Battery Storage

[Guest PetePontiac]

What is the best way to store your car battery for the winter ?

1.) Charge it fully and store in a cool dry place.

2.) Charge it fully and have a trickle charger on it, in a cool dry place.

3.) Or what ??

Thank You PETE.

[Rusty_OToole]

I would say charge it and store it in a cool place but one that won't freeze, like your basement. Do not put it on cement, if you leave it on the floor put a board under it.

For those of you who think it's an old wive's tale that leaving a battery on cement will kill it, all I can say is leave a good battery on a cement floor for 3 weeks or a month and get back to me.

I don't think I would leave a trickle charger on it although I would put one on overnight, once a month or so. The new battery tenders you get are different and apparently, can be left on all the time.

[wyobob]

I have good luck leaving a Battery Tender on mine. My '29 Dodge 6 volt lasted for 7 years last time, I leave it on all the time.

[JACK M]

Is there a different tender for 6 volt than 12 volt?

I have several battery tenders that I leave on the 12 volt batteries, but have not on the 6 volt batteries. Can I ?

[nickelroadster]

You will have to get a six volt battery tender. It is not smart to try to charge a six volt battery with a twelve volt charger.

[JACK M]

You will have to get a six volt battery tender. It is not smart to try to charge a six volt battery with a twelve volt charger.

Thats what I was thinking, Thanks.

[Rusty_OToole]

If you have 2 six volt batteries you can connect them in series to a 12v charger.

[JACK M]

Good idea Rusty.

Only one six volt in the collection at this time.

[joe_padavano]

I would say charge it and store it in a cool place but one that won't freeze, like your basement. Do not put it on cement, if you leave it on the floor put a board under it.

For those of you who think it's an old wive's tale that leaving a battery on cement will kill it, all I can say is leave a good battery on a cement floor for 3 weeks or a month and get back to me.

Sorry, but I don't buy it. I HAVE left a battery on a cement floor for well over three weeks with no problems. Please help me understand how a sealed plastic case battery can discharge to concrete. If it can, why doesn't it discharge to the metal battery tray in most cars?

The fully charged batteries in auto parts stores sit in conductive metal racks in the store. They don't seem to discharge there. Is concrete (even damp concrete) somehow a BETTER conductor than steel?

[Rusty_OToole]

If you left a battery on a concrete floor for a month and it did not kill it, you are luckier than I am. Also luckier than anyone I know.

[nickelroadster]

A tale I have heard is that garage owners who did not want battery acid eating up their nice concrete floors started the rumor that batteries on concrete would run down so the mechanics would not put them there and would place them on wooden shelves. Storing a battery anywhere for a month will often give you a dead battery.

[midman]

Hi everyone,

I work for a parts distributor and the story about batteries and concrete is no longer true. See below taken directly from the battery manufacturers website explaining the history.

Fact or Fiction

Well, is it true? Will a battery be damaged or discharged by letting it sit on concrete? NO!

Why then do so many people believe that concrete is a battery enemy? Years ago, batteries could have been electrically discharged by sitting on a concrete floor. My dad, for instance, owned an automotive shop for many years. In fact, I grew up on a creeper. My dad reminded me time after time, "Set that battery on wood! I know batteries discharge on concrete because I’ve witnessed it!" And he was right at that time.

You see, the myth that concrete drains batteries does have some historical basis. Many, many years ago, wooden battery cases encased a glass jar with the battery inside. Any moisture on the floor could cause the wood to swell and possibly fracture the glass, causing it to leak. Later came the introduction of the hard rubber cases, which were somewhat porous and had a high-carbon content. An electrical current could be conducted through this container if the moist concrete floor permitted the current to find an electrical ground. The wise advice of the old days to "keep batteries off concrete" has been passed down to us today, but it no longer applies because of the advanced technology of today’s batteries.

[48cabriolet]

Hi everyone,

I work for a parts distributor and the story about batteries and concrete is no longer true. See below taken directly from the battery manufacturers website explaining the history.

Fact or Fiction

Well, is it true? Will a battery be damaged or discharged by letting it sit on concrete? NO!

Why then do so many people believe that concrete is a battery enemy? Years ago, batteries could have been electrically discharged by sitting on a concrete floor. My dad, for instance, owned an automotive shop for many years. In fact, I grew up on a creeper. My dad reminded me time after time, "Set that battery on wood! I know batteries discharge on concrete because I’ve witnessed it!" And he was right at that time.

You see, the myth that concrete drains batteries does have some historical basis. Many, many years ago, wooden battery cases encased a glass jar with the battery inside. Any moisture on the floor could cause the wood to swell and possibly fracture the glass, causing it to leak. Later came the introduction of the hard rubber cases, which were somewhat porous and had a high-carbon content. An electrical current could be conducted through this container if the moist concrete floor permitted the current to find an electrical ground. The wise advice of the old days to "keep batteries off concrete" has been passed down to us today, but it no longer applies because of the advanced technology of today’s batteries.

and then there are the snopes that suck the energy out of idle batteries - so beware!!!

[Joseph P. Indusi]

Midman has it right. Batteries have been using plastic cases now for several decades and storing them on concrete is no different than storing them on wood.

Joe, BCA 33493

[Curti]

Midman has it right. Batteries have been using plastic cases now for several decades and storing them on concrete is no different than storing them on wood.

Joe, BCA 33493

I agree! In the fall, I pull the battery's out of all my collector cars and line up the 6V in one row and 12V in another on the concrete floor. I have three 6V and two 12V Battery Tenders (brand name) As I walk through the storage area I look for the green light on the tenders then switch it to the next battery in line. This process has worked well for me for at least fifteen years. NEVER let a battery run down in a car that has an electric clock that is energized with a breaker points.

[JACK M]

Hi everyone,

I work for a parts distributor and the story about batteries and concrete is no longer true. See below taken directly from the battery manufacturers website explaining the history.

Fact or Fiction

Well, is it true? Will a battery be damaged or discharged by letting it sit on concrete? NO!

Why then do so many people believe that concrete is a battery enemy? Years ago, batteries could have been electrically discharged by sitting on a concrete floor. My dad, for instance, owned an automotive shop for many years. In fact, I grew up on a creeper. My dad reminded me time after time, "Set that battery on wood! I know batteries discharge on concrete because I’ve witnessed it!" And he was right at that time.

You see, the myth that concrete drains batteries does have some historical basis. Many, many years ago, wooden battery cases encased a glass jar with the battery inside. Any moisture on the floor could cause the wood to swell and possibly fracture the glass, causing it to leak. Later came the introduction of the hard rubber cases, which were somewhat porous and had a high-carbon content. An electrical current could be conducted through this container if the moist concrete floor permitted the current to find an electrical ground. The wise advice of the old days to "keep batteries off concrete" has been passed down to us today, but it no longer applies because of the advanced technology of today’s batteries.

This is the way I heard it as well.

[Rusty_OToole]

OK if you leave your battery on the floor connect it to a charger and it will not go dead.

I have left batteries on a wooden shelf for 6 months and they were still good. In fact I have some spare batteries stored on a wooden shelf for 5 years, charged up a couple of times a year, that are still good.

Do as you like, it's your battery. I have a friend who thinks I am a fool because I have no explanation for why concrete floors kill batteries. He leaves his batteries on the garage floor all the time. He has several collector cars, his wife's car, his car, pickup truck, etc. He seems to be buying new batteries 2 or 3 times a year where I don't buy one every 5 years. But it has nothing to do with leaving them on a concrete floor.

Edited November 2, 2013 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[JACK M]

Since I am old I also do not regularly store batteries on a concrete floor just out of old habits. But I have however on occasion with no problems.

I think the cases that they use these days has cured that old problem.

[Rusty_OToole]

It won't hurt for a few days. The one time I left a battery on a concrete floor for 3 weeks it killed it so dead I could not charge it up. This was a plastic case battery about 25 years ago. Never took a chance since. It costs nothing to put the battery away properly or at least throw an old board on the floor.

[wmsue]

I always thought it was surface discharge that would drain a battery. Keep everything nice and clean, and you minimize the discharge.

I had a prof at college(Dr. John Lees at KSU, he collected Covairs, but that's another story....) tell me that you can keep your car battery in the freezer almost forever and it will be good to go after it warms up. years ago I always kept a wrapped up battery in the bottom of the chest freezer. Never had a problem after I warmed it up to room temp. Something about the rate of discharge is reduced severely in lower temps. Of course it had to be a fully charged battery to keep its change in the freezer. The electrolyte never froze.