Removing the battery (or not?)

[David T]

You only need to protect a low charged battery from freezing. With a trickle charger on all the time I don't think you will get much out gassing. So it's up to you if you want to remove it.

The old type trickle charger was just a low current transformer capable of 1 or 2 amps. The newer "tender" chargers set a voltage so as not to do constant "trickle" like the old type.

I don't like the idea of leaving stuff like that plugged in continuously. If anything goes wrong bad things can happen. The other day a house burnt down in a nearby town because they left a hoverboard on a charger. I would not put a battery in a kitchen in a cardboard box. The box will disintegrate from the gasses. If you can, you should write on the battery the year so you can tell how old it is and when it is 5 years old you should consider replacing it. In any case it should be tested every year and if it fails, replaced. The battery should be washed and the terminals cleaned. You can buy an inexpensive terminal cleaner in an auto parts store. The terminals should be clean and shiny. Never overtighten the bolts that hold the wires to the battery. Make sure nothing can fall on the battery and touch the terminals. That would be bad. Some side terminal batteries also have top posts. If you don't have them you can get plastic covers so bad things can't happen easily.

[Elvis]

I was told by an expert to fill up the fuel tank as much as possible.

That's valid for metal tanks, especially motorbikes.

Of course I asked about plastic tanks and I was told the
fumes are much more harmful than the gasoline itself therefore - fill it up.

For a car in storage IMHO best practice is to remove as much of the fuel as possible and take the battery out. ...

[dn010]

When my car was stored in New York for some winters and the years I was in the Army, the battery was left in, fuel left in the tank and every other week either I or someone else while I was absence, got in the car, fired it up and let it run for a little while, pumped the clutch & brake pedals and that was it. I'd suggest Sta-bil in the tank now that we have ethanol in our fuel, that is what I have in my 57 Cadillac tank that is in storage and I have 0 issues. When my D was stored outside one year it was parked on pavement and wrapped in a tarp - pain in the ass to uncover to start it up but worked out fine for me.

[BladeBronson]

Is my battery unnaturally huge or something? It was really awkward getting it out of there.

Your battery looks correct. Slide the passenger seat forward to get more room.

[David T]

Forever the "conventional wisdom" was to fill the gas tank all the way up for long term storage. Condensation was a big problem and by having the smallest amount of air above the fuel it minimized any potential condensation from the air. You have to remember the conditions that prevailed at the time. Tanks were steel with a tin coating. There were no evap or vapor systems so the tank was open to the air and breathed. The fuel didn't contain additives or ethyl alcohol. Fast forward to today. The situation has changed in so many ways. IMHO it is now "best practice" to remove as much fuel as possible for storage. Having seen first hand the damage caused by old fuel I see no advantage to leaving fuel in the car. As I see it a large part of the problem is many of the cars that were to be stored "just for the winter" wind up being neglected for many years and were never properly prepared for long term storage. Last point, a car stored with a full tank of fuel is a bigger fire hazard than one stored with no fuel. As for the battery, over time the terminals corrode. They just do. Since you will have to remove the battery anyway to clean the terminals, you might as well remove the battery for storage anyway. It has the benefit of keeping the battery in a warm place. Not every garage stays above freezing and a discharged battery can freeze.

[DMC-Ron]

Coat the battery terminals. There are expensive protective coatings for this but I use white grease or lubriplate. The idea is to thoroughly coat the terminals which will prevent off-gasses from interacting with the terminals. It works well. One application can last years. An additional benefit: it keeps the connecting bolts (side connection) and terminal lugs (top connection) in good condition and easy to remove when it's time to replace the battery.

Ron

[David T]

Coat the battery terminals. There are expensive protective coatings for this but I use white grease or lubriplate. The idea is to thoroughly coat the terminals which will prevent off-gasses from interacting with the terminals. It works well. One application can last years. An additional benefit: it keeps the connecting bolts (side connection) and terminal lugs (top connection) in good condition and easy to remove when it's time to replace the battery.

Ron

This is another thing everyone did "back in the day". I used to do it. I don't anymore. I found that when the terminal would overheat, the grease would melt and make the connection even worse. Then you have a sticky mess to clean up along with the corrosion. Side terminal batteries are not supposed to have corrosion problems but they do. Especially if the bolts are ever overtightened, breaking the seal to the case. For post type batteries there are pads you can buy that help, but do not eliminate, corrosion. Again, if the battery is left in the car for a LONG time it will corrode and you will have to remove it to clean up the mess. Might as well just remove it in the first place. Another point. If it is really long term storage the battery will get old and become worthless anyway. After 5 years most batteries are no good, they have lost 1/2 of their rated capacity.

[DaraSue]

I cleaned the corrosion up today with baking soda. There wasn't much on the D's battery but my CRX's battery was pretty nasty-looking, AFAICR I'd last had it replaced around 2012 and it was cranking pretty sluggishly lately so I just went and got a new one at AutoZone. The clerk talked me into getting the kit that comes with the felt washers and dielectric grease for the terminals so I put those on with the new one. I'll see how those do and then evaluate whether to do that when I put the D's battery back in.

I checked the D's battery with a tester today and it still showed good even after sitting for two weeks. I'll hook the trickle charger up tomorrow and see what it says. (It's the Centech from Harbor Freight (https://www.harborfreight.com/automo...art-60653.html)

The D's battery is still on the kitchen counter because if the object is to get it out of the cold, my options are pretty limited as far as places the cats won't mess with it. There's a closet under the stairs in the basement but do I want it in that enclosed of a space?

[DMC-Ron]

This is another thing everyone did "back in the day". I used to do it. I don't anymore. I found that when the terminal would overheat, the grease would melt and make the connection even worse. Then you have a sticky mess to clean up along with the corrosion. Side terminal batteries are not supposed to have corrosion problems but they do. Especially if the bolts are ever overtightened, breaking the seal to the case. For post type batteries there are pads you can buy that help, but do not eliminate, corrosion. Again, if the battery is left in the car for a LONG time it will corrode and you will have to remove it to clean up the mess. Might as well just remove it in the first place. Another point. If it is really long term storage the battery will get old and become worthless anyway. After 5 years most batteries are no good, they have lost 1/2 of their rated capacity.

David,
As you mention, coating the battery terminals has been with us a long time. It remains a valid remedy because it works well and solves several battery terminal issues. Overheating of auto battery terminals is not commonplace but generally due to electrical resistance at the terminal. This is more common in golf cart battery setups, particularly in the forward/reverse switch. We have found that coating those connections help this situation.

You’re point is well taken regarding longer term storage of batteries. With a battery life of 5 (+/-) years, it makes good sense to remove the battery for any longer term storage of the car.

Ron

[David T]

David,
As you mention, coating the battery terminals has been with us a long time. It remains a valid remedy because it works well and solves several battery terminal issues. Overheating of auto battery terminals is not commonplace but generally due to electrical resistance at the terminal. This is more common in golf cart battery setups, particularly in the forward/reverse switch. We have found that coating those connections help this situation.

YouÂ’re point is well taken regarding longer term storage of batteries. With a battery life of 5 (+/-) years, it makes good sense to remove the battery for any longer term storage of the car.

Ron

I bring it up again, all too often a car is "parked". Maybe for the winter, maybe till it can get fixed. If it is prepared for storage at all it is only for short-term storage with the intention of getting it going again soon. Fast forward 10 years or so and the car is forgotten in the garage (more likely the driveway but sometimes the back yard) things have fallen on it, are stacked all over it, generations of creatures have been born, lived, and died in it. Tires are flat, the battery has grown a coating on it and the fuel has aged (and for fuel that is "not a good thing"). The wiring is chewed up, the seat padding is in the heater box, the tool roll is eaten up and nesting materiel is all tucked inside the car. Glass may be broken. The car is a biological hazard. Hidden is all of the damage to the fuel system, the brakes, the clutch, and the cooling system. Much of this could have been easily avoided with some simple prep work when the car was first parked. Starting with removing the battery. My main point is, often when a car is stored you don't always know for how long so it should be prepped for long term storage if it is to be stored at all.