it is a side-connect type of battery. Those plastic protectors that come on the battery from the manufacturer usually end up in the trash, but they are quite useful for minimizing drain if you need to store your battery for an extended period of time. It is likely that you might be able to get terminal protectors (post covers & / or side terminal inserts) from an auto parts store which also installs batteries on a regular basis - maybe for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Batteries used to drain faster if left sitting on concrete because concrete absorbs moisture, and the materials used to insulate the battery were not impervious to moisture. Hence a path was available to drain the charge from the battery into the moisture in the concrete if the battery was left in contact with it. So, by that logic, the 'charge' (by which I guess they mean 'Electrolite' ) would leak out of the battery regardless of what you sit it on. It's true that batteries used to be encased in Glass inside a wooden box - so the box swelling and cracking the glass is just about plausible. However, I'm not convinced that batteries have ever been made from materials which leak other than when damaged! Isn't the Internet wonderful! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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