Battery Preservation !

[Guest]

Hi all,
how do i best mentain/preserve my battery over the long cold winter months when my bikes will be garaged and not on the road ?
what i had in mind was, removing the battery,check it for water, set it on wood or polystyerene but NOT concrete, connecting it to a trickle charger of 300/500 ma and keeping it at room temperatures "warm"
anything iv missed or any better/other ideas ?


thanks in advance,

 

[GateKeeper]

get one of these

they actually have them in your part of the world....

http://www.ctek.com/ie/en

http://www.ctek.com/ie/en/Product/Category?category=mc_old

I have the Canadian version of this one - MXS 3.6


you can leave the battery in the bike, plug in the unit and forget about it until spring...

 

[eil]

Sounds like you have it covered. If you don't have a charger already, I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S

Be aware that there is a difference between a "dumb" charger and a maintainer... a bog-standard charger will provide a constant charging voltage all the time while a maintainer will check the battery from time to time so that it can charge the battery when it needs it and stop charging when it's full.

 

[Guest]

View attachment 20560


Like this?

 

[Guest]

Battery Preservation !

View attachment 20561

Or this? This is what I use everytime I park the bike up after a trip and until the next time it's out again, please note the permanent connection to the battery, top.

 

[tkent02]

I don't know, I get six to eight years out of old lead acid batteries and never use a trickle charger. I think they last longer just charging them up every month or so. Bring it indoors, keep it full of water, charge it a few hours every once in a while.

But really, lead acid batteries are for cave men. Get rid of that crap.

 

[Guest]

Battery Preservation !

View attachment 20562

What about this for long term storage? With the battery removed and placed on wood, with a trickle charger on 24/7.

Mottobatt is a German make and are quite expensive, although this one was made in China.

Is the battery o.k on the rubber mat at the bottom of the battery box or would it be better for the rubber mat to be removed?

"But really, lead acid batteries are for cave men. Get rid of that crap."

I've used Varta, Yuasa "made in china" and lots of others all lead acid, What would you recommand?

 

[tkent02]

View attachment 20562

What about this for long term storage? With the battery removed and placed on wood, with a trickle charger on 24/7.

Mottobatt is a German make and are quite expensive, although this one was made in China.

Is the battery o.k on the rubber mat at the bottom of the battery box or would it be better for the rubber mat to be removed?

When the acid fumes come out, they get all over your bike. That's the reason for pulling it out. It has nothing to do with the battery itself.

You don't need the battery charged up 100% all winter long, if you are going to ride one day give it a quick little zap then ride. Keeping it on a maintainer all winter hurts the battery long term. I don't know why but it seems to. I quit using them a long time ago, and quit buying batteries at about the same time. Just my personal opinion, I'm no battery engineer, but my batteries last a long time. And they sit idle a month or so at a time, all year, not just in winter.

 

[Guest]

But really, lead acid batteries are for cave men. Get rid of that crap.
whats best? Gel?

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

A cool non-freezing place
not just a short story by Hemingway but a great place to store a battery

I do not put my batteries on tenders waste of time and money.

 

[jona]

I've had a AGM battery for the last 2+ years. they are still heavy. No experience with Lith. ion, there very light weight.

 

[Steve]

I've had a AGM battery for the last 2+ years. they are still heavy. No experience with Lith. ion, there very light weight.

In a 600-pound bike, does it really help to save about 5 pounds of battery weight? :-k

Keep in mind that lithium batteries really prefer different charging parameters than our bikes are willing (or able) to provide.

I know there are some that swear by those batteries, but after reading some of the horror stories of the first-generation lithium batteries, I am willing to just sit back and watch.

.

 

[Gregory]

Hi all,
, set it on wood or polystyerene but NOT concrete,

thanks in advance,

That's a myth that started in reality long long ago

http://www.thebatteryterminal.com/TechTalk_Batteries_on_Concrete.htm

Well, is it true? Will a battery be damaged or discharged by letting it sit on concrete? NO!

 

[tkent02]

Ever lie down on concrete for a while? It really does suck the life out of you. I'm sure a battery feels the same way.

 

[Gregory]

Ever lie down on concrete for a while? It really does suck the life out of you. I'm sure a battery feels the same way.

You may be right Grandpa...

 

[Guest]

sounds to me that its not the fact its concrete with our present day batteries, any cold surface/envoirment does have an adverse effect?
if a battery in storage is above 12.4 and below 14.4 is this optimum?
the CTEK "supply" is 13.74v.

 

[Gorminrider]

The BEST thing to do and the IDEAL environment for a battery Of This Type is Installation and constant use Using it as a Battery, In A Motorcycle with a good charging system. It's all downhill from there.

...There's a world of Battery Wanking out there...especially as to Storage- a use for which these cheapo acid batteries are not intended- that'll tell you that a battery needs to be "conditioned" and Zapped above 14.8 volts every so often by a computer, and so on... but for a $50 battery? really. I haven't any experience with constant-trickle-charging, because as above, I believe these batteries aren't intended for it. They LIKE to be discharged (startermotor+headlight)and charged immediately after.
Otherwise
+1 for
JEEPRUSTY and tkent02, which works really well for me too If and When an occasional ride-about or even a warmup isn't possible.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1928814&postcount=10
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1928757&postcount=6

 

[eil]

Lead acid batteries have a rather high self-discharge rate, which is a function of the ambient temperature. The higher the temps, the higher the rate of discharge. Letting a battery sit for months on end can run it dead flat and deep cycles like this will reduce their useful life due to sulfation of the plates.

http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Batteries/self-compare.htm

http://www.madkatz.com/ev/batteryTechnologyComparison.html

http://www.batteriesplus.com/t-faq4.aspx

So the use case for the battery maintainers (e.g. Battery Tender and the like) is to keep a battery charged up when it's sitting unused for a longish period of time, which is what Chromedome was originally asking about. If you ride frequently, and your charging system is fully functional, there is no reason to use a battery maintainer.

But if you are letting the bike or battery sit for quite a while (more than 2-3 months, although 1 month would be my personal limit), then you should either top it off with a conventional charger or put a maintainer on it. The self-discharge rate increases with temperature, so if not using a maintainer, storing the battery in a colder place (e.g. out in the garage) is preferred to storing it in a warmer place.

 

[spyug]

over the long cold winter months

I had to chuckle at that. You are in the banana belt compared to us and I doubt it gets cold enough to damage a battery.

I used to bring mine in to the house and stick them on a shelf in a 70 F. room and charge them up every month or so. Last year, I left the battery in the bike and the bike in an unheated garage for nie on 6 months with no charging up. One day in Feb. I actually got out for a spin and the bike fired right up (sitting for 3 months at an average of maybe 0C but many days dipping into the minus numbers).

I wouldn't get too excited about it, what you have setup should be fine.

 

[Guest]

Banana belt your jokeing, i omitted to say "wet" long cold wet winter months, long since you spent winter in the highlands, spyug ? anyhow, ok guys, ill go with that, forget the mentainers, keep the battery cool but not cold, discharge it completely once every winter and charge it immediately, other than that,a short quick charge occasionally, we get minus temperatures here for extended periods and it does kill batterys in all sorts of farm machinery to and costs a fortune. guys, whats your personal preference for a battery replacement for the GS? Hey Spyug, ill bet i spend more time in the highlands than you do and im closer, that means that im more scotch than you are !!!