Jump to content

Battery Care


kevin the chicken

Recommended Posts

I am finally about to bite the bullet and buy a new battery for my Unimog, a purchase that is going to make my eyes water. The mog does not get a lot of use but when It is needed it is an unbelieveably useful tool but the battery has failed probably due to lack of use

I have several vehicles that are not used very often and have got in to the habit of giving them a top up charge every month or so to prolong the life of the battery.

I was wondering if this is the right thing to do or if there is anything else that can prolong the life of batteries especially a brand new one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Overcharge, undercharge and water loss are the enemies. Maintain water levels carefully. Do not add acid. Store fully charged and I don't mean like it is when you finish using it. Charge it up after use. Keep cool. Don't overcharge. Gassing just blows off oxygen and hydrogen, ie water, and increases SG, acid concentration to a level which causes increased corrosion to the lead for a period of time. Storing undercharged encourages sulphation which mostly can't be reversed.

Investing in an intelligent charger like CTEK mx5 is probably a very sound decision.

 

Nigel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CTEK will rescue some batteries to some extent. Storing undercharged produces soft and hard sulphation crystals. Soft ones turn hard with time. Leave it and it will die. The correct type of recharge can redissolve the soft crystals, restoring some capacity. Hard crystals are death.

 

Nigel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i've got a solar trickle charger which is great for when you are leaving it for a long time. My BMW tends to discharge after 2 weeks of non-use i assume due to the alarm system. So when i went on holiday for 2 weeks i had to leave the car at the airport carpark and didn't want to return to a dead battery. Did the job perfectly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...