Model A Winter Storage Battery Protection

JohnB15632

JohnB15632

Well-known member
Up here in the Northeast, the winters get cold, windy, and snowy. Therefore, we, most of the time, put our A's into Winter storage, in one degree or another.
My A will stay in my garage where the temperature, the last two winters, did not drop below 40 degrees.

That being said, should I keep the trickle charger attached to the battery all the time during these long, dreary, and blustery days of winter?

Is the a schedule where the trickle charger is connected and not connected?

Thank you,
 
I don't "do" anything with my batteries.
Park the car, shut off fuel, insure the antifreeze is good. See it in the spring.
That being said.... It won't hurt to charge the battery on the trickle charger for a day, every other month.
Good luck. Jeff
 
Let's define our terms. Strictly speaking a trickle charger cannot be left connected indefinitely, at least not in mild weather as the electrolyte will be boiled dry. They have no regulation. Float chargers or smart chargers incorporate protection circuitry and are designed to maintain a charged battery and can be left connected more or less permanently. Generally speaking keeping a battery charged will maximize service life and save money.
 
I put a digital battery tender on my vintage car. It maintains, and will not overcharge a battery. Check the water level once in a while, maybe 2X over the winter. Top up if required.

Batteries left to sit and drain will build up sulphate on the plates. This weakens the battery power. Maybe one or two winters it will seem fine. Every year it will get a little worse. Eventually it will not take a charge, enough to start your engine.

Ignoring battery maintenance is ignoring chemistry. It will happen. Just a matter of when.
 
my chevette and model a frame during the winter i leave the battery disconnected on BOTH terminals. They are in unheated storage areas so if its 12* outside its 12* battery. I let it sit in the car all winter, come spring time hook it up to the 2A trickle charger till it says its charged. (usually 1/2 day) then start them up.

I would not leave a charger of any kind hooked up all winter nor start the car and let it idle or charge it midway thru winter. With no load the batteries hardly discharge just sitting.
 
There has been a lot of debate on this.

Many feel that if the car will be in an unheated garage, to take the battery out and store it in a heated area. Give it a trickle charge every few weeks.

If you leave the batt. in the car I would also unhook both terminals.
 
I use the neglect system, park it, do nothing and it always gave great battery life

I have stored fully charged battery in the freezer to slow the chemical reaction and get longer lifespan, but nowadays it's too much trouble---- always got 7-9 years life regular battery, 16 years from optima
 
Cooler temperatures will slow the natural battery self-discharge, but a dead or flat battery will freeze at around +20°F, a fully charged battery is protected from freezing to -92°F below zero. It actually makes more sense to bring a battery in out of the heat, than out of the cold, sometimes.
 
If there is no draw on the battery [ generator v alternator] then just charge it before putting it up for the season. If it uses an alternator then disconnect the battery and charge it.

In the cold it'll hold a charge better.

I'm not a fan of maintainers, charge it and forget it. If you can charge it every couple months then thats fine. But, they can be left for 6 months.
 
I live in the Northern California foothills where the temp sometimes is in the 20s. I use a battery tender to keep the batterys fresh.
 
I do the same as Kurt and get 12 to 14 years out of my 6 volt batteries.

I've always wondered how many years I could get out of them if I treated them better?
 
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