Car Battery Trickle Charge

[Phil]

My car is sometimes laid up for long periods. Can anyone advise the
best way to trickle charge the battery in situ to prevent the alarm and
self-discharge from causing a flat battery?

Are there any web sites that discuss this topic?

Cheers,

Phil
Liverpool, UK

 

[Al]

My car is sometimes laid up for long periods. Can anyone advise the
best way to trickle charge the battery in situ to prevent the alarm and
self-discharge from causing a flat battery?

Are there any web sites that discuss this topic?

Cheers,

Phil
Liverpool, UK

In days of yore, before all of the electronics junk in the car, I would
remove the battery and charge it daily for about an hour using a
commercial battery charger. The current draw was about 4 amps. I had it
set on an applicance timer. Nowadays, you may kill your electronics if
you remove the battery.

Al

 

[Yukio YANO]

My car is sometimes laid up for long periods. Can anyone advise the
best way to trickle charge the battery in situ to prevent the alarm and
self-discharge from causing a flat battery?

Solar Charger !

Available from $20.
Yukio YANO

 

[Sjouke Burry]

My car is sometimes laid up for long periods. Can anyone advise the
best way to trickle charge the battery in situ to prevent the alarm and
self-discharge from causing a flat battery?

Are there any web sites that discuss this topic?

Cheers,

Phil
Liverpool, UK

I had a good read a week ago in a charger manual.
The charge protocol they advise for stored units,
is to charge until full,then charge some more at a
lower current,and after that to wait until self-
discharge drops the voltage to something like
12.2 to 12.4, after which you repeat the cycle.
There are some chargers,which do this automatically,
and have a temperature sensor at one of the
poles,because the whole story about charge/discharge
is very temp related.
I dont remember the brand, but it is a US one(I think)
used a lot in marine environment.
Extended trickle charge seems to damage your plates
somehow, and can spell disaster(ask my friend,he had
to clean his entire boat with soda water to remove
the evaporated sulfuric acid,at the end of the winter)

 

[Phil]

CWatters wrote:
....

You still need to check the water level every few weeks/months.

Good grief. The battery isn't that old. They're all "no maintenance"
units nowadays aren't they?

Phil

 

[Phil]

Try this one from maplin... Long URL may need repair.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Free_UK_Del...aled_Lead_Acid_Battery_Chargers__to_15Ah__122
04.htm

That's for little sealed units, not a car battery. Still, it gives me
an idea of what the voltage should be - About 13.8 for float charge I think.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[Phil]

or these...

http://www.accumate.co.uk/it010001.html

That looks useful, and there's lots of technical info as well.

My thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.

Phil