battery maintaining
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HDF Community Team
Joined: Jan 2010
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From: shore of Gitche Gumee
battery maintaining
Is it possible to maintain a battery indefinitely using a maintainer of some type? I bought a replacement battery for one that was getting weak, now the weak one won't die!
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3,182
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From: College Station, TX
I'd just replace the battery now and not worry about when the older battery is going to die and leave you stranded somewhere remote. Protect the investment in the new battery by putting it into service as they are like avacodos, they don't get better sitting on the counter top.
Paul
Paul
Charge the new one fully and install it. Go ahead and replace the old weak one, it may seem like it won't die but it will take a dump on you when you least expect it.
Since batteries are now sold ready to go, they don't really store well and their usable life starts as soon as they leave the manufacturing line. In the "ole days" when you bought a battery and had to put the acid/ water in the battery they could be stored for quite a while. But with most batteries now being sealed and technologies like absorbed glass mat it is not really possible for the consumer to store a battery and wait until needed to fill the battery up with acid.
And according to my local battery store the best way to extend battery life is to use it regularly and or at least monthly give the battery a full charge even if installed in a vehicle. I've been on that program for about two years now, so a little too early to tell if it extends battery life but I do feel that the batteries I've been doing it to have been holding up well and even after my truck and bike sit for a month while I'm gone for work they start right up with no signs of weakening.
Since batteries are now sold ready to go, they don't really store well and their usable life starts as soon as they leave the manufacturing line. In the "ole days" when you bought a battery and had to put the acid/ water in the battery they could be stored for quite a while. But with most batteries now being sealed and technologies like absorbed glass mat it is not really possible for the consumer to store a battery and wait until needed to fill the battery up with acid.
And according to my local battery store the best way to extend battery life is to use it regularly and or at least monthly give the battery a full charge even if installed in a vehicle. I've been on that program for about two years now, so a little too early to tell if it extends battery life but I do feel that the batteries I've been doing it to have been holding up well and even after my truck and bike sit for a month while I'm gone for work they start right up with no signs of weakening.
Last edited by 2500hdon37s; Oct 17, 2024 at 09:55 AM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 8,604
Likes: 3,375
From: Cental, MI
Odd man Out...I do Not do Any Battery Maintenance...None!
I buy Inexpensive Batteries (agm), and they go 3 years...after that, they go into a non Critical environment...sometimes get another year..
Matters Not to me...I have My Program...Not like Most other folks...But, Works for Me.
I buy Inexpensive Batteries (agm), and they go 3 years...after that, they go into a non Critical environment...sometimes get another year..
Matters Not to me...I have My Program...Not like Most other folks...But, Works for Me.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 518
Likes: 593
From: Central Iowa
To answer the question directly, yes a lead acid battery can be maintained almost indefinitely on a float charge if the electrolyte level is maintained. Large battery banks used for emergency back up in telecommunications have been doing it for decades so it is possible, but in your case it doesn't make much practical sense to do so and if it's a maintenance free sealed battery you won't be able to maintain the electrolyte level anyway. Just install the new one then charge up the old one once in a while and keep it in the shop to use as a 12 volt source for testing.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 5,077
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From: Plover, WI
Since batteries are now sold ready to go, they don't really store well and their usable life starts as soon as they leave the manufacturing line. In the "ole days" when you bought a battery and had to put the acid/ water in the battery they could be stored for quite a while. But with most batteries now being sealed and technologies like absorbed glass mat it is not really possible for the consumer to store a battery and wait until needed to fill the battery up with acid.
https://www.yuasabatteries.com/resou...n-agm-battery/
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 12,257
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From: England
Yuasa sell dry charge batteries to the trade but in the UK they have to or are supposed to activate them before sending them out due to acid attacks on people.
Even though an AGM battery maybe sealed against spillage it is not sealed against gassing. It is the gassing due to even slight over charging that sees the electrolyte boiled away that reduces the life of the battery.
Even though an AGM battery maybe sealed against spillage it is not sealed against gassing. It is the gassing due to even slight over charging that sees the electrolyte boiled away that reduces the life of the battery.
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