what's worse for a battery

[rh71]

I don't get to drive much at all anymore (kids use the bus, work from home). Is it worse for my battery to sit for a few days or driving short distances with ignition start/stops? For short trips within a few blocks (shopping center), I use my bike now while it's still warm just because I'm worried about doing frequent short trips which is known to kill batteries in our cars (gadgetry eats a lot and stays on for 20 mins after) - so much a problem that the dealer recommends trickle chargers when doing frequent short trips.

 

[LTC8K6]

Battery Tender or drive it for 20 minutes once a week.

 

[Zenmervolt]

It's worse to take many short trips than to just let the car sit since short trips may not be enough to completely top-off a battery which would mean that by starting the car often you are actually making things worse.

The best solution, however, is a float charger (like the "Battery Tender" brand chargers) which is a low-amperage computer controlled charger that keeps the battery topped off without letting it overcharge.

ZV

 

[tortillasoup]

if you're going to buy a battery tender, I highly recommend this:
http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-.../dp/B00D7HZ6FC

It's a temperature compensated, desulfating 1.5amp battery charger that can handle any battery with a voltage of 3V or more. (The minimum is 3 volts because it's assumed at less than 3V, it's not hooked up to a battery) This charger is good for flooded lead acid batteries. I have one of these and the much more expensive 12248 battery minder as well (12248 is a 2-4-8amp charger that supports AGM, Flooded and Gel lead acid batteries).

The reason I recommend a battery tender is that I too have a vehicle I drive infrequently like once a week and I found that unless it's driven like every day, due to the high parasitic draw from the smartkey system and alarm system, I have to put a tender on it otherwise the battery gets sulfated and even if I drive the car, it won't fully charge the battery, causing it to prematurely fail. Yes the charging system is running 100% properly with a charging voltage of 14.1V and 13.9V under full load including rear defrost.

 

[BUTCH1]

It's worse to take many short trips than to just let the car sit since short trips may not be enough to completely top-off a battery which would mean that by starting the car often you are actually making things worse.

The best solution, however, is a float charger (like the "Battery Tender" brand chargers) which is a low-amperage computer controlled charger that keeps the battery topped off without letting it overcharge.

ZV

Yea, today's cars are always using a bit of battery power even when parked, the BCM has to remain alive to receive signals from the FOB and all cars have an alarm system built in these days as well. I parked my car for 11-12 days while away and noticed it cranked noticeably slower than it usually does, the 70 mile trip home brought it up and all was well. I'm thinking about one of those solar-powered trickle chargers if I ever have to leave it off for that long again..

 

[hanoverphist]

i have two older vehicles that rarely get driven anymore, 01 dodge ram and a 95 subaru. ive let both sit for 3 weeks and still will start, but i usually will take them out once a week and get them up to temp.

IMO, if youre running it in short trips, you need to make sure its long enough to get the engine/ trans up to normal temp to make it not so harsh on the vehicles. as for harsh on the battery, if you dont run it long enough to recharge the amount it lost while sitting, it will theoretically get lower with each start after that as well.