Battery warmer

C

coatings03

Member
hellow fellow barners, i had an experience with cold weather approx 42 degrees with my 29 speedster. I had it covered as we had a cold spell in southen Calif.
my 6 volt battery was dead after 2 days. I charged it up and it was fine. I have seen these battery warmer that are pluged in keeping the battery at 70 degrees.

any experience with these units?

thanks,
jim m
 
Well 42 degrees in my area would be considered a mild day. I think there is something more that the "cold" weather causing your battery to go dead in two days. Here we can leave the battery sit for a month or more and the Model A will still start up.
I would recommend using a good quality battery maintainer to keep the battery fully charged when not in use in any weather.
 
42 degrees is not considered really cold. I think you have other issues, either something draining the battery or a bad battery.

I drove a Model A to collage in Missouri and it always sat outside. 6 Volt and it always started. When it got down close to zero, I would put a drop light under the hood and put a blanket over the hood. That little bit of heat would help with it cranking in the morning. It would barely turn over but it always started.

If you are using an alternator, they can have a bad diode that will "leak" and cause the battery to run down. A diode "Cut Out" can also cause the same thing.

My Model A's will sit for weeks and start right up. All 6 volt and with generators and original cut outs. I have my '32 Roadster parked where it is hard to get to and it will start after sitting several months. again 6 volt and a generator, but I do use Optima Batteries in all my cars. I do not have any of them on battery tenders.

My opinion.

Chris W.
 
Jim, have you checked for a slight electrical battery drain going on in your speedster? 42 degrees is "balmy" for us. You may have one cell about to completely fail in that battery also. A hydrometer will detect it. I've had that happen with the "Exide" 6 volt batteries. They're real junk in my book.
 
Sorry you where suffering at 42*F , your battery shouldn't go dead in two days, find the discharge or remove a battery cable ! Years ago I placed a trouble light by my battery because of temperatures below -0- and it started fine the first morning, the second morning the light bulb had burned out it started but was very slow.
 
coatings03 said:
I have seen these battery warmer that are pluged in keeping the battery at 70 degrees. any experience with these units?
thanks, jim m
Click to expand...

Battery warmers help with marginal/weak batteries when it is 20 or 30 or more below zero.
 
Battery warmers have been around for 50 - 60 years, maybe longer.
 
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I have one, it works as described. I don't use it for the battery. I keep it for other random cases where I need to keep something warm overnight, like I could drape it around the block as a makeshift block warmer, or I could wrap it around a bucket of rust remover to help the process along. It's a versatile tool.
 
I agree with the others.
You have a draw or bad battery. Maybe you have both. The draw shouldn't be hard to find and fix. Also make sure the battery connections are removed and cleaned, especially the ground at the frame.
 
42 deg. is not going to kill your battery,you might have a drain or need a new battery.My A sits in the garage through temps as low as 13 deg. and will start right up (groans a little)lol.
 
The best "battery warmer" for when it gets cold out, here that is 20 degrees below zero or colder, is a trickle charger on the battery. It is really hard on a battery to start a car when its cold out. A trickle charger in cold weather will give you several years more of use out of a battery.
 
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