Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-29-2013, 11:54 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
jage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 7,643
Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnected?

Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnected?
How long?

__________________
it was good to be back
jage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 12:17 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
schluchtenflitzer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Unterfranken
Posts: 456
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

Yes they do. Every batterie is loosing energie day by day. Standart more than agm/gel. I have a lot of vintage cars and bikes and at them i charge the batteries once per month. That works perfect. If you have good batteries they will hold the energie longer. But from time to time you have to charge them. Let them never! go under 12.2 Volt. That will kill them after a while
__________________
www.Dieda-unterwegs.net
2001 SMB E350 4x4 7.3 Powerstroke
1968 Pontiac Firebird 400 Convertible ,1978 Peugeot 504 Convertible,1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2,KTM 300 EXC,BMW G/S Paris Dakar,BMW "Diabolo"
schluchtenflitzer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 07:55 AM   #3
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

I agree, but a good AGM can sit for a month between charging. Wet cells are a different story and drop off a lot faster. And the thing about sitting on cement is BS.
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 07:57 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 533
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

"And the thing about sitting on cement is BS."

what is this about? I haven't heard that one...
witoke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 09:12 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
jage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 7,643
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

Quote:
Originally Posted by witoke
"And the thing about sitting on cement is BS."

what is this about? I haven't heard that one...
Supposedly if you put a battery on cement "the grounding bleeds the charge" so "you should always put a battery on a board". It's actually supposed to be the cold affecting the charge, providing false evidence of discharge (or so I've heard! )

I'm not asking if the batteries will have charge, I'm asking if I will be able to revive them and use them in another project(s) after sitting for long periods?
__________________
it was good to be back
jage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 10:21 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
LenS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,220
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

the self discharge rate is dependent on battery type. As you note wet cell decay fairly fast.
__________________
Len & Joanne

The Green TARDIS
LenS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 11:25 AM   #7
Site Team
 
WVvan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,293
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

From the Yuasa Battery FAQ:

Quote:
I was told by some old timers that if you leave a battery on the ground or a concrete floor it will ruin the battery. Is this true?

That is something a lot of "old timers" say. The reason they say that is in the "olden days" vehicle starting batteries used to be made with a hard rubber container. This hard rubber would eventually get mini cracks and become porous. So, when placing a battery on the ground or concrete, the battery would discharge through the ground or wet concrete. Nowadays, containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit in a few inches of water. That is why you will not find your battery having trouble from sitting on the ground or concrete.
Quote:
What is sulfation?

Discoloration of plates with white lead sulfate crystalline deposits may occur when the battery has been left for a considerable time in a discharged condition. It can also occur as a result of the plates being exposed to air due to low electrolyte level, or when a new battery is filled with acid and stored without being charged. This phenomenon is called sulfation. Once plates have been sulfated, the activity of the affected area is permanently impaired, and the battery may not be restored to its original capacity.
__________________
Open the pod bay doors Hal.

Once I exit Hal, this is what I do.
https://larry.wvnet.edu/~van/pics/lic...late-small.jpg
WWW.WVBIKE.ORG
WVvan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 12:30 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 533
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

My old flatmate used to design batteries for nuclear subs (seriously), but he was a thrifty tinkerer as well. He would take old batteries and overcharge them, using a home made rheostat to control the voltage until the electrolyte boiled, discharge them again and cycle them a few times. He claimed it decreased the lead sulfate and returned the plates to working condition. I do not remember if he replaced the acid or not but I know the electrolyte levels were constantly topped up.

I have never bothered to look this process up for confirmation but any chemist should be able to figure if the reaction can be reversed. Chemists/chemical engineers on board? And remember bubbling lead acid batteries are producing hydrogen.

Now of course everybody except Boeing and the FAA knew that it doesn't work that way with Lithium Ion batteries.


YMMV.
witoke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 12:41 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
carringb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
Re: Do old house batteries go bad if they just sit disconnec

I haven't seen a chart for long-term storage. East-Penn (makes AAA batteries) and Johnson Controls (makes Interstate, NAPA, Les Schwab and more) don't allow retailers to keep new batteries in inventory for more than 3 months.

In my experience I've seen newer lead-acid batteries work OK after 9 months in storage, but I've also seen older batteries completely self-discharge in a couple of months.

AGMs are less likely to discharge, but when they do, they're done. It is very hard to recover one of those. I have been told that fully discharged Optimas can be recovered by hooking it up in parallel with a lead-acid battery, and putting a 2-amp charge on them for about 10 days. My vendor has done this on a couple warranty returns (he did not resell those).
__________________
2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
carringb is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Sportsmobile Registry

Lola

Eddie Haskell

Big Grey

allenl
Add your Sportsmobile
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:49 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.