I have the Eliminator Intelligent Battery Charger, that shows the current state of the battery and or alternator, charging etc.
I keep my Interstate Mega tron II in my basement up on my work bench, I decided to check the state of it prior to installing this spring, It was down to 10 % so I gave it a full charge back to 100% is this normal or will I need to purchase a new battery this spring as its not holding a charge since November.

 

All the fangled gadgets. I would just give the battery a good charge just prior to driving season and try it. A fully charged battery is 12.68v, the state of charge is as below.


Battery Voltage and State of Charge:

12.68v . . . . . . . . . . 100%
12.45v . . . . . . . . . . 75%
12.24v . . . . . . . . . . 50%
12.06v . . . . . . . . . . 25%
11.89v . . . . . . . . . . 0%

 

I just disconnect my battery . I have had the same green top interstate for 5 years now no issues. I did however leave it hooked up on the k5 blazer over the fall and didn't move it for some time and it killed it but I put it in my Saturn since its the same size and it has worked. Then there was also last year when I forgot to disconnect when I had it stored at my parents place . So it went dead twice and no issues here. I have an interstate marine battery I use as a jumper for when a car dies and it has not been charged in atleast 3 years. I gotta get to that lol.

 

Get a "float" charger from HF(about $5 bucks). It does not charge the battery, it just keeps it charged while in storage. These things will seriously extend the life of your battery. I don't know if your Intelligent charger has that capability. If it does, it should only put out about 0.2 amps in float mode.

 

I keep all three batteries in the basement. Charge them full when they get there, then put the charger on them every couple of months. The Starfire (Wal-Mart, I didn't buy it, came with the car but is new so I haven't changed it yet) and 442 (Exide, new in 2012) batteries were both down to 75% after sitting for 3 months and came back up to 100% with a 12 amp charge in a matter of about 15 minutes. The Cutlass (Die Hard Gold, purchased in 2008) was down to 40%. The charger took it up to 64% and then sat there. I unhooked it, let it sit for a few minutes, then hooked it back up and it then went up to 100%, but it took a long time. The battery is 6 years old, it sits all summer in a hot garage, for two years it sat in the basement while I worked on the car. It has not had a good life. I think this year I may well exchange it for an Optima Red Top.

I'd be wary of a battery that went down to 10% just sitting. You might have a bad cell.

 

Your batteries will last much longer if you maintain them at a full charge. 6 years is pretty good for a battery though.

 

I don't unhook my battery in the 70, nothing really to drain it. No battery tender, battery from AZ duralast gold, purchased April of 2000, I am sure that if I put it on the charger for about 45 mins. It will wing over the 350 till it wakes up from it's long winters nap!

On the Alero it still sports it's original delco, car was purchased November of 2003. I do unhook him for the winter and again throw the charger and I am sure it will fire up.

Pat

 

Thanks for all the info guys, well its full charged now. My charger doesn't have the trickle cycle on it, I guess it not that intelligent. I really like the interstate battery just don't want to put another $160. into a new one every spring. Hopefully it will be good to go for another summer .

 

I unhooke'm for prolonged storage. A little charge before spring and I'm good. Usually don't remove them unless I know It needs replacing anyhow.

I've had pretty good luck with my car batteries, The riding lawn mower doesn't seem to get more than two years though, no matter what I do.

 

Trickle charging (2 amps)and a float charge (much less) are two different things. Trickle charge if left on for the winter will likely boil or damage your battery. I can get 6 years out of my Harley battery ($230) vs 2 years without a float. Leaving the battery in a state of discharge will eventually cause sulphating.

 

I have to unhook mine and pull it from the car, it gets too cold here . The last one I left in for the winter dam near grew twice its size lol. It was a freedom something or other make. I got $5. trade in on my interstate. I can only hope its all good, if I have to replace it I will look for a floater charger as was mentioned (rroldsx). Fingers crossed to save $160.00

 

Depending on your warranty it might be replaceable. We stocked interstate batteries at one shop I worked at. I bought my mt75 for 100 retail suggested price 155. We would always get warranty trades and interstate would make good on it but it has to pretty much be like dead dead.

 

Copper Thanks for the reminder, I never think about the warranties but yes I believe it has a 5yr on it, so if its cooked then I will ask for a replacement. Cheers to that ! I'm bad with following warranties lol.

 

I have one of the HF $5 float chargers and it works pretty well. I was skeptic about it at first.
It puts out less than 0.5A max, but is rated more like 0.2A (200mA) continuous when a baatery is a little low.
A typical aftermarket alarm (disarmed) and a digital radio (needing backup power) need a combined current of 45mA just to sit there idle.
I took some measurements of my float charger and it puts out about 100mA when the battery is fully charged - 45mA for the accessories and 55mA as charge into the battery. Voltage is held at 13.9V, an ideal charging voltage.

Many battery chargers (even on trickle mode) put out a higher voltage, force-feeding more power (more current of course) into the battery, which is not good for the battery. Too much can kill it in short order.
I had one battery short out and shorted out the charger as well, burning the diodes in it. Glad that was all that happened.
Use very little current in storing a battery.

 

I've seen it too many times when a battery is on one of those cheapy chargers start to gas and leak acid all over the place. That's why I steer clear of them.

 

I've got nothing but good things to say about my Battery Tender. I'm not sure if it's a trickle or a float, but going on three winter storage sessions now with no noticeable wear on the battery. I hit the key and it fires up. I don't ask for much more.

 

I actually had to clean up the battery prior to charging it , it appeared to leak out of the 2 caps on the top, not a whole lot but it looked like frost all around the caps growing up to the top of the caps. Is this normal as well ?

 

It sounds like sulphate deposits or dissolved dirt.
The sulfuric acid will eat up sand and dirt, leaving a whitish residue.
It is important to keep the top clean, as over time it can become conductive and create an extra small, unwanted drain on the battery.
It is also bad for your skin if you touch it, or paper and cotton clothing (will eat right through).
I would wash it off with a non-acidic cleaner and see if it comes back quickly. If so the top cap may not be sealing well.

 

A battery has a mixture of sulfric acid and water appox 60 % water 40 % sulphric acid as the battery discharges the acid is asborbed into the postive plates during charging the acid is cleared from the postive plates back into the electrolyte (term used for acid /water mixture)Most premature battery failures are a result of Excessive Postive Plate Shedding. Never store a battery in a discharged state. Acid will be in the postive plates attacking the Grid WHICH THE PLATE MATERIAL is pressed into. As far as sulfation this occurs when a battery is in storage the lead sulfate from the negative plates adheres to the postive plates making the transfer of acid very diffuclt ( Can sometmes be corrected by overcharging to break up lead sulfate coating on postive plates (monitor temperature.) Battery boiling those bubbles are hydrogen being produced during recharging to Mix the Acid with Water to make Electrolyte (Sulphric Acid is 1.8 times heavier than water must mix or acid stratifacation will occur bottom of battery will be hammered by concentrated acid in bottom of cells. Battery gassing voltage 2.32-2.35 volts per cell. {Eric is right on with his voltage Chart} Never add water to a discharged battery clear the plates first electrolyte level will rise as acid inside postive plates remixes with electrolyte.My batteries last appox 5 to 7 years in everday drivers and boats and Rvs charging ever 2 months (During turkey cooking at X-Mas and Easter egg season) on boats and other limited use batteries. Postive plate shedding occurs in every wet cell lead acid battery during charging and discharging remember a soft metal submerged in acid with acid going into and back out of postive plates.THESE ARE JUST BATTERY BASICS. (PM ME FOR MORE DETAILS IF NEEDED.)
Of course I prefer East Penn Manufacturing/Deka batteries. MADE IN AMERICA