Battery storage

[Colonel Nikolai]

EB, what do you mean by "strips"

[EvilBetty]

Sorry... meant planks.  He has a couple 4 or 5 foot sections of 2x12 that keeps the batteries off the concrete.

But then I find articles like this all over the internet.
http://www.thebatteryterminal.com/TechT ... ncrete.htm


When I think AGM I think I was remembering GEL batteries I have been around.  Looks like there may be nothing fishy about the PowerStar.

This was an interesting read.  Especially the part about AGM batteries and alternators.

http://www.vonwentzel.net/Battery/01.Type/index.html

[Mustang]

I just buy wally world batterys for the tiggers $39.95 and they work for two years . I figure I got my moneys worth out of em .

My Bonneville on the other hand is still going strong on the Battery after 7 years and I do absolutely NOTHING for it  no tender no charging , hell I don't even take it out of the bike before I stuff it in the trailer the winter . Come spring time , hit the button starter spins like mad (sometimes takes quite awhile before the Keihins wake up) and presto she's running .

[haulin' daze]

I used to put marine batteries on a plank and charge them once a month or so a while back (haven't had a boat in years). Wasn't sure if same could be done with a smaller motorcycle battery or not. Maybe I'll try that.

Thanks for the great discussion everyone!

[Colonel Nikolai]

OK, EB, I've been disabused of that "wisdom" now. Thanks for the post.

I do find it odd that Mustang's Bonneville can have such an abused and long lasting battery when the Tiger just seems to go through them. Also based on my experience with my 96 triumph Sprint which has the same engine and larger dual headlights and ostensibly the same ignition system and much the same wiring diagram as the steamers doesn't go through batteries like the steamers seem to. What gives?

[2004Tiger]

I once had a BMW R1000R original battery go for 14 years. I kept it on the OEM BMW charger which came with the bike for most of the winter, and also several times in the summer while the bike was in use. The charger was 3 amps or less, and I could see the needle jump off of zero every few minutes as it gave the battery a little zap.

For my camper and boat deep cycle batteries, I charge them fully with a Guest (brand name) automatic three stage smart charger before storing them on a bench in my unheated garage, and then often connect a 1 amp Battery Minder (brand name) over the winter months.

This Battery Minder is also an automatic three stage smart charger with an added feature of desulfation cycle after full charge. This is my Tiger charger which I plug in whenever I don't ride in the winter because of peroids of snowy weather. The Tiger battery is so small that really cold weather has more effect on it, and the Battery Minder will reduce its amps to nearly nothing while it finishes a charge. Then it goes into desulfation cycle to restore the battery to new condition.

Whenever the Battery Minder is not on the Tiger I put it on one or the other of my bigger batteries to trickle them and desulfate over the winter.

Many battery chargers do more harm than good. The only type worth using is an electronically controlled three stage smart charger which will taper the amps and voltage to get the last 10% for a full charge. If you don't do this, the 10% left uncharged will sulfate the plates and ruin the battery. Just in case, I desulfate with the Battery Minder periodically, even though this cycle can be left on indefinitely. Actually, a smart charger of any size can be left on any battery of any size full time without harm because it will taper off to almost nothing and never boil out the water.

I always get lots of years out of my batteries. Everyone should do some research on "smart chargers" and "three stage charging" to see what I am talking about.

[JetdocX]

I'm going on year three from my Deka AGM battery in my Steamer.  I plug it into the Battery Tender Jr. every night when I park it in the garage.  I never pickle the bike for the winter.  I usually disassemble the bike and wait for parts to come trickling in for all the stuff that i broke the previous summer.

The battery has, so far been the most bulletproof part on my bike.

And the concrete floor myth is bullshit.  My battery has spent months sitting on the floor of the garage connected to the Tender.

Edit: from http://www.batteryfaq.org/

  14.1. MYTH: Storing batteries on a concrete floor will discharge them.

False! All lead-acid batteries will naturally self-discharge which can result in loss of capacity from sulfation. The rate of self-discharge is most influenced by the temperature of the battery's electrolyte and the chemistry of the plates. This self-discharge is often mistaken for concrete floor causing the battery to drain. Some experts believe that storing car or deep cycle batteries on a colder concrete floor might actually slow down the self-discharge (leakage) rate because the floor acts as a heat sink and cools the battery. (Please see Section 13 for more information on storing batteries and Section 1 for more information on sulfation.

In the early 1900s, when battery cases were made of porous materials such as tar-lined wood boxes, storing batteries on concrete floor would accelerate their natural self-discharge due to external leakage. Modern battery cases are made of polypropylene or hard rubber. These cases are sealed better, so external leakage-causing discharge is no longer a problem, provided the top of the battery is clean and free from wet or dried electrolyte and the same temperature as the floor.

Large differences in temperature could cause electrolyte stratification within very large batteries (>250 AH) which could accelerate it's internal "leakage" or self-discharge if the battery is sitting on an extremely cold concrete, stone or steel floor in a warm room, boat or submarine. Stirrers or bubblers are often used on these types of large batteries to keep the electrolyte from stratifying. Undercharging will also cause electrolyte stratification, which can also result in loss of capacity from sulfation.