Batteries...batteries...batteries

al's28/33

al's28/33

Well-known member
Barners,

I've been researching past threads on the OPTIMA battery, general battery life, charging batteries and use of "The Battery Tender".

Here's my plight.......6 volt + ground system single bulb headlights and powerhouse generator. Daytime driving only, Sunday driver!

Every 3 years or so I have a dead battery and go thru pains to recharge it then keep dealing with constant dead battery issues.

If I get a new NAPA or Interstate battery and just keep the battery tender on it one or two days a month, is that going to give me longer battery life ???????

*******OR*******

Is the OPTIMA a longer lasting battery for the Sunday driver "A" or for those of you who drive your "A" 10,000 miles a year....and do those need to be hooked up to a battery tender every once in a while or not ?? Can't seem to find that detail in old threads.

I read that OPTIMAs last quite a long time.

Now I have an early V8 '33 pickup too, also all 6 volt but I think it's a Group 2 since the measurements are a bit bigger.....will the OPTIMA work on the pickup too ????

thanks for your feedback and opinions!!
Al
 
If I get a new NAPA or Interstate battery and just keep the battery tender on it one or two days a month, is that going to give me longer battery life ???????
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Probably. I have until recently kept my Model A Air Compressor Battery (see Avatar) on a 2 amp charger - which I have rigged to a timer to go on 10 minutes a day. Recently (last fall) I moved the Air compressor and have not plugged it in. That battery must be 10 years old and it would (at the time I moved the compressor) still turn over the starter. I'm assuming it would run the ignition. (although I didn't try it.)

When done in this manner one must remember to every 6 months or so to top off the water/acid in the battery with distilled water. This because as the battery becomes fully charged, it starts to boil off the energy applied by disassociating the water into hydrogen and oxygen - this is normal for fully charged batteries.

Still, I guess you could say it is still going...

I read that OPTIMAs last quite a long time.
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As to the Optimus battery, I hear good things about them. Power to weight ratio is quite high and they're quite forgiving similar to other AGM type batteries.

I don't like AGM batteries though because they're difficult to diagnose - and don't follow in the usual battery symptoms when they freeze or in their end of charge: an AGM battery has a higher voltage/amperage curve than a cell battery - but when it drops off at end of charge - it DROPS OFF quickly. And may reach a point quickly where it can't be recovered easily.

Shortly I will be buying an Optimus battery to replace a stock AGM battery in my wife's Prius (starting battery) But most who have done this don't regret the decision - or the savings of greater than half over letting Toyota do the same thing for a lesser quality dealer stock battery.

To batteries generally - if you're having to replace your battery in the Model A on a 3 year cycle, I would not expect that to change by substitution of an Optimus battery.

SOMETHING is pulling down that 3 year battery in the meanwhile and shortening it's life. Either in the way you use it (you don't say if you have a voltage regulator or periodically charge it while sitting - or if you've had some 'dead battery' issues as you have gone along - cycling a battery near end of charge can considerably shorten it's life.) or in the way you maintain it. (Do you check the level with a hydrometer as you go along?) If not a voltage regulator do you try to balance generator output to car useage?

All these can affect battery life.

Hope this helps.

Joe K
 
Joe and 1930 Coupe have covered it well. You need to buy a good voltmeter and hydrometer to monitor your battery and set the adjustable brush to match your driving. If your engine fires right off (as it should) and you drive for at least 30 minutes between starts, then setting the adjustable brush for 2 amps should work fine.

If you have to crank for 30 seconds before it starts, then only drive for 15 minutes and shut it off, then you probably would be better with an 8 amp charge.

By far the easiest and best solution to long battery life is to install a voltage regulator. I've got at least 10 years on my junk yard battery and have only checked the water 3 times, and only added a few ounces about 4 years ago.

Letting a battery set with a low charge will greatly shorten it's life. People don't want to spend money for a voltage regulator, but will spend money replacing the battery ever few years. I don't get it.:confused:
 
Tom is installing his EVR on a 5 brush powerhouse for me right now. My problem is I don't drive my "A" much and when I do it's maybe an hour every other week. Just a couple weeks ago, I had a dead battery, the engine cranks but not enough OOMPH! so I put on the battery tender, but then again I'm not in the garage long enough to stand over the charger while it's plugged in so I probably killed the battery by attempting to charge it.

Rather than figit with trying to charge a weak battery I researched the old threads about the OPTIMA and found lots of good things but then wonder what other issues might I have ????

Regarding a cheaper battery, I never thought of routine trickle charging once or twice a month as normal upkeep.....maybe that's what I never thought of doing that should be part of normal maintenance.

Tom, how often do you charge up your 10 year old battery ?? Joe and 1930Coupe I appreciate your input!!! thank you.
 
Actually I don't treat my battery as well as I should. I park my car at the end of October and don't touch it until April or whenever the salt has been washed off the roads. Last year that wasn't until May. Yesterday I decided to put my 4 amp charger on the battery for a few hours because this is such a long cold winter. I really should put the charger on the battery for an hour each month if I was to treat the battery the way it should be cared for.

When you get your powerhouse back with an EVR you should have much longer battery life, even if you don't drive much.
 
I get 8 to 10 years out of Motorcycle Batteries, they are notorious for only lasting 3 or 4 years. I can get 10 years out of a battery in my Plow Truck as well. I do this by deep discharge and slow recharge during the periods of unuse. <Is that a word?>. Any way, during the off season a couple of times, I turn on my lights and allow them to drain the battery, then bring it back up on a two amp charger. After it is mostly charged I transfer it to an electronic maintainer which cycles the battery. I leave it on the electronic charger for a week or two, take it off, then a month or two later, repeat the process. My electronic charger will error out if I put it on the totally drained battery, so I start with an old style direct charger. I consistently get over a decade out a battery this way.
 
I recently added a cutout switch under my front seat so I can totally isolate the battery when I am not running the car for a period of time. Also, if you charge your battery from a head nut and your starter bolt it is very easy to give it a little charge once in a while.
 
Just a point of information. I went to Cosco last week to check out a new optima battery. The salesman says " we don't carry them any more". To many had to be warrantied and they just did not last like they use to. He said some thing got changed in their internal make up or? So I called my buddy who owns an automotive repair and he said he dropped them to. Same problem. To many came back. Don't know what happened but I guess I am thru with optima's. Just my 2 cents.
 
When I worked at the farm splitting John Deere tractors, we had more than one battery fail in the field. The tractors were notorious for sucking a battery down while sitting in the field and unattended - usually with the cab light on and the radio running.

Batteries would come to me flat. Dead. Like in "he's dead, Jim."

The farmer (owner) advocated using the small charger - probably 1 amp. And leave them like that for a week. Then try the load test. Meanwhile taking hydrometer reading and topping off the electrolyte. Most of these survived and became functional batteries - at least until the following winter when the cycle might begin again.

Once we had one which didn't seem to take a charge. Farmer says "roll it." Kicking it with his foot, he flipped it totally over one side at a time until the top terminals were back on top. Then he says "try it again."

Derned if it didn't take a charge. Probably a shorted plate? Or gunk in the bottom?

But once a battery freezes (usually from low charge) that's it - its done.

I liked working at the farm. When I'm laid off from engineering, I might be back there. I could think of worse places to work.

Joe K
 
The last battery I bought was an Optima, it lasted me 16 years, I never charged it other than for driving except 1 time I had the charger on it for 5 min, I had forgotten to turn off the ign, it was totally dead, I was late for a show, after 5 min I hand cranked, 30 min of driving and the battery was up enough to start the car, it went 10 more years after that

My car can sit for months and I expect it to start ---the only batterys I got short life from was the original script type, those 3 years is a lot, other regular batterys have lasted 7-9 years for me ---my secret--neglect, I don't charge during storage, no battery tender, i do keep a rather high charge rate setting with the 3rd brush, about 14 amps, this gives me a 1 amp + about with the headlights on(halogen), I regulate battery charge by the "seat of the pants" method by turning the headlights on in daylight

during winter I keep the battery cold, a cold battery self discharges less --as long it is more than 3/4 charged it has to be very cold to freeze --much colder than it gets here

When I said the last battery I bought was over 16 years ago I meant for any car I am driving, i get my batterys off the "junk" pile, for the regular cars it is easy, for the model A I have a 12v battery cut in 1/2 in it now
 
Is there a new generation of batteries being sold now? I keep hearing a commercial for Interstate (I think) saying their batteries will now last much longer than before.....
 
Hi Al. When I got my 31 S/W the battery was beyond usable. I checked out both types (wet cell and spiral cell). I found that the Optima had more cold cranking amps and had a better warranty than the Interstate. Google search found the best price and I paid $109, before a discount coupon from Optima.
Joe K's idea of using a clock timer is what I also do, and it works well with a standard battery charger. I've heard of battery tenders going bad and "cooking" batterys. With the timer, it's only powered up for the aamount of time you have it come on for. My Optima is only 3 yrs old so I can't provide any info about lifespan.
 
Thanks for the replies so far, I guess I should keep the trickle charger on the battery once in a while during the warmer summer months instead of waiting till it goes 100% dead in winter time and trying to charge it back to life!
 
I used to get about 3 years out of a battery also, but then I started using the Battery Tender with the green label - just so we're talking about the same device. As I read the instructions, it is designed to leave on the battery for long periods of time which is what I do. I do not notice it boiling the battery but I do check the level and occasionally add some because of evaporation.

It seems I read a post somewhere (maybe here) that the batteries now-a days are made from recycled plates, and that's the reason they don't last as long as they used to.

Even with the Battery Tender, I don't get 10 years out of a battery. I'll let you know how long my present one lasts; purchased from Sams I think.
 
leo said:
Is there a new generation of batteries being sold now? I keep hearing a commercial for Interstate (I think) saying their batteries will now last much longer than before.....
Click to expand...

LOL, that shouldn't be hard to do.:D
When I worked at the yard one of my jobs was to check batteries for resale. I had the worst luck with Interstate batteries and the best luck with Sears Diehard. The only exception to the Interstate was the 6 volt Interstate my neighbor had laying in his garage. He gave it to me and I stuck it in my 1949 Chevy 1 1/2 ton truck. I abused that battery by letting it go dead, then recharging it when I used the truck, which was only about once or twice a year at most. I got over 10 years use from that battery.:) Wonder how long it would have gone if I treated it right.:confused:
 
Have you heard the ole wives tale (should be called ole mechanics tale since I don't think wives ever did this) of setting a battery on a block of wood so it wont go dead. LOL
Tom - I wish I could revive batteries like you do. I've got a couple that are just dead wet lead.
 
Have you heard the ole wives tale (should be called ole mechanics tale since I don't think wives ever did this) of setting a battery on a block of wood so it wont go dead. LOL
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The old wives tale had some basis in fact when battery cases were bakelite - and tar tops. Slightly porous, the bakelite formed an ideal path for stray current when only slighty salted - and the tar tops with exposed bars only helped along.

And setting such a battery on a moisture laden concrete floor (ALL concrete connected to the ground contains moisture) only increased the current leakage.

Not to mention kept the battery cold when down near the floor - which as some have noted decreases the tendency to self discharge INTERNALLY - but worse decreases the available energy - at freezing about half the ampere-hour available as at 70F.

Today with heated garages and plastic cases not so much. Well, the floor is still a bit cold - which is why I usually keep the spare battery in the shop where the heat can be (not always - that thing called wood supply.)

Tom, I should shop your used battery store...

Joe K
 
14 years on my 12v optima......only had a trickle charger on it for two 2 week periods. I need a new one this spring. Trickle charger is the culprit when it comes to short battery life. A good disconnect switch would be a great investment.
 
I agree the old Diehards were stellar.
I would think a battery maintainer would fine if left on during winter. As long as it's voltage is controlled I would think battery gassing would not be an issue. In extremely cold climates ought to be helpful. I'm not a battery guy but in old school times you would have to get up around 16v or more to get a battery to gas up, well at least a good battery.
 
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