The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Battery Questions

Hi to all. It's been quite some time since I have been on the forums. Lots of stuff going on and I have not been using or working on my truck for some time. I have 1954 Chevy 3600 that needs a new battery and would like some suggestions.

The truck is located at our second home in Texas and only driven for a few days every few months. So, I am looking for good battery and also thinking of hooking it up to a battery maintainer or disconnecting it when not in use.

So - 2 questions - 1) what battery do you folks recommend and 2) should I use a battery maintainer, disconnect, or something else.

Sorry for the long worded message!!

Thank you and it's good to be back on-line!

Carmen,
Im installin a battery maintainer on mine just to make the PA winter storage less of a pain I have one on my 67 Triumph motorcycle and my bass boat and love them.
If you are only gonna run it a few times/month it sure wouldnt hurt to have one on your ride.
Put it to bed plug it in an forget it.
at least ya know the battery will have a full charge the DAY you wanna roll.
just my thoughts.
Tim

Carmen 3600,

The absolute best answer would be found on a battery manufacturers FAQ site. My unprofessional opinion would be to get a moderately priced battery, disconnect it from the truck when not in use and keep it attached to a battery minder.

Infrequent use is the death toll for a wet cell battery. It will always fail sooner than one in regular use. A more expensive battery with more CCA or a longer warranty will probably not make it last any longer when only used occasionally.

Keeping it charged is the key to keeping it alive. The little battery tender should do this. Make sure the unattended charger is electrically protected so it doesn't burn the barn down when you are away.

EDIT. I read an article that says 'wet flooded batteries self discharge at a rate of 4% at 80&deg'.

Stuart

My opinion based on experience is to disconnect it. I store my truck in an unheated garage for about 5 months each winter. I disconnect the battery, but once a month I reconnect and start the truck, letting it run until I'm up to operating temps. Then I disconnect and wait until the next month. My battery is from NAPA and its 6 years old. There are no demands on my electrical system which is 12 volts and runs a generator.

Optima batteries

big chevy 3600 has the right idea. shop around they can be expensive, i got my at auto zone for 30.00 less than advertised in the catalogs. mine sat for a year and a half and started right up with out help. ron

it says not to leave them unatended i think i would hook the tender up to a timer so it could come on an hour each Day i would worry about a melt down with my boat i just use the battery in another vehicle sence its in storage in winter