Thread: Battery life

Hi Jim and what form of shelf life are you talking about.


If you are referring to a battery you bought new but sat it on a shelf untouched for 6 months before using it, then the outcome for the battery is probably not that good, depending on the type of battery.


If, on the other hand, you bought a new battery 12 months ago and regularly charged and maintained it over that period, then it is more likely going to be in as good a condition as when you first bought it.


So can you elaborate a bit more on what info you are after?

Interesting question, what he may be alluding to, but if not, I would like to know anyway...so if the battery has sat in the shop for 6months before you buy it, you might be buying a less than ideal battery?? I have bought new motorbike batteries where they send the acid separately, which I like, as I know that the battery is getting it's first kick into life when I add the acid.

I went through three batteries in four years driving on corrigations up north.

I purchased a deep cycle battery two months ago and our situation for using it has changed. Should I give it an occasional charge?

Originally Posted by jx2mad

I purchased a deep cycle battery two months ago and our situation for using it has changed. Should I give it an occasional charge?

Definitely.Use it or loose it with batteries.
Use a decent charger,the old fashioned ones will kill it.
Andrew

Buy your self a Solar Charger off Ebay they are not expensive , I keep booth my 80" & 1964 BMW on on Solar Chargers . The last battery I had in the 80" lasted 16 years before I had to replace it & when I had my MGBGT I was only getting 1 year out of the 2 x 6v batteries & I replaced them twice before I bought a Solar charger for it as well . The batteries were 3 years old when I sold the car & it has been a year since I sold it & the guy who bought has not had to replace the batteries . I had bought an expensive trickle charger for the MG after I replaced the 1st lot of batteries but it only lasted just over the life of the warranty so replaced it with the solar charger.
The solar panels sit on the roof of the garage & the wires just hang down through the roof . On the BMW i have a water proof accessories plug hidden behind the bump bar with a cigarette lighter plug attached to the wire from the solar panel & the 80" the wire has alligator clips that i clip onto the battery terminals. The only problem I have had with the solar panels is during a hail storm one of the panels was hit with a cricket ball size hail stone .

Originally Posted by 1950landy

Buy your self a Solar Charger off Ebay they are not expensive , I keep booth my 80" & 1964 BMW on on Solar Chargers . The last battery I had in the 80" lasted 16 years before I had to replace it & when I had my MGBGT I was only getting 1 year out of the 2 x 6v batteries & I replaced them twice before I bought a Solar charger for it as well . The batteries were 3 years old when I sold the car & it has been a year since I sold it & the guy who bought has not had to replace the batteries . I had bought an expensive trickle charger for the MG after I replaced the 1st lot of batteries but it only lasted just over the life of the warranty so replaced it with the solar charger.
The solar panels sit on the roof of the garage & the wires just hang down through the roof . On the BMW i have a water proof accessories plug hidden behind the bump bar with a cigarette lighter plug attached to the wire from the solar panel & the 80" the wire has alligator clips that i clip onto the battery terminals. The only problem I have had with the solar panels is during a hail storm one of the panels was hit with a cricket ball size hail stone .

I drive infrequently being out of the country mostly, so i have a ctec charger attached to an Arlec timer. The LR gets a 24 hour charge weekly. So far so good

Originally Posted by AndyG

I drive infrequently being out of the country mostly, so i have a ctec charger attached to an Arlec timer. The LR gets a 24 hour charge weekly. So far so good

I had a Ctec charger that cost me twice as much as a new battery & it failed when it was just out of warranty & I didn,t realise it wasn't working causing the battery to fail. With the solar chargers I just check the level in the battery when ever I think of it but have never had to top it up yet. I do have a Aldi brand Ctec charger that I use ocasionally & it works well but I prefer the solar ones because they don't cost anything to run. I also have a fast charger but can't remember the last time I used it.