To Battery Tender or not for the winter months ?

This is for those of us who, however reluctantly, have to put our cars to sleep over the winter months.

For me, the "Baby" is all tucked away in our unheated storage building and up on blocks (to save those new Martins), with moth balls all around. We unhooked and charged the new 6 volt battery, and now my question is ;

Would it be wise to hook up a "battery tender" or not.

Years ago, I used to lug the 3 batteries form the motorhome down the basement and hook up a tender for the winter months, and they still died in 3-4 years.

My understanding is that if the battery is fully charged, zero to sub zero temp's will not hurt it. I can hook up the charger every 10-20 days or so just to bring it back up a bit, but since it is not connected to the car, do you think this is required ?

Mike in Colorado

:confused::confused::confused:

A battery self discharges no matter what you place it on. You have heard the stories about storing on wood and not on concrete. This is true for the older battery cases but not most batteries you buy today.

Here is an inexpensive way to keep a battery charged to avoid sulphation that begins to occur when a battery looses its charge. Go buy a simple plug in light timer and set it to go on for 1 hour. Plug this into the outlet and plug the Tender into the light timer. This will exercise the battery once every 24 hours and should help in extending the life of the battery. I also put my batteries on the tender when I return from a meet or parade and leave it on until the green light comes on indicating it is fully charged. I have routinely gotten 6-7 years on a battery. Check the water level every month and add distilled water as needed.

Joe, BCA 33493

Joe, BCA 33493

O.K. so 42 lookers so far, and one vote FOR a tender.

Next question will be what kind of tender should I use ? OR which one do you use ?

Mike in Colorado

I used a very inexpensive one from Harbor Freight and my battery went bad over a winter. Since then, I have been using a product called BatteryMinder Plus on my two 12v cars, and Battery Tender Brand on my six volt cars. I leave them on all the time, summer or winter. One of the hobby magazines, I think it was AutoRestorer did a comparison article on the popular brands some time within in the past year. -Good luck and Happy New Year. -Andy

YES , use a battery tender. It will increase the battery life greatly, and it is nice to now anytime you want to start the car, the battery is ready.

Only cation is use a name brand, NOT harbor freight. Even on the harbor fright site their customers gave it low rating as it had boiled many batteries and damaged them.

Another thing is a lot of drier fabric sheets. Some under the hood, on each tire, in side and the trunk . The rodents hate them and wont go around them. My biggest storage frustration is finding your interior, wires or what ever chewed up , and the smell can take for ever to clear out.

Steve

I voted for the battery tender. I've had a lot of old cars in my life and have bought a lot of 6V batteries that went Kap-put during the winter months. Most of my cars were 8s, bigger engines too. The Dillinger car I owned, 1933 Essex Terraplane 8, had the 6V battery, in the rear, UNDER the seat- Bet that was great for bank robberies in the middle of winter-

I get my BTs at the auto stores, 26-30 bucks who cares, works great, don't need to buy batteries.

IMHO, a battery tender and a 6V Optimia battery is as good as it gets at -5 out.

OCM

I'm a believer in using battery tenders. I use Shumaker tenders ( tractoer supply, $20 when on sale about twice a year). They are automatic and can do 6 and 12 volts ( very handy) They will warn of incorrect hookup. Battery life is very much dependent on the type of battery used. I've been swithcing to Optima batteries. Great cranking power, sealed so there is no outgassing to cause corrosion and no maintaing water levels. I have two that have been used for over 8 years to date. Expensive YES!! But if you again watch for sales on the internet, They can be found well below raetail.

Bob Engle

I use a "Battery Tender" brand 6-Volt, and switch it from car to car. Have also used the Harbor FReight Float Charger from time-to-time without problem.

Optima is a good choice in battery, and can often be found at about half-price from AMAZON.com , and they are fresh. I tried to get one from my local Auto-Zone, but ithad over 2 years already on the shelf, and was over $200. Amazon was $115 with no sales tax and free shipping, so I got two of them, strapped them ion Parallel (fit same space as my Group 1), used 000 cable, and now the '41 Caddy spins over like a top. It never spun like my Buicks do!

Well that's enough for me.

Over 83 views and 7 votes FOR and none AGAINST.

When I hear from the likes of Bob, Andy, Steve, OCM, and Marty that this is something I should do, It's time to dial up Amazon on the old laptop and order a battery tender!!!!!

Thanks Guys.......

Mike in Colorado

I use one as well. Great little devices. I've been using it for almost a year now and it maintains my battery perfectly. I use the Deltran Battery Tender Jr. It has been featured on My Classic Car and a bunch of other shows. I was on the fence about which one to buy until I made a visit to the Don Garlits museum and almost EVERY SINGLE car in the museum was using one. They have computer chips in them that monitor your battery and adjust charging to maintain a steady voltage. When the battery is charged, they go into maintenance mode and shut themselves off until they detect that the battery needs juice. Here are a few links to the Jr. models (12v and 6v). They also come in larger models but the Jr. works perfectly for me.

Battery Tender® Junior 12V @ 0.75A - Batterytender.com

Battery Tender® Junior 6V @ 0.75A - Batterytender.com

remember a frozen battery will not charge, also note it is easier to make explode. That said a fully charged battery should not freeze as the water is turned to acid. Personally I would put in a non freezing location on a charger(tender) in a well ventilated area. Possibly in a battery box or some sort of hazardous waste container to avoid acid exposure to any thing nice.

The answer may change some with where you live. I lived in Indiana for 26 years and never remember a battery freezing.

I also think the answer changes slightly with a 6 or 12 volt battery. 6 volt battery tenders are available but you will not find bargins like you will find for 12V units. I recently discovered that Schumacker has a new line of electronic chargers/maintainers that are pretty slick. They also automatically sense 6V or 12V. Walmart carries them and there is a Ebay seller in Indianapolis that bundles them at very good prices.

I presently have 3 of their 6 amp units and so far am completely satisfied.

Until I discovered these Schumacher units, I was using the method that Joe describes. plug your regular charger into a timer.......with some experimentation set it for between 10 min to 30 min per day to keep the battery charged. The thing I like most about the timer is .... there is no power to the charger 24/7.

For a belt and suppenders approach, use the Schumacker electronic and plug it into a timer.

Last.... I have mentioned it before, but I switched to an Optima 6V battery for my '39 about 18 months back and cannot say enough about the battery performance. It will not break your back when installing it and takes some changes in the hold-down. It will not pass 400 point judging but that is the only downside.

I am posting a photo of the Optimua....... concealed under a black plastic trash can purchased at Big-Lots.

Thanks Guys,

Chevy_dude..... what can a guy from HI know about batteries freezing ? Must be a howlie... HA HA just kidding.....

Barney... Yes i remember your posts when you were looking for a cover. Did you read what Marty did, hooking up 2 Optima's in the OEM tray. Now that's slick.......

Shadetree..... I ordered my Deltran battery tender jr last night from Amazon ($24.60) w/ frt. Should be here in a couple of days.

Thanks Guys. Now the folks (newby's) that follow can look up this forum and get some good info from the pro's.

Mike in Colorado

my 04 sportster has the original battery,used a tender since the first winter,keeps the battery ready to go,4 bufords from ct

Here is a link to the Ebay store of the fellow in Indianapolis, he buys new returned merchandise, test and resells.... they have all sizes of chargers and other items.

battery charger, car chargers items in RugGalleryInc store on eBay!

Thanks for the post Barney. When those that follow, find this info, I hope they remember to thank you.

Lots of good deals here...............

Mike in Colorado

I have my calendar give me a reminder once a month and I throw on the regular charger instead of buying and leaving a charger plugged in. Have been doing this routine for 35 years.

I was in the battery business for 24 yrs. and learned some things. A fully charged battery will not freeze;we stored many new dry charged and wet charged batteries in cold storage and never had one fail. Cold is better for a charged battery than hot weather as the molecules are closer together when cold and tranfer a charge better. If you are going to store one first have it fully charged and store it on a shelf in a cool,dry area and it should remain charged all winter. If you wish to store it in your car, have it fully charged,place it in the vehicle and remove the terminals so it will not drain through any fault in the electrical system. Keep the battery dry! The old story of not storing a battery on wood or concrete was a half truth. The wood or concrete themselves are not the problem. Sometimes people would hose down batteries prior to storage because of leakage of the acid or spill acid when filling. Since liquid is conductive the batteries would discharge through the water or acid if the floor was allowed to remain wet and if the water had any contact with metal. If a battery is kept clean, dry and charged before storage ,there should not be a need for a tender. I kept the battery in my Model A this way for 16 yrs. and never had a problem and never used a tender. I only ever had 2 batteries in my Ford in 16 yrs.;the first one failed due to a short from vibration!

Just fired up my 33 90 today, been sitting for a couple weeks or so, - numbers in Colorado sometimes ( Mike knows ) .

Not like middle of July at 90 or so, but kicked in fine to warm up to 140 with goosing it with the choke.

This is a big straight 8, not a Ford Pinto- 1933 90.

Works for me-

I use a tender also. I am curious why Marty used to two Optima batteries. Sounds like he wired them to produce 12 volts for starting. Optima does make a 6 volt battery, and I have been thinking about getting it for my '40, but they are much smaller than the factory battery. But since I don't show my car for points, i'm not concerned about the battery itself, but wondering about securing it in place.

Big Dog:

According to Marty he wired them in parrallel which is producing the same voltage output but giving a greater current available to the starter.

An issue as to concealment of the optima. If I ever go with one I do have an old hard rubber case to drop it into. (Still have to find a battery box for my 37 Buick). And since it is under the front seat would not be seen from the top. Way back in the old days batteries were sent to a rebuilding service. I have come across the empty cases from time to time. Just have to cut out the cell seperators.

Larry

Well, well.

Seems we have a couple of NO votes. Apparently from those in the know.........

Then there is OCM. Sandy says he "starts" his cars. Don't let him fool you. It's not to charge the battery, it's to keep those Marvel carb's free of "gum". Charging the battery is a byproduct of proper winter Marvel maintainence. Way to go Sandy !!!! PS; when are you going to let me make a couple of sets of jets for you. We have open lathe time.

Mike in colorado

Mike,

I voted no. I used a tender on my 28 one winter a few years ago and it boiled out all the water and ruined the battery. Without doing a thing my batteries usually last 5 to 7 years, so I gave up on the tender. Like Sandy I will start it up once a month, pull it out of the garage and let run for a half hour or so. Sometimes I run it just to get a little heat in the garage:)

On the 48 Jeep, which is 12 volt, I had a deep cycle boat battery that lasted 10 years. It was a little pricy but worth it.

Dave

The reason I recommend that the Tender be plugged into a lamp timer and only on 1 hour or even less in 24 hours is to avoid the possibilty of running the battery dry. It is also wise to check the electrolyte level in the cells and add distilled water as needed.

Also, as stated above, it is best to store a battery in a cool dry place, once it is fully charged, as this slows down the rate of self-discharge. Cool and dry locations are also best to retard rust and corrosion on other parts of a car.

Joe

Mike, so far , the old plugging Marvel trick hasn't happened, my only real change was using blue Stabil. The tender on the 1933 90, senses 12 or 6 V too and automatically shuts off when it hits full charge or shuts off if the battery becomes hot. It's a Schumaker, however it's spelled.

Gum seems to be an issue in hot weather, when the car sits, however only had the problem about once in the past year +. I do fire it up once a month and if the roads are clear of snow & ice to a block run to get it up to 135-140, as not to foul the plugs.

On my tender, I can't use the clips provided but use the round attachments that are for perminent application. I had to drill the holes out just a bit to get the battery bolt thru. I drop the connection out next to the battery box, under the car. Plug in or not as needed. The plug just sits up inside the battery box when driving.

Next time you ride your donkey with provisions down to Fort Collins, stop by, I'll show you.

OCM

Well, well.

Seems we have a couple of NO votes. Apparently from those in the know.........

Then there is OCM. Sandy says he "starts" his cars. Don't let him fool you. It's not to charge the battery, it's to keep those Marvel carb's free of "gum". Charging the battery is a byproduct of proper winter Marvel maintainence. Way to go Sandy !!!! PS; when are you going to let me make a couple of sets of jets for you. We have open lathe time.

Mike in colorado

Thanks Guys,

Chevy_dude..... what can a guy from HI know about batteries freezing ? Must be a howlie... HA HA just kidding.....

Hahaha, I spent my first 2 assignments in Grand forks N.D. and Anchorage AK respectively... I can tell you a few things about cold

I can tell you it is very nice not to have to start my car 20 min prior to leaving for work to be comfortable on the drive in winter months...

chevy,

Yes I know what you mean about cold cars in the morning.

I'm currently travelling Colo,Wy,Utah selling castings and machined parts, and I look for "plug in's" where ever I stay.

Used to be based in Iowa and travelled Minn,N.D.,S.D. Kansas doing the same.

Of course 2 winters in Korea above the 38th parallel got me used to the cold. NOT.........

Mike in Colorado

I have seen a rubber case battery cut open, and an optima hidden inside, complete with leads attached to the original terminal posts, very neat

I run a 3 stage smart charger on mine, leave it on all the time, I have a 12V solar panel I keep hooked up to my race car between meets too

Alan,

Yes, that might be a product looking for a market.

If we could make a "period correct" looking battery shell that you could hide an Optima, or in Marty's case 2 Optima's inside, with the terminals in the right place, and it had cell plugs on top and the correct lables, I wonder if there would be a market for it ?

It would have to be good enough to fool the judges though.

Interesting idea.........

Mike in Colorado

chevy,

Yes I know what you mean about cold cars in the morning.

I'm currently travelling Colo,Wy,Utah selling castings and machined parts, and I look for "plug in's" where ever I stay.

Used to be based in Iowa and travelled Minn,N.D.,S.D. Kansas doing the same.

Of course 2 winters in Korea above the 38th parallel got me used to the cold. NOT.........

Mike in Colorado

Mike:

I was stationed in Korea for 13 months (1967-1968) and thought I knew what cold was; they issued us the same parkas, mittens, and Mickey Mouse boots that you air up to keep from getting frostbite, etc. that they issued the guys stationed in Alaska . . . a friend of mine's Dad was there during the Korean War as a tank commander and he lost all of his fingers and one thumb plus both legs thanks to frostbite! Then fast forward a generation and my son and his wife (Air Force Major) were stationed at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska for four years and he called me a couple of years ago and said, "What's the weather like today in Georgetown Dad?" I replied, "A typical March day, about 75 degrees, why?" He said, "How does 68 BELOW ZERO sound?" Said he had his wife make him a pot of coffee and after pouring a scalding hot cup, he went out on the porch and threw the cup's contents into the air and it instantly vaporized! He said he took my granddaughter's little bottle of bubble blowing stuff out on the porch and blew some bubbles into the air - they just settled on the porch and sat there . . . he touched one and it shattered like a lightbulb! Now that's all I want to know about cold weather!

They actually lived in the town of "North Pole, Alaska" and when they were househunting they looked at a house on Santa Claus Way - my son said, "Think of how much I could have made by having people send me their kid's want list at Christmas and I could have written them back with the return address of Santa Claus Way, North Pole, Alaska postmark."

I'm ready for Spring already - it's only getting up to 45 degrees here today and I much prefer 95 - 100 so I can work outside.

Personally I think the battery tender issue is a real function of where you live and the temperature variation. I've made it a practice to buy a battery for my Model A Ford with a two year guarantee and drive the car frequently to keep it charged up - seems like it lasts about 18-20 months for some reason and the dealer is glad to give me another one before the two year guarantee expires.

Fred

Thanks Fred,

Your last bit reminds me of the old Midas muffler commercial, where the guy drives his "T" in for the 14th muffler, under warranty of course.

See your from Georgetown,Tx. I took my basic @ Ft. Hood w/ the 2nd Armor Div. Wound up in Korea w/ the 7th Infantry Div., Christmas day of '60 (only-42F).

I used to call on several foundries in Austin and Marble Falls area many years ago.

Did you get any of the recent snow that hit El Paso ?

Now we're really off topic...........

Mike in Colorado

Hi Mike:

Yep, Fort Hood is about 30 miles north of my house; lots of people are not aware that it's the largest military installation in the free world. This may border on "political commentary" but I'm amazed that they still haven't taken that idiot wacko that shot and killed 13 people there over three years ago out and put him in front of a firing squad. No . . . we let our criminal justice system drag things out about whether he has the right to grow a beard while awaiting trial! The military should handle it and put him in front of a firing squad - it happened on a military base, he shot 45 military personnel (13 of whom died), he was in the military at the time and the fact that it was not considered a terrorist act is beyond me! :mad:

I took basic at Fort Bliss (El Paso) and we think that's where the old saying "ignorance is bliss" came from. No snow today but they had forecast sleet and possible freezing rain (yuck)! They used to tell us that we got three inches of rain in El Paso - that means the drops were three inches apart on the sidewalk.

As a native Texan when it's below 85 degrees I'm not a happy camper. I think of the old Midas Muffler commercial everytime they give me a new battery. :cool:

Fred

Seeing as how we've drifted off topic, It'll be 100F + here today and I'm going fishing.

To get it back on topic, I'll be giving this battery tender some serious thought whilst holding a rod in one hand and a beer in the other !!!

Danny

Seeing as how we've drifted off topic, It'll be 100F + here today and I'm going fishing.

To get it back on topic, I'll be giving this battery tender some serious thought whilst holding a rod in one hand and a beer in the other !!!

Danny

Danny:

Way to rub it in - check back with us in the middle of July when we're fishing and you're shivering.

Fred

Seeing as how we've drifted off topic, It'll be 100F + here today and I'm going fishing.

To get it back on topic, I'll be giving this battery tender some serious thought whilst holding a rod in one hand and a beer in the other !!!

Danny

Well it's almost four o'clock here in the mountains and 34 degrees (F) so I'll crack open a Coors and watch Motocross on the teleeeee.

Mike in colorado

was a balmy 115*F here yesterday...

when I went up main street around lunch time, a little old lady was flying a kite, I thought that was a bit strange, specially on such a hot and windy day, but when she wound it in, it was actually her small dog that had been blown up into the air...

Well, to get this forum topic back on track, and after due consideration of all the info posted above pertaining to the issue, I have choosen to purchase a Deltran Battery Jr. (6 volt) AND a lamp timer, which I set for one hour, out of the 24 that are available to us.

So the timer comes on from noon to one each day to exercise the battery. Also topped her up with distilled water this morning.

I also picked up some "dryer sheets" (fabric softener) @ Safeway and carefully put one atop each tire, in the trunk and engine room and all round the inside, plus the glovebox and under the dash. She should smell real nice come spring.

Mike in Colorado

PS Fred, You suppose Mr. Earl would pay you something to hop down to Dallas and pick up that '54 grille you found for him ????

Mike, if it's as nice as it looks I should run up to Dallas and get it - then all I would need to do is find the rest of a '54 Buick so I could join Mr. Earl's fraternity! Crazy thing about CL'ers; they go to the effort to list something but don't respond when you try to contact them. I've sold a few things on CL myself and have always listed my phone number in the ad so it won't be a blind "reply to this ad" - if you ever do that, be sure to put your phone number in a format such as Five one two - 825 - three three six eight so the spammers from Nigeria and Jamaica won't be able to computer harvest the number; a real person has to dial such a number.

I like the idea of the dryer sheets vs. smelly moth balls too.

Regards,

Fred

Fred,

Funny you should mention picking up a '54 to join Mr. Earl's club.

There is a red/black '54 Roadmaster 2 door for sale in San Antonio for $13K, and a '54 station wagon up in Arlington for $29K. Both are shown @ www.carsonline.com , just in case Mr. Earl is lurking.

Mike in Colorado

I wouldnt use them. There has been a few documented cases of our antique cars going up in flames from these things malfunctioning. I just disconnect my batteries and check them once a month, if they need charged I put my charger on them to top them off.