I have stored my 12V battery still hooked up to the positive cable with the negative cable detached, hoping that will keep enough charge in it. I have stored it for 5 months now about 15 miles from my home, indoors.. Will it start? Should I have put a trickle charger on it?
Starter battery storage
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Most batteries self discharge over time and the starting battery in our vans is no different. A fully charged battery will test at 12.6 volts or better and a fully discharged one will be at 10.5 volts. 50% is 12.1 volts. Starting batteries don't handle deep discharges well and sometimes it only takes one deep discharge to kill them. After 5 months I would expect yours to be fairly deeply discharged. If it was also stored in freezing weather it could have frozen and shorted the plates or ruptured the case.
Try charging it and if it takes a charge I would want to take it to an auto parts store to have it load tested.
A quality trickle charger is a lifesaver for batteries in cars that won't be driven for long periods.
Try charging it and if it takes a charge I would want to take it to an auto parts store to have it load tested.
A quality trickle charger is a lifesaver for batteries in cars that won't be driven for long periods.
Lead-Acid (starter) battery self discharge rate is 5% per month. When new.
Depending on how old your battery, you're down to 75% or less. 50% is critically low.
You'll need to do some cranking after 5 month, but if it isn't cold, it is a toss.
Unless your battery is old.
Depending on how old your battery, you're down to 75% or less. 50% is critically low.
You'll need to do some cranking after 5 month, but if it isn't cold, it is a toss.
Unless your battery is old.
Thanks. Overwintered it '21-'22 with both terminals hooked up, and yes, it discharged. Was able to charge it and get rolling. Someone on this forum said to unhook the positive cable and you'll have better luck. Just bought a 3 amp trickle charger, and will check everything out soon.
It should not make any difference which terminal you disconnect, and the negative disconnect process required no tools!
I would suggest a portable battery jumpstart pack at the start of the season to get it going... probably enough juice to give the low voltage battery an assist... once started, the alternator will bring it back up (as long as there's no damage). Plus, you can keep the jumpstarter in the van for backup use on the road.
I use a Gooloo 4000... was skeptical, but it's amazing!
I would suggest a portable battery jumpstart pack at the start of the season to get it going... probably enough juice to give the low voltage battery an assist... once started, the alternator will bring it back up (as long as there's no damage). Plus, you can keep the jumpstarter in the van for backup use on the road.
I use a Gooloo 4000... was skeptical, but it's amazing!
If you use a trickle/float charger there is no need to disconnect the battery. It is best practice to keeping lead acid batteries on float when in storage (in reality, whenever not in use). In a previous life, I witnessed thousands of new SLA batteries that were destroyed after being stored for a year w/o charging.
There are solar chargers you can put on your dash (assuming the windshield is exposed to the sky) to help keep the battery topped off while not in use. Some combo solar/alternator charge controllers (DCC50S and maybe others) float the service battery when the house is fully charged (that is what I use).
I have a portable jump start for emergencies and even used it once to start my mom's car. Super easy to use. I double + having one in the van somewhere. They take up very little room and work!
There are solar chargers you can put on your dash (assuming the windshield is exposed to the sky) to help keep the battery topped off while not in use. Some combo solar/alternator charge controllers (DCC50S and maybe others) float the service battery when the house is fully charged (that is what I use).
I have a portable jump start for emergencies and even used it once to start my mom's car. Super easy to use. I double + having one in the van somewhere. They take up very little room and work!
I have a 20 year old AGM battery that is still in service. If you fully charge them and keep them between 12.9 and 13.2v in storage they will last a long long time. If you don't have power where the van sleeps and don't want to mess with solar what you are doing is fine. The thing is, good batteries are getting close to $300, so that $30 battery minder starts looking like a good investment if you have somewhere to plug it in!
Yeah, kind of figured that . Thanks for the reassurance. The battery was fully charged when I took the neg cable off in late Oct. I'm not sure what the voltage is during storage(unheated pole barn), I'm not nearby. I did just get an automatic 3 Amp trickle charger and will put it on next week, before we take the van out of storage in first week of April. Next fall I will put the tricler on right away, no worries.
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Yes it should! Nomatter which terminal disconnected. Prob not Abad idea to charge once. During that time. Beware of rodents chewing on stuff
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