Make an Auto Battery Last For Longer

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Rechargeable lead-acid starter batteries should last for years. Especially if they are valve-regulated sealed ones which need almost no maintenance. After all, they have a simple design comprising little more than lead plates and diluted sulfuric acid inside a plastic case. So why is there a need to make an auto battery last for longer in the first place?

The Answer Lies in a Weak Point in the Design

make an auto battery last for longer
Auto Battery Cutaway: Bullenwachter: CC 3.0

We asked our battery experts to explain why an auto car battery gradually goes flat when idle, or if it has been in the battery store for a while.

We should always check the manufacturing date of a car battery before paying for it. Because allowing it to go flat without regular charging can damage it.

It works this way: When a battery discharges while in use or standing idle, a layer of sulfur accumulates on the lead plates. Recharging it breaks this down – well almost – as the battery returns to equilibrium on full charge. Eventuality, the minute sulfur traces left behind build to the point where the electric charge can no longer flow. This process is almost inevitable if the battery is standing idle and gradually discharging.

Tips to Make an Auto Battery Last For Longer

make an auto battery last for longer
Sulfated Plate: Sakar Solanki: CC 3.0

If we do nothing about this, we eventually reach the point where the vehicle won’t start. And the auto electrician tells us “you have a dead cell, your battery is finished”.

The best way to make an idle auto battery last for longer is to charge it regularly. But it is a bind loosening the connectors, and removing it to the charger on the workbench.

The longer we ignore the problem, the more the battery gradually discharges, and the thicker the sulfur layer becomes. What we can do instead is let the motor run for fifteen minutes once a week, making sure there is adequate ventilation. Ideally, we should go for a short drive to let the mechanical parts exercise too.

That’s about all there is to make an auto battery last for longer. They cost money to replace and you will be so glad you took precautions to defer the expense.

Related

The Sulfuric Acid in Sealed Batteries

How Auto Lead Acid Batteries Work

Preview Image: Lead Battery Grid and Filler

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About Author

I tripped over a shrinking bank balance and fell into the writing gig unintentionally. This was after I escaped the corporate world and searched in vain for ways to become rich on the internet by doing nothing. Despite the fact that writing is no recipe for wealth, I rather enjoy it. I will not deny I am obsessed with it when I have the time. I live in Margate on the Kwazulu-Natal south coast of South Africa. I work from home where I ponder on the future of the planet, and what lies beyond in the great hereafter. Sometimes I step out of my computer into the silent riverine forests, and empty golden beaches for which the area is renowned. Richard

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