Battery storage

[Vulnavia]

The battery in my van needed replacement. I have one from my old van which is 4yrs old, stuck it in there and works fine, but I suspect it too will need replacement in a year or two. If you bought a new battery, charged it and put it in storage, how long would it last, charging it every couple of months or so. They are on sale now, [and I like buying that kind of stuff and looking at tools I might need!]

Thanks,
Will

[Steve Demeter]

Keep it on a float charger and according to Dave W it will last a very very long time. I have most of mine on float chargers but not for long enough to be able to confirm the 8 tears, but if Dave said it you can count on it being true.

[Daryl DeArman]

Depends on the battery type.

The battery in my C5 is now 14 years old. The car is driven less than once a month. It sits electrically isolated while not in use. No float charger for me. YMMV.

[pooch776]

My brother-in-law had a super nice 1967 21 window VW Bus that he kept on a floating charger. While using it, he managed to burn down the bus, a 1958 VW Bug, a Miata, a lawn tractor and his entire four car garage to the ground. You may want to rethink a floating charger. YMMV

Cheers, Joe

[TimH]

Also depends on climate. AZ heat can kill anything in a few years not matter what you do.

[DaveW]

My brother-in-law had a super nice 1967 21 window VW Bus that he kept on a floating charger. While using it, he managed to burn down the bus, a 1958 VW Bug, a Miata, a lawn tractor and his entire four car garage to the ground. You may want to rethink a floating charger. YMMV

Cheers, Joe

I'd be interested in what went wrong. The maximum 3/4 amp Battery Tenders are not likely to cause something like that.

I'd bet the battery had a cell short out and the charger kept trying to keep it at full charge. That scenario results in the other 5 cells in the battery getting overheated and maybe causing the fire.

[Daryl DeArman]

I'd be interested in what went wrong. The maximum 3/4 amp Battery Tenders are not likely to cause something like that.

I'd bet the battery had a cell short out and the charger kept trying to keep it at full charge. That scenario results in the other 6 cells in the battery getting overheated and maybe causing the fire.

Quite likely the root cause, however I believe the argument is that if there wasn't a charger connected to said battery it wouldn't have caught fire. They don't get overcharged sitting their minding their own business.

[Vulnavia]

Thanks for the replies and advice. Heading out to purchase a new battery.And some tools. Have my eye on a cordless ratchet.

Will

[Fred Michael]

I'd be interested in what went wrong. The maximum 3/4 amp Battery Tenders are not likely to cause something like that.

I'd bet the battery had a cell short out and the charger kept trying to keep it at full charge. That scenario results in the other 5 cells in the battery getting overheated and maybe causing the fire.

I had a battery tender go up in flames a couple of years ago. Fortunately I was standing right next to it and got it under control. There was nothing wrong with the battery and that battery is still in use. I will NEVER attach a battery tender and walk away again.

[Jim Edmonds]

Daryl, By "electrically isolated" I presume you disconnect a battery cable on the C5, or have installed a battery disconnect. If a battery disconnect I'm interested in the make and model you are using. If my assumption is wrong please tell me.I'd suspect the parasitic drain on the C5 would discharge the battery enough in four to six weeks that it wouldn't start.When I have battery failures more frequent than the usual 3 year Arizona heat failures I tend to measure the parasitic draw first, after installing a new battery.I habitually replace my truck batteries every two years. Had a Checker battery short out deep down a remote 4WD road in Northern Arizona once. That was fun . . . . .Thank you, Jim

[Jerry Kehoe]

Battery's are always a mystery, I have one Odyssey PC680 that is at least 12 years old that I still use as a starter battery and has always performed. Also had 2-3 more of these that crapped out in a season. Now using a Deka unit that Dave W recommended for the last 2 seasons that works great and has plenty of power all weekend. All I do is every 2-3 weeks is top up the charge to keep them fully charged and make sure they are charged up right after an event. Had the OEM unit in my F150 that lasted 9 years and also had a replacement (AAA) that lasted less than 2 years! Battery's are always a mystery!

[billtebbutt]

In the shop i have 3 dry cells, a Honda generator battery, one for the scooter, the deep cycle for the trailer/rv, and a massive brute I have had for 15 years as a jumper for the Atlantic car, the old diesel truck, etc. The shop never gets below 50 degrees.

About every two months in the off season, I put a 4amp Battery Tender on them one at a time, and I DO NOT LEAVE. II takes maybe 20 mins per battery at most, to get to a full charge. So one night, while in the shop working, I'll go through this routine

I agree with previous posters - I do not trust the Tender alone, indefinitely. They frig up surprisingly often, all on their lonesome. A couple of years back at the track, we couldn't get a full indicated charge on the dry cell in the 492. Assumed it was the battery, decided to leave the Tender on it unattended. Got back to it 3-4 hours later, and the battery was quite warm, and acid was being pushed through the plastic welded seams on the battery casing. The Tender was still charging, no full charge indication reached yet according to it, but the voltmeter said differently. The Tender made a loud sound when it hit the garbage bin.

I now check the race car batteries with a meter every time we come off track, and I have written the max full charge voltage on each one with a sharpie (they all take a slightly different full charge). Regardless of what the Tender says, when my voltmeter says "Full", the Tender comes off.

In my experience, Tenders are cheap pieces of crap.

cheers,
BT

[hdsporty1988]

I use these on all my collector cars since they sit for long periods of time. They are easy to use and have always worked well.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NW_7...oCQ-QQAvD_BwE&

[Jim Edmonds]

After numerous battery tender/minder failure over the years, a couple of years back I bought Granite Digital 9950's. Delightful charger with a large display and most everything you want to know. https://batterysaver.com/store/p77/9950.html Its been hard to find them lately. I suspect the higher price has folks going to the /p78/2362-lcd.html version.
YMMV Jim

[stonebridge20]

In 30+ years of being in the classic and sports car restoration and service business, I've had to replace far more batteries in customer cars that sit on battery tenders when not in use than not.

[Daryl DeArman]

Daryl, By "electrically isolated" I presume you disconnect a battery cable on the C5, or have installed a battery disconnect.

I physically disconnect the battery.

Yes, it takes a few minutes to reprogram the key fob and disable the anti-theft on the stereo system every time but my drives are so few and far between that it's not that big of a deal.

[Bill Schmidt]

If it is time to buy a new battery , might try Costco. They sell Interstate brand at a discounted price. I use these , or sometimes the top of the line Wal-mart batteries. I think they are called Maxx.

[TimH]

Costco Interstates come with a 36-month warranty. I trade mine in for a replacement every 33 months, or sooner if they fail.

[DaveW]

In 30+ years of being in the classic and sports car restoration and service business, I've had to replace far more batteries in customer cars that sit on battery tenders when not in use than not.

IMO, some of that may be from using battery-tender type devices on batteries (non-maintenance-free) that do not have the proper maintenance-free chemistry and so dry out unless distilled H2O is added when continually charged.

For automotive batteries, maintenance-free refers to a system with electrodes containing low, or no, antimony in the grid alloy. These batteries experience little loss of water during their life and thus normally do not require periodic “topping up”.

So for these batteries, unless they are overcharged, no harm should done by maintenance charging. The same is true for VRLA (AGM) batteries that have recombinant chemistry that keeps the H20 from being lost if proper charging conditions are maintained.

I have had better luck keeping my many batteries alive using BT's or similar than not. YMMV.