prairiewindmomma Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 even if it’s cold and snowy and you have no plans to go anywhere. This is especially true if your battery is older. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Homeschoolers: Start your engines! 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 If the car is in garage make sure the door is open. I just saw on the news that warming your vehicle is bad for engine. So we go drive it around in cold temps. Even just around town for 10 mins. Also if you are just starting your car and going inside, be careful. That is an open invitation for someone to steal your car. It has increased a lot in my area of people stealing cars from people who have started their cars to warm them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Ideally, drive it on the highway or above 45mph for about half an hour so that some charge goes back to the battery and the fluids throughout the vehicle warm and flow freely. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 7 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: I just saw on the news that warming your vehicle is bad for engine. Better yet, purchase a high-quality desulfating maintenance battery charger and hook it up occasionally. That way you are not using a 300-hp engine to produce 20 Watts of power!! I recommend the BatteryMINDer 1510 from the vendor linked. You might also want to by the 20' DC extension cord for convenience. (If you have a Prius like my daughter has, good luck finding the place to clip it onto the positive battery terminal!!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I don't think this is necessary. Cars are not manufactured and sold for place-specific markets. I live in a very cold and snowy place and it is not at all uncommon for my car to sit for days or even weeks. The only time in over 25 winters I ever had a car not start due to cold was when it was -30 degrees and it had been sitting exposed in an airport parking lot for two weeks AND it had a battery that was on the outs (and it was 2am just to make it an extra special situation). I literally never hear of anyone around here with a modern (less than 20 years old) car have trouble with cold weather starts unless there was some sort of actual problem. I mean, go for it if it makes you feel better but I would not make more stress or worry for yourself. And I agree with others that just starting and idling for a few minutes will probably do more harm than good.....if only environmental. I'd also like to point out that gas tanks freezing is also not really a thing. I am all about having at least a half tank for emergencies or even convenience, but not because I worry that the gas and/or lines will freeze. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Most modern cars have surveillance and other electrical systems that are constantly working. They will drain your battery within a few weeks if you don’t charge it. For us, we are home 24/7 otherwise, so it is possible to go weeks without one of our vehicles starting. One of our vehicles has only had 200 miles put on it in the last year—and those miles are from short drives to get wheels moving, fluids flowing, and a bit of charge back. I took one of the cars out this week after sitting for a few weeks and the brakes definitely felt different for the first few taps. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/news/how-to-maintain-your-car-long-term-storage/amp/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cars.com/amp/articles/coronavirus-car-care-how-to-keep-your-unused-car-healthy-during-a-stay-at-home-order-419735/ I agree, if you are normally on the go and are only sitting for a few days, no big deal....but if the bad weather and covid has had you grounded for a while...something to give thought to. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, skimomma said: I don't think this is necessary. It's actually more necessary today than it ever was. Do you remember when you used to be able to purchase a battery with an 8-year warranty. No more. And that is not because they make them more poorly today than in the past (although some of them are junk). It is because the vehicles have some many loads that run all the time. Those loads draw down the battery. When a lead-acid battery discharges, the lead from the plates and the sulfuric acid from the electrolyte combine to produce a white paste called lead sulfate. During discharge the lead sulfate is used up and lead is replated onto the plates. The problem that occurs as the lead sulfate sits without being used, it tends to get harder. If the vehicle does not get fully recharged every so often, the lead sulfate will eventually get so hard it will never participate in the battery reaction again. This effect is cumulative until at some point the battery does not have much capacity left. But @skimomma is correct in that it is not cold that damages these batteries. Like most chemical reactions, the hardening of the lead sulfate happens very slowly when it is cold, but it can happen very quickly in the heat. Also, in hot weather, many cars will run the engine fan for a few minutes after you turn the ignition off. That creates some lead sulfate right away when you stop the car. If you do not drive it again for a few days in hot weather, that lead sulfate may harden and that capacity will be lost. Case in point: My daughter purchased a used Prius a couple of months ago. Because the DMV is shut down, she had to wait SIX WEEKS to get her registration and plates. After four weeks, I measured the battery. It was at about 20% state-of-charge. In other words, it had lost about 20% of its charge EACH WEEK. And her Prius is about 8 years old. Newer cars are often worse. If you purchase the charger I recommended upthread and use it occasionally, you will save the cost of the charger many times over in the cost of new batteries. And that is not to mention the damage done to the environment by throwing away products that could have been used for a much longer time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 1 hour ago, RegGuheert said: .But @skimomma is correct in that it is not cold that damages these batteries. Like most chemical reactions, the hardening of the lead sulfate happens very slowly when it is cold, but it can happen very quickly in the heat. Also, in hot weather, many cars will run the engine fan for a few minutes after you turn the ignition off. That creates some lead sulfate right away when you stop the car. If you do not drive it again for a few days in hot weather, that lead sulfate may harden and that capacity will be lost. I've always heard that hot weather is what damages/degrades batteries, but that it's usually cold weather that finishes them off. With our RVs--which are prone to sitting for months at a time between uses, especially in the winter--we've always tried to get them out on the highway/interstate for 30-45 minutes once a month or so. The idea is that in addition to keeping the chassis battery charged, fluids need to circulate to keep important stuff lubricated and tires need to roll to avoid flat spotting. A drive at highway/interstate speed for 30 minutes or so gets everything up to operating temperature. My dad was a very good shade tree mechanic, and he was adamant about NOT cranking a car up and just letting it idle. He always said it did more harm than good. But that was a long time ago, and technology has certainly changed, so maybe it's not true anymore. Other than the RV we've rarely had to deal with a car sitting for extended periods of time. But the few times it has been--off for a drive we went. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 2 hours ago, RegGuheert said: I recommend the BatteryMINDer 1510 from the vendor linked. As DH likes to give me useful tools for my life (new vacuum cleaner, instant pot, Bluetooth Speaker), I now have a gift for him. Thanks for the recommendation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familia Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Thanks for the reminder. We resuscitated our Escape last week with a jump. Our battery charger was not ‘strong’ enough to do it. Thankful that we didn’t have to buy a new battery as the one on the Escape is hard to get to - even for DIY DH! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 19 minutes ago, RootAnn said: As DH likes to give me useful tools for my life (new vacuum cleaner, instant pot, Bluetooth Speaker), I now have a gift for him. Thanks for the recommendation. I worked with a guy once who bought his wife a chainsaw for her birthday! 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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