trickle chargers

[953 nut 55,229]

@Save Old Iron did a great thread about battery tender/float charger/maintainers a few years back.

 

[ebinmaine 67,497]

2 hours ago, formariz said:

Lets see if anyone can decipher it.  It is marked J-4/10-4.  Hard to believe but true.

J is the 10th character of the alphabet. 

Hence the 10 in 10-4. 

 

That's October, 2004. 

 

[formariz 11,987]

4 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

J is the 10th character of the alphabet. 

Hence the 10 in 10-4. 

 

That's October, 2004. 

 

That Is correct. That puppy is 17 years old. The oldest one here but many others with 8 and 10 years.

[ebinmaine 67,497]

7 minutes ago, formariz said:

That Is correct. That puppy is 17 years old. The oldest one here but many others with 8 and 10 years.

If memory serves me correctly that's a tie with the oldest battery I've ever seen in service. 

Back in the mid 90s I worked at an old style auto parts store where we sold AC Delco.  

 

Fella came in to buy a battery for a car he'd bought new.  Always been kept in a heated garage. 

That battery lasted 17 years.  

It was in a GM so he bought another AC Delco...

 

 

[Bob Lister 142]

  I keep my old Craftsman outside year around as It really doesn't deserve shop space.  I have a Harbor Freight tender mounter to the battery and hard wired. I just plug in the tractor if not using it for a couple weeks or all winter.  My boat battery gets removed and stored in the cellar on a piece of wood. I know wives tail about storing on cement floor?  The Wheel Horse gets shop space and will not go below freezing.  A dead battery will freeze that can bend the plates and the battery is done.

[ebinmaine 67,497]

17 minutes ago, Bob Lister said:

My boat battery gets removed and stored in the cellar on a piece of wood. I know wives tail about storing on cement floor?

That's an interesting one...

The concrete WAS an issue. 

 

Well over 60+ years ago when batteries were not made of plastic. 

 

Hard rubber cases and even wood & glass cases were once the norm.  

They were far more susceptible to issues because of a lack of insulation value.  

 

[Bob Lister 142]

 I never really believed it mattered but so easy to put a piece of wood under them

[cschannuth 3,816]

I use Schumacher trickle chargers on all of my tractors and vehicles that don’t get used regularly. I have a splitter and I put multiple vehicles on the same charger and my batteries last for years doing this.

[sparkie333 265]

9 hours ago, formariz said:

batteries that are about 9 years old.

 

 I find that a battery that is charged when it is not used for a while --lives longer when charged throughout the unused times.

[formariz 11,987]

10 minutes ago, sparkie333 said:

 

 I find that a battery that is charged when it is not used for a while --lives longer when charged throughout the unused times.

I agree with that. Any battery I have that is not used on a weekly basis is always on a trickle charger. That also goes for any car that sits a lot.

[sparkie333 265]

19 minutes ago, sparkie333 said:

 

 I find that a battery that is charged when it is not used for a while --lives longer when charged throughout the unused times.

 

I agree --- And I'm unanimous in this.

[sparkie333 265]

So not to jump your tread--this is also battery related---So no one has to check the fluid in the battery?

[ebinmaine 67,497]

4 hours ago, sparkie333 said:

So not to jump your tread--this is also battery related---So no one has to check the fluid in the battery?

Most of the batteries are sealed so checking them is not even possible. 

 

If a battery can be opened then the fluid should certainly be looked at ... How often I'm not sure.  

Twice a year maybe?

 

[JoeM 7,874]

I am just not that cheap YET!

 

9 hours ago, 953 nut said:

@Save Old Iron did a great thread about battery tender/float charger/maintainers a few years back.

 

 

[sparkie333 265]

One thing is that if the battery has a place to check the fluid and it is low a quick way to make a battery give out is to charge or use it with low fluid.

[Snoopy11 5,714]

15 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

J is the 10th character of the alphabet. 

Hence the 10 in 10-4. 

 

That's October, 2004. 

 

I'm glad that wasn't a life or death question... 

 

 

Don

[sparkie333 265]

4 hours ago, Snoopy11 said:

I'm glad that wasn't a life or death question... 

 

 

Don

 

Wheeeeey thought I would expire life or death---- 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]

Here’s my set up for all batteries. Used for several years. Works for me.

 

Using it individually for each battery on the new to me E 141.

 

Unit shows 13.3 consistently.

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by SylvanLakeWH

[ebinmaine 67,497]

6 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

my set up

Are you disconnecting the individual batteries as they're being charged or leaving the system intact?

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]

Leaving them hooked up. Have a few friends in the battery world and they indicated it’s ok to do this when batteries are connected in series, as these are. This way each battery gets its full charge… my research indicates same… still learning…

 

This is mostly a test for the E 141, as I am going to get all new deep cells in the spring… the current batteries are not the same type and while they are all holding charges they are borderline in terms of age, voltage etc. I want to start fresh in spring with new identical deep cells and will add a new 36 volt charger system at that time as well…

[Handy Don 12,227]

1 hour ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Leaving them hooked up. Have a few friends in the battery world and they indicated it’s ok to do this when batteries are connected in series, as these are. This way each battery gets its full charge… my research indicates same… still learning…

As long as the charger is connected to only one battery at a time (and nothing is creating a draw on the battery) this is a good solution! 

[JimSraj 429]

Can anyone recommend a solar battery charger/maintainer?  Two tractors out in the barn with no electric and no plans to use them this winter. 

[ebinmaine 67,497]

21 minutes ago, JimSraj said:

Can anyone recommend a solar battery charger/maintainer?  Two tractors out in the barn with no electric and no plans to use them this winter. 

Jim if the temp gets below 40 or so for your winter you should absolutely consider removing the batteries and bringing them to a warmer environment. 

Living below freezing and above 80 or 85 is a good way to shorten the life of a battery even when on a tender.  

 

Taking the time to remove/reinstall them could easily add 2 or more years to them. 

 

[lynnmor 7,306]

My diesel truck lives in an unheated barn where temperatures vary considerably, the two batteries failed at 10 years and 8 months.  I believe that cold temperatures actually increase battery life, of course a cold battery can't deliver as much starting power compared to a warm battery but that doesn't mean that the cold was destructive.  When using a battery maintainer, be sure it is temperature compensated.  Information

[JimSraj 429]

Well there ya go!  Two completely different takes on the same subject. Anyone else care to chim in?