Good Housekeeping will help you maintain Good Battery Life

How to help maintain Good Battery Life

One of the up and coming trends these days is that people are starting to build battery banks for the storage of power from their solar panels and wind turbines. But in my opinion it does not just start there, a good system of maintenance is essential to keep your batteries in good condition.

We have noticed that one of the recent trends is for people to buy Cheap Leisure Batteries for this purpose and one of the reasons is because the internet has driven down the prices of these batteries and they being used more and more for battery storage and also for the battery banks that are used on canal boats and other river craft.

A few years ago the main batteries used these boats were in reality Truck Batteries. The change came when companies like Johnson Controls started to make similar size batteries that came with thicker plates, for increased storage capacity. These batteries were really Starter Batteries, but will now double up as storage batteries. The most popular one is  110 amp Leisure Battery, that is marketed by Numax and a couple of other battery companies.

These batteries sort of double up as a starter and storage battery, but must not be mistaken for a genuine storage battery, which is an AGM (Absorbed Glass Matting) that is a deep cycle battery. These batteries now cost about twice the price as a Leisure Battery, but are solely made for the storage of electricity. These are in fact the correct batteries for the job of the energy storing of solar power, but they are more expensive and do not need as much looking after as the 12 volt lead acid batteries that are now more commonly used. One important thing to remember is that you must not dis-charge your leisure below 80%, because this will damage your batteries. AGM batteries can be totally discharged and will make a full recovery, this is one of the reasons that they cost more money, they have much more plate capacity and storage than a lead-acid battery.

A couple of battery facts

The leisure battery is a flooded lead-acid battery and does require some looking after to keep them in tip-top condition. The main ones now come in a sealed casing with a blow off valve that will go off if the battery gets overheated for some reason, letting the built up pressure escape. Some leisure batteries especially the smaller 75 amp Leisure Batteries do have screw tops similar to some car batteries; these must be looked after as follows.

Adding Water to the battery

If you have a screw top battery or batteries, it is important to check the fluid levels (electrolyte) on a regular basis. This is because the battery gives off some gasses while in operation (oxygen and hydrogen), this depletes the amount of liquid in the battery and will need topping up with distilled water. You can buy this at your local auto store, or use the water that is produced from a certain type of electric dryer. The electrolyte Car batteries, but most car batteries are now sealed similar to the sealed leisure batteries.

Typical 110 amp leisure battery now in common use

needs to cover the tops of the plates, there is usually a marker to guide you to the correct level. Older people amongst us will remember having to do this with their

In hot weather the batteries with screw caps also loose the liquid due to evaporation, but here in the UK the effects of weather are minimal. It is also a good idea to be methodical and make a note of when you had to top the battery up, this is because it is the first sign of a battery cell problem if the cell keeps on needing fresh water.

Keep you battery bank clean and dirt free

This applies to the Battery terminals; we have all seen the corrosion that can take place wherever battery acid is present, and this is no different on a battery bank. It is important to watch out for this and a good battery terminals.

battery bank for solar storage

preventative measure is to smear the terminals with petroleum jelly. A good trade name for this in the UK is (Vaseline), this will protest the battery terminals from corroding and develop the nasty white powder that forms around

Also inspect your connecting wires, a corroded or terminal could form a high resistance on a system that is connected in series and will prevent the batteries from charging and dis-charging correctly and creating an imbalance in the battery bank, with a possibility of reducing the battery banks performance and lowering the life of the batteries in the entire bank.

To conclude the article you are better of using AGM Batteries for any type of storage in a bank or indeed in two’s or three’s .and use a reputable make ,such as Trojan batteries that are on sale on www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk  and they will last you up to four times longer than a leisure battery. I also know though that people do use free flow lead acid batteries that are on sale as leisure batteries, but do not let them drain completely and look after your batteries no matter what type they are and they will last longer.

Car Won’t Start? Car Battery Dead?

Car Won’t Start? Car Battery Could be Dead?

We have all had that sort of sinking feeling in the throat when you have an important appointment, you are going for a job interview, you get to the car door press your button key to open the door and the door will not unlock. We have all been their; you know deep down that the car is not going to start, just when you were going to an important meeting, it is cold dark and you feel terrible.

The car door opens using the key; thank God we don’t have a car that does not have a key, just an electric fob. The guy turns his key only to confirm his worse fears; the car battery is dead as a Dodo.

He now recalls that the battery did play up a little bit a couple of weeks ago, on another cold and frosty day, but the next day the battery started the car up ok, and nothing else since.

That was a warning that he should have noted, if the car battery does not perform as well as normal, then you must get it tested, especially in winter time when the car will use the full quota of electrics, such as lights and heaters. These electrics will drain and kill off a cars battery if the car is only doing short journeys in the winter, say on the school run or only down to the shops

Back to the guy with the job interview appointment; he was wondering if he could have left the lights on or not. According to the AA here in the UK this is one of the top things that drivers do, leave the lights on and therefor flatten their car battery. It may be a good thing to actually check your battery. Lift up your bonnet (hood) and the plastic cover that is there to protect the battery and check your battery terminals, are they lose? No, are they corroded or worn out? No? Ok then if you can unscrew the plastic caps, where you can remove and then top up the battery, then you should do so to check the level of the acid.

Sometimes you find a couple of cells that are low and need topping up, or the whole battery needs topping up, but this guy’s car is fine. Some batteries today are maintenance free sealed batteries and so you cannot check the levels. Some batteries come with a magic eye on their battery with three different colours that change when there is a change to the batteries condition. One more point worth mentioning, because I know this has happened is that lady drivers should be aware of dangling jewellery, shorting the battery terminals with possibility of causing burns, otherwise the procedure is the same for men and women.

If you think that you may have left your lights on and the car battery is not completely dead, 

Then it may well be worth leaving the car for half an hour and then see if the battery has recovered enough to start the car, this can sometimes work? These little tricks are not going to help this guy though, his battery is completely gone and he needs to get to that job interview. What can he do? Well he could try a couple of things. If his car is on the flat or a slope downhill then he and a friend or neighbour could help him to jump-start the car.

This can only be done with a manual gearbox type car. You sit in the car with the ignition on, press the clutch and put the car into THIRD gear. When your friends push the car and get it rolling, you should release the clutch and all been well the car should start. Another method would be to use some jump leads and try to start the car off another cars battery.

Park the cars with the engine side by side and connect the RED positive terminal on the flat battery and then the positive terminal on the working one. Then take the black lead and connect it to the negative terminal on the good battery and the other end to an earthing point on the car and NOT to the other negative terminal.

Testing a flat car battery

The earthing point could be part of the engine or car body, but not near the fuel system. You should wait for three or four minutes for the battery voltages to even out and then try to start the car, if you are successful and the car start keep your foot on the accelerator to increase the cars speed so that the cars alternator tries to put some charge back into the car.

If one of these methods works for you then you could risk trying to get to your interview, but one way or another you are likely to need a new battery, you could contact your local garage or perhaps next time join one of the recovery companies. But if you think that your battery sounded not quite right or your lights were a bit dimmer than you thought ,then get your battery tested, because it will let you down for sure at some inappropriate time when you least wanted it to.

 Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery company www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.

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