Battery Storage

2012 Views 9 Replies 8 Participants Last post by RickM, Dec 25, 2003

RickM

Discussion Starter · Dec 22, 2003

OK, Now that my insight was totalled, and I bought a new one, and I bought the salvage. What is the best way to store the battery pack until it is needed. The old one had only 15,000 miles and I could put the car in a heated basement but would rather just keep the battery pack there if nessary. I have plenty of unheated spaces.
Thanks,
Rick

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Rick Reece

· #2 · Dec 23, 2003

I don't really know but would imagine that warm storage is better than cold and storing with a full charge is better than empty. I considered buying a salvaged 03 for the new pack but the price went to 6.6K (too much for a salvaged car). If you change your pack please take notes as I am sure others will be interested. Have fun, Rick

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Sparky5501

· #3 · Dec 23, 2003

You probably already know this but make sure not to store the batteries on a cement floor. Keep them on a shelf or on boards above the floor. Concrete acts as a giant grounding rod and will kill the charge on he battery in no time flat. I would even recommend not storing them on metal shelves either unless there is a rubber mat or wood isolating the batteries from the metal.

Also, if there are exposed terminals on the batteries make sure to put a good slathering of "battery terminal lubricant, points lube, or petrolium jelly" on them so the terminals won't corrode on you while in storage.

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William

· #4 · Dec 23, 2003

Purchase a thick pair of rubber gloves, and make sure you have rubber soled shoes on when handeling the pack

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b1shmu63

· #5 · Dec 24, 2003

The batteries will self discharge in time due to internal leakage no matter how carefully they are stored. The warmer the batteries are, the faster they will self discharge. If it is posible to run the motor on the wrecked car you could charge them that way by running it once in a while. Cold cannot hurt the batteries unless you go below freezing.

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Yves M.

· #6 · Dec 24, 2003

Empty battery

Hi all,

When I bought my car in 2000, it was in a showroom. Honda kept it for many months there.
The hybrid battery was totally empty and they saied it was for storage. I test drove the car without IMA but it had a few bars when I brought it back.

I know that lead-acid batteries need to be kept full charge but it could be different for Ni-Mh

Yves.

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Armin

· #7 · Dec 24, 2003

myths

Wow, I haven't seen such a comprehensive collection of urban myths in one place in a while!

The NiMH battery will store just fine empty. If it happens to be full, that's fine, too. It will self-discharge over the first few months and thats's that.

As far as the temperature goes, Panasonic specifies this in their datasheet:
storage for less than 6 months: -20 to 55 C
storage for less than 2 years: -20 to 45 C

Looks like they are more concerned about heat than cold. They don't specify anything for storage over two years, but that just means there may be some degradation of performance after that. This is to be expected.

And don't worry about concrete floors or metal shelves or rubber boots. Remove the battery from the car in a full moon night and put a rabbits foot under it when you put it on the shelf. Some cloves of garlic might help, too

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Aaron Cake

· #8 · Dec 24, 2003

Sparky5501 said:
Concrete acts as a giant grounding rod and will kill the charge on he battery in no time flat.

Um, what? The reason you don't store batteries on concrete floors is because it is thought that the temp differential between the top of the battery and the concrete will damage it. There is very little truth in this statement. It has nothing to do with "grounding".

I would even recommend not storing them on metal shelves either unless there is a rubber mat or wood isolating the batteries from the metal.

Why is this even necessary? Unless you are storing the battery terminals down, it is not an issue.

Also, if there are exposed terminals on the batteries make sure to put a good slathering of "battery terminal lubricant, points lube, or petrolium jelly" on them so the terminals won't corrode on you while in storage.

This is not a problem with the Honda's Ni-MH batteries, but is with older gassy lead-acids.

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Sparky5501

· #9 · Dec 24, 2003

This is not a problem with the Honda's Ni-MH batteries, but is with older gassy lead-acids.

You know what, I was thinking flooded lead acid batteries the whole time when I wrote all that. I forgot they were Ni-MH batteries. :shock:

Ok, so newer 12volts don't really discharge any faster on concrete floors. Another thing to add, if its got a leak it will etch the floor. :wink:

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RickM

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 25, 2003

Thanks, thanks,thanks.
I'm now looking for a front clip for a VERY cheep insight
Rick

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