View Single Post
Old 02-20-2010, 09:27 PM   #3
MagicRat
Nothing scares me anymore
Thread starter
 
MagicRat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: City of Light
Posts: 10,702
Thanks: 12
Thanked 82 Times in 77 Posts
Re: Long-term and Winter Storage Tips for vehicles.

Quote:
Originally Posted by incorporated View Post
These are all good tips. I am unsure about the battery storage though. In my mechanical aerospace courses, we spent a great amount of time talking about the NASA space shuttle and a lot of the problems they deal with is heating/cooling when up there next to the big bad sun. Batteries were the most sensitive. They could not get too hot and they could not get cold either. We actually have to spend more on launching our rocket just so we can keep those batteries warm at the 70 degree temperature they like to operate at. Somehow I don't think storing them in colder temps is good for them if using them in cold is bad. But I could be wrong?
I thought the shuttle uses fuel cells, not batteries as we know them.

Anyways, these batteries in question here are the traditional lead-acid car battery, which are way too heavy and inefficient for shuttle use. They may not work well in the cold, but the cold does seem to help them last longer, unless they become discharged.
If they are allowed to discharge, they will be ruined by freezing weather. But I just put mine away fully charged in an unheated (aka freezing) garage, and the batteries are still just fine months later.
MagicRat is offline   Reply With Quote