Car Battery Charger for long term storage

While I'm about it - what's the best for me to do when I get back home to a flat battery from standing since middle of March this year. In March I disconnected the battery and left it in the car - it's temperate climate (20 ~ 25 C).

Should I just jump start the car so that I can use it straight away, and then leave the charger on when I stop, and obviously when I store the car again - or should I be patient and let it slow charge for a day or two?

Get a charger with a "Full/Float" switch. Charge on Full then switch to Float and leave it on that setting all the time it's in store. On float the voltage is reduced slightly which stops the electrolyte "boiling off" - which it would do if left on Full all the time.

It's worth checking after a few days (a week?) that the battery isn't fizzing away as sometimes the float voltage is set a shade too high. On my charger there is an internal adjustment for the float voltage but you need to take care because there are hazardous voltages inside. The proceedure for adjusting is to reduce it slightly then wait a day ot two to see if the battery has calmed down.

I have a 5 year old battery that has been on float charge most of those 5 years (and it still is now).

If your charger only has a "Trickle" setting check the manual. That might not be the same as "Float".

My charger was about £28 ($37) in the UK - five years ago.

The battery you let go flat may well be dead or have much reduced capacity The fastest way to kill a lead acid cell is to leave it flat for any length of time. In which case it probably doesn't matter how you treat it now. I would put in on a normal charge but perhaps someone else will tell us how to recover a dead battery correctly.

Colin

a

temperate

If the vehicle is stored where sunlight is available, one of the small solar trickle chargers might be a good choice. The battery might not be at full charge, but would be usable and the ongoing costs are zero ;-)

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SLA batteries are float charged. They lose their capacity to the point where they have to be replaced after 5 years.

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Well, he said it's a SLA, and they're sealed, so I don't think you can check the electrolyte.

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I have several dozen 2v, 5 AH cells made by Gates in the early 1970's that are still in use. Dunno, quantitatively, how much time has decreased their capacity but they do have spunk. For a while during the NE blackout earlier this year I illuminated my livingroom with them and an auto headlight pointed at the ceiling. I have three Gates 2v 25 AH "Cyclon" cells that I got 2nd-hand back in the early 80's and they continue to serve. Used to have 6 of them but three died after I let them sit too long.

As I described in another recent message, I've had very good luck using a

24 hour appliance timer to control a standard battery charger. Set the timer to turn the charger on for its minimum time (usually 15 minutes) every day. It tops off the battery without overcharging it. Seems like it should work for a SLA battery too.

I use this method to keep my garden tractor battery alive over the winter. I think I'm on the 3rd winter for my current battery. Just have to check the electrolyte level from time to time.

Neil Preston.

would