Battery Care Maintenance & Storage

Battery care using a volt meter to ensure you avoid low voltage

Maximise your battery life by following these simple rules
Remember a battery is a live product that constantly releases energy and requires care & maintenance in order to give optimum performance when in service, by following the guidance below you can ensure maximum performance and extend the life of your battery

Good battery maintenance is unquestionably important, but why? Why is it that a battery left in an unused car or other application becomes dead in a few months time? In order to understand why battery maintenance is important to the longevity of your battery, it is important to understand the basics of discharging and charging a battery. In short, when a battery is discharging, the chemical reaction between the sulphuric acid and the lead plates produce electricity which gives the energy to the application.

Sulfation occurs within lead acid batteries when the (sulphuric acid ) known as electrolyte starts to break down. When the acid (electrolyte) splits up, sulfur ions form crystals. These sulfur ion crystals then attach to the lead plates of the battery which forms lead sulfate crystals. Over time the crystals enlarge in size becoming hard which covers the lead plates completely. This coverage deteriorates the overall performance and power storage capability of the battery. If the battery is left without charging, the sulfation process will gradually get worse which causes the battery to loose the ability to absorb or conduct any power which leaves you with a battery which can no longer hold any charge, with this condition the user will end up losing their battery

So what are the main reasons for battery failure/sulfation

  1. Battery not being charged regular enough, even if you have a new battery if you are not using the vehicle or other equipment the battery will fail unless you maintain with regular charging
  2. Battery only being partly charged. Not fully charged to 100%
  3. Battery being charged with wrong charger (battery chargers have a minimum and maximum size battery they are designed to be used with) it is very important to match the charger to the size of battery
  4. Over discharging a battery beyond 10.5 volts (this is very common not many people realise if you discharge a 12 volt battery beyond 10.5 volts this causes permenant premature failure of a battery) using a battery this way will reduce the battery life very significantly which by the way also voids the warranty !!

So what is the best way to increase / extend your battery life? The simple answer is to use a smart charger which will maintain the batteries when not in use, thus preventing the sulfation process. See below 2 examples of good quality smart chargers

Noco Smart Chargers - Prices start from around £38.99

CTEK Smart Chargers - Prices start from around £42.99