THE BOTTOM LINE AND CAR BATTERY TIPS

1. THE BOTTOM LINE AND CAR BATTERY TIPS?

1.1. Please wear glasses when working with a lead-acid battery in the unlikely event it might explode.

1.2. For a Car battery, at the first signs of slow starting, dim headlights at low RPM, ammeter indicating discharge at higher RPM, or if your battery seems to be losing performance, fully recharge your battery, remove the surface charge, and load test it and the charging system. Weak or bad batteries can also cause stress or premature failures of charging systems and starters and vice versa. (Please see Section 4.)

1.3. Perform regular preventive maintenance on your Car and Deep Cycle batteries, especially during hot weather and before cold weather. Keep the battery top clean, cable mating surfaces and terminals and free from corrosion, and routinely tighten cable connections and alternator belts. Keep your non-sealed wet batteries (with filler caps) filled to the proper level with distilled, deionized or demineralized water, but do not overfill, because the plates must be covered at all times to prevent internal battery explosions or sulfation. (Please see Section 3.)

1.4. In hot climates, keep your Car battery as cool as possible and use a non-sealed wet starting battery (with filler caps), so you add water, under the hood or a sealed VRLA AGM battery in the passenger compartment or trunk is highly recommended. (Please see Section 7.)

1.5. For batteries not in daily use, people kill more Deep Cycle and Car batteries with bad charging practices than die of old age. To prevent permanent sulfation and especially in hot weather, keep your battery continuously connected to a "smart" or float charger matched to the battery type or recharge your battery whenever it drops below 80% State-of-Charge (SoC). A cheap, unattended, unregulated "trickle" charger can destroy your battery by overcharging it. (Please see Section 9.)

1.6. When buying a replacement Car battery, buy the freshest battery compatible with your vehicle's charging system, with the largest Reserve Capacity (RC) and longest free replacement warranty that will physically fit in your vehicle, and with the Cold Cranking Amp (CCA) rating for your climate or that meets or exceeds the vehicle's Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEM) CCA requirement. For Deep Cycle batteries, buy the freshest and heaviest battery with Amp Hour (AH) capacity that best suites your application, matches your charger, and has the lowest Total Cost of Ownership. (Please see Section 7.)

1.7. Avoid a deep discharge (below 20% State-of-Charge) of your battery because this could prematurely kill it (due to cell reversal). After deep discharges or jump-starts, fully recharge your battery with an external charger, remove the surface charge, and load test the battery and charging system for latent damage. (Please see Section 4.)

1.8. Temperature and temperature compensation matter! Heat kills batteries and cold reduces their available capacity.

1.9. For longer battery life, do not add battery acid (except to replace electrolyte spills) or additives, keep your battery securely fastened, recharge batteries within 24 hours of each use, use thicker plates, and if recommended by the battery manufacturer, equalize it. Lowering the average Depth-of-Discharge (DoD) percentage will automatically increase the service life of your battery. (Please see Section 11.)

1.10. For car and motive deep cycle batteries, match the charging system (or charger's settings) to the battery type and insure that the charging system produces enough power to keep the battery fully charged based of your electrical use and driving habits. Use battery charger (or charger settings) sized not to exceed 25% of the total AH battery capacity and adjusted to the battery manufacturer's recommended charging voltages with good ventilation, especially when recharging wet non-sealed batteries (with filler caps).. A better approach is to slowly recharge your car and deep cycle batteries over eight to ten hours.

1.11. For negative grounded systems, always jump start batteries POSITIVE (+) terminal to POSITIVE (+) terminal and NEGATIVE (-) terminal to the frame or engine block away from the battery to greatly reduce the risk of a battery explosion. (Please see Section 6.)

1.12. For Deep Cycle batteries, avoid a shallow discharges (less than 10%) or deep discharges (greater than 80% Depth-of-Discharge). This could prematurely kill them. Using an adjustable low voltage disconnect set at 80% Depth-of-Discharge or less will increase the batteries' service life and help protect the batteries and valuable electronic and electrical appliances. (Please see Section 11.)

1.13. Do NOT use wet lead-acid batteries around salt water. If salt water is mixed with the battery's electrolyte, deadly chlorine gas is produced. Only use sealed VRLA AGM or Gel Cell batteries.

1.14. Remove the surface charge before testing. For non-sealed batteries (with filler caps), and use a temperature compensating hydrometer to check Specific Gravity in each cell because it is more accurate than a DC voltmeter. For sealed batteries, use a accurate (.5% or better) digital DC voltmeter and manually compensate for the electrolyte temperature. (Please see Section 4.)

New 1.15. If the temperature is below 0 degrees F (-17.8 degrees C) and you are not using an AC powered engine block and battery warmer or you can not park your vehicle to a warmer location, then disconnect your battery, take it indoors, keep it fully charged, and reconnect it just before your need to start your engine. (Please see the CCA vs. Temperature Diagram in Section 7.2) Alternatively use two 12-volt AGM batteries in parallel and a low viscosity synthetic oil in the engine. Batteries that have less than a 40% charge will freeze at 0 degrees F (-17.8 degrees C) and fully discharged batteries will freeze at 20 degrees F (-6.7 degrees C).

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