Trust me……"I know what I'm talking about"
That automatically makes me skeptical...
I agree with what you are saying. Incidentally I’m an electrician so have some knowledge of this topic. As for removing the battery and storing it inside to the best of my knowledge if it’s kept on a battery maintainer/trickle charger, then no harm no foul. As you said keeping a battery fully charged is always the best practice regardless of the situation. Some people not understanding the principles may put their vehicle into storage not realizing that it isn’t at full charge because of perhaps repeated short trips for example and then you can have issues for sure. Knowledgeable information is always welcome, so thanks for taking the time to post this.I want to address a misunderstanding of MOST seasonnal vehicle owners about the battery.
You should NEVER remove the battery to bring it inside for winter time. And for your information I'm a retired full time mechanic teacher of 23 years after 15 years of mostly dealer mechanic.
A fully charged battery is better stay in the cold than in a heated house basement. Cold slow down the chemical reaction within the battery and prolong it's usable life.
We have a tendency to think cold is bad for a battery but it's not. USING IT in cold to start a cold motor is hard on it, but not sitting in cold. Just make sure you fully charge it and let her sit outside but disconnected. A not fully charged battery will become sulfated and that is a no return condition. And BTW a reading of 12 volt is a dead battery, she has to be at least 12.6 to be fully charged. Each cell is 2.1 volt x 6.
Sitting in the cold the battery is kind of in sleeping mode because the electrons have a hard time to move and that is why it does not crank well. Like someone just awakened, it has to awake slowly to perform properly. This is the reason they say to turn on the headlamps on before starting a cold engine to let the electrons move a bit to warm them up before trying to start an almost seized engine by that cold thick oil and parts friction.
So remember that HEAT AND HUMIDITY is the WORST ennemy of a battery. As a fact a battery that has a 5 years garranty in Canada is only 3 years in Florida in many case.
I hope this will help some of you to better understand a battery life which is considered 5 years by the factory.
True. Then again it’s harder to steal a vehicle that has no battery in it….I agree with you on that. But many owners just bring it in and never look at it. With this method it's better to leave her out in the cold. The sulfation process will be slower.
Ok, I will let you win this oneTrue. Then again it’s harder to steal a vehicle that has no battery in it….
A trickle charger usually has voltage higher than the battery. If it's output is 13 volts then there is always potential (voltage). If there is always potential then there is always something it's trying to do. If there is no drain on a battery then it makes no sense to use a trickle charger or any charger for that matter. Yes, there is always some internal resistance between the poles so there is always a minimal drain on the battery, but over the course of 6 months I doubt there is any issue at all.I agree with what you are saying. Incidentally I’m an electrician so have some knowledge of this topic. As for removing the battery and storing it inside to the best of my knowledge if it’s kept on a battery maintainer/trickle charger, then no harm no foul.
They will discharge on average about 3% per month at 20c so the longer it sits the greater the benefit of a battery maintainer. Most have a voltage regulator internal. They will apply voltage as required to maintain a fully charged state. But no doubt the best storage conditions for a battery if it’s fully charged is at the lowest temperature available. I always try to stay in a higher grade of accommodation than a “ Holiday Inn Express “ .A trickle charger usually has voltage higher than the battery. If it's output is 13 volts then there is always potential (voltage). If there is always potential then there is always something it's trying to do. If there is no drain on a battery then it makes no sense to use a trickle charger or any charger for that matter. Yes, there is always some internal resistance between the poles so there is always a minimal drain on the battery, but over the course of 6 months I doubt there is any issue at all.
(For Jack. I'm a retired computer geek so I know what I'm talking about .... sometimes)
P.S. I majored in electronics in College and minored in women, but it was 40 years ago I worked in that field so whatDoEyeNo.
Exactly. But I’m not sure that you believe that…..Trust no one. You will never be disappointed...
Mercruiser have built Corvette engines before. For the C4 ZR-1 .Regarding the oil change part, most (all?) boat manufacturers include changing the oil before storage as a basic item to do. I believe the basic thought is to not let the engine sit in oil that contans contaminants from the combustion process - these including acids etc....I have always done this with my boat engines and also on my MB convertible that I don't use in the winter. My thinking is it certainly can't hurt and if you're going to change the oil anyway why not get it out of the engine before it sits for 5-6 months? Certainly Volvo Penta and Mercruiser (both mainly using basic car engine blocks from GM) want you to change the oil before storage....
(For Jack. I'm a retired computer geek so I know what I'm talking about .... sometimes)
P.S. I majored in electronics in College and minored in women, but it was 40 years ago I worked in that field so whatDoEyeNo.
Well, let me just say we studied vacuum tube technology.When did you start College, when you where 45...
Well, let me just say we studied vacuum tube technology.
Well, let me just say we studied vacuum tube technology.
That's what I said. It's negligible! lolThey will discharge on average about 3% per month at 20c so the longer it sits the greater the benefit of a battery maintainer. Most have a voltage regulator internal. They will apply voltage as required to maintain a fully charged state. But no doubt the best storage conditions for a battery if it’s fully charged is at the lowest temperature available. I always try to stay in a higher grade of accommodation than a “ Holiday Inn Express “ .
I lived most of my life far north of Quebec where we would see -40c. I totally understand what you're saying about hard cranking. Like I said this is a two way problem, a cold battery yes but more particularly a frozen engjne. An engine with very cold oil is super hard to crank and over that the battery chemistry is slowed down.Sorry for making fun of your spelling. News to me, but you're right, modern batteries are OK to store on a concrete floor - old habits die hard, I guess. In our climate, I'm still not a fan of leaving batteries in cars over the winter at -30-40C - too many dead batteries and cars that won't start around here in our winter conditions.