Need advice for storing a car battery.

[RockHopper]

My alternator went out a couple days ago, and I broke down on the side of the highway. The cheapest way to get the car home, was to just purchase a new battery. After swapping alternators, and trickle charging the old and new batteries, I'm good 2 go, but now stuck with an extra battery that I have no current need for.

The $22 core charge doesn't seem like enough of an incentive to miss out on having a spare battery available, so I was thinking I'd just keep the extra in the back of the van, but I know Xtreme high and low temps aren't good for long term battery storage. I have an old cooler I could stick it in to mitigate some of those temp extremes...but then I'd be breaking the general rule of storing batt's in a well ventilated space...

Thoughts?

 

[MR.T.]

Don't store it on concrete, elevate it with a couple boards.
Just keep it in your garage till you need it, nothing wrong with keeping an extra battery on hand

 

[edl]

What T said, and put a battery maintainer on it.

 

[Shinneryfarmer]

What T said, and put a battery maintainer on it.

Good suggestion! I have a battery that is 5 yrs old that I use on a fuel trailer. Put a cheap $20 buck solar panel maintainer on it when installed. It has always worked when I needed it to pump fuel for various equipment.

 

[swampratt]

I built a dc pin tumbler to clean my brass and it runs off an old battery.
My boats need a battery also.
My Van 1984 E 150 had an inverter2000 watt with 4000 peak watts in the back under the rear bench seat.
Beside that was one of those plastic battery boxes with another battery in it and I ran the dual batteries all tied in to the alternator for 13 years no issues.

That inverter was super handy on jobs and it ran a window unit and migpak welder.

On the concrete storage thing.
Myth.
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/g...oncrete-truth-about-batteries-stored-concreteIt used to be true but batteries today are not prone to discharging on concrete.

I did a test in 1993 i had been buying a lot of vehicles at auctions and had a lot of batteries.
I had a brand new battery in my 1982 mustang and a friend came over and seen I stored batteries on the concrete floor in the garage and he jumped all over me.

Well i bet him and a test began.
Garage was separate from the house
I took that brand new battery out of the mustang and stuck it on the concrete floor in the garage.
I told him 6 months from now i will stick it in the car and see if it will start it.

Time came to test it.
It fired right up. But not a good test so I said let me flood the engine so it cranks longer.
Still fired up.
So i said let me turn on my lights and key for 1 minute and see if maybe there is just surface charge allowing it to work.
Fired right up and it lasted over 5 years in that car.


I bet him on another occasion back in 1992 about my engine I just built not being able to seat the piston rings.

He watched me build an engine and it had 100,000 miles on it with Zero ring ridge and had a golden glaze to the cylinder walls 1969 300HP 350.
I milled the heads to 54cc and put fresh new flat top pistons in it and new rings E251K moly faced.

I did not hone the 100,000 mile polished cylinders no glaze breaking nothing.

He said the rings will not seat. He went to auto mechanic school at Moore Norman votec and his instructor told him so.

Well after 20 minute cam break-in that day in my 78 Nova I checked cranking pressure and all cylinders cranked 200 psi.
I took his 20 bucks.

My uncle wrote sealed power corp. before I was born and asked them what the best surface was to seat their Moly rings and the reply back was "you know that 100,000 mile golden glaze polished cylinder wall you see in many engines , that is the best surface to seat our moly faced rings.

That engine is in my 57 chevy 4 door today and still standard bore and standard crank with over 400,000 miles on it.

I like to try things first hand.

 

[cowadle]

i have a solar maintainer on a portable corral. in order for it to work correctly there needs to be a charge controller in there somewhere cause sooner or later the panel will start charging at day and then draining at night. my advice is use a plug in the wall maintainer or just sell the battery and save the price hassle

 

[turkeyrun]

Set it on a couple of wood blocks, put it on maintainer (Harbor Freight $10).

I have 6 HF units, great for winter storage. Use the on RV, boat, mower, motorcycle. Battery is always charged and will last longer, too.

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

I thought the setting battery on concrete is just a myth nowadays.

Older batteries had an issue with it. Not new ones.

 

[ColtDogg]

I always pit a bati am not using on a block of wood under the work bench. I am not sure if it does them any good or not, buy that was the same way my dad did.