[ggsteve]

When I was having trouble with my Craftsman last fall, one of the first things the tech tried was a new battery. The battery wasn't the problem and the one he removed was about 10 months old. He was kind enough to leave it for me as a spare. It is just sitting in my garage. It has a plastic cap on one terminal. I guess that's no different from one sitting on a shelf at the store right?

 

[D-Dogg]

I'd charge it with a low amperage maintainer charger occasionally. Otherwise it should be ok.

 

[MowHoward2210]

I always heard do not sit the battery down directly on concrete. Not sure if that is just a myth or not.

 

[D-Dogg]

I have 6 of them sitting on the concrete floor of my non-climate controlled shed, Mow. When I slap the charger on them about once per quarter, it takes a whopping 5 minutes before they report fully charged.

Have to say that is a myth.

 

[APinNY]

I would agree. I leave my boat batteries on concrete all winter with no problem. Just keep them charged. :thThumbsU

 

[murphycc]

I'm not sure what the batteries cased were made of back in the 50s and 60s but the "myth" came from the idea that the concrete will "pull" the water/acid out of the battery. With today's plastics it's not a problem.

Bakelite may have been the old material and it may have been porous.


Scott

 

[Tvern13]

Mow,

I had always heard the same thing but never was told why. It never made any sense to me as the case is nonconductive.

Batteries stored for long periods will slowly discharge so a maintenance charge periodically is a good idea.

 

[Mrwiggles2]

We need myth-busters to solve this one!

 

[TOMMY]

The only thing about concrete floors might be the that concrete would be colder than say a wooden shelf in an un-heated garage,so a weak battery would drain down quicker on concrete.

Just a thought.

 

[Chagrin]

Gotta keep the battery charged. If it discharges too far and sits too long you will decrease the battery's capacity or ruin it from sulfation.

Keeping the battery cool (but not frozen!) will reduce the rate at which is discharges so putting it on a concrete floor is not a bad idea. There is the risk of acid on the casing ruining the concrete, but otherwise the plastic cases of modern batteries have no problem sitting on concrete floors.

 

[ohiocowboy1277]

its a myth it has no effect on them what so ever . If you want to get the most life out of them put it on a battery maintainer so it stays fully charged sitting is the worst thing for a battery as they need the charging and discharging cycle that they go through when in use . without it sulfer builds up on the plates and blocks the contact of the acid when that happens it looses some of its power and eventually fails to take a charge at all

 

[ggsteve]

We need myth-busters to solve this one!

I can see it now...... a dozen batteries sitting on different floor substrates for a year to see what happens. Compelling television!:ROF

 

[Wizard99]

I alway heard not to let them freeze in the winter while they are dead, keep them charged up, they say that is why so many Lawn mower only batteries go bad at least every other year. If you only use it to mow and it sits unstarted and uncharged all winter it will go bad. Fortuanetly for us most of us use ours in the winter also.

 

[D-Dogg]

You should never let your battery be dead. Prior to seasonal storing, the battery should be fully charged, and electrolite topped off (on non-sealed batteries). Extreme cold should be avoided. A starting battery should never be discharged more than 25%. Even a deep cycle battery should never be discharged more than 50%. Assuming you want any kind of life out of it.

A single complete discharge of any battery shortens its life and reduces its capacity significantly.

Getting back to the original post, I hope you didn't pay for that new battery.

 

[Dave4514]

I saved off a link that has about everything you want to know about lead acid batteries and more.:hide:

In section 14, myths, it does say that the self discharge rate on modern plastic cased batteries is not affected by sitting on concrete. But there is one condition where if the concrete is very cold and the top of the battery is much warmer, the self discharge rate can increase due to stratification.

Here is the link if you are curious:

http://www.batteryfaq.org/

 

[D-Dogg]

Thanks Dave, I just bookmarked that site.

 

[glenn27]

I'm not sure what the batteries cased were made of back in the 50s and 60s but the "myth" came from the idea that the concrete will "pull" the water/acid out of the battery. With today's plastics it's not a problem.

Bakelite may have been the old material and it may have been porous.


Scott

I had heard the same thing many moons ago from a Deka battery rep...

Again--True or not??

 

[Tractor-Holic]

Maybe back when batteries had WOOD cases and were sealed with tar on the top,you'd lose the charge by leaving it on a damp cement floor,but I doubt with todays plastic cases if that is true now (if it ever WAS!)..

Yes,batteries actually had wooden cases,and tar sealing them!..I knew a guy who had his own brand of batteries in my hometown,used to have his own bussiness..I can remember him showing me how to cut the tar with a hot knife,and remove a dead cell,and replace it with a new one..had a lot of neat equipment..old Tungar bulb charger,that charged several batteries at once,and soldering irons you heated up with a blowtorch..

I saw 3 batteries explode at his garage on 3 different occaisions,all were being charged at the time..learned quick hydrogen gas makes a good bomb!..one spark is all it takes and BOOM!...