Batteries killed when left on a concrete floor

[Sprintman]

Quote from another thread - On the subject of things you should not do I have discovered that a battery should never be left directly on a concrete floor or it will discharge and cease to hold a charge properly. Don't know why, but most dealers seem to know about this and keep them on racks, sheets of cardboard or sheets of wood.

It has been suggested that it's just because the concrete floor is usually cold, but is there any other reason? Anyone got any ideas?

[charlotte001]

A battery left on a concrete floor will dischage because of the temperature of the concrete.

It's the same as if you leave a battery in a car over winter without running it the current will be drawn out due to temperature.

Charlotte

[Sprintman]

Thanks Charlotte. So effectively if the battery is left [anywhere] and allowed to totally discharge it'll never take a charge again? How about if the battery is on the cold concrete floor [or any other cold place] being trickle charged? What do they do in cold climates?

[cbyard]

Cold temperatures accelerating self discharge sounds wrong! Recommended storage temperatures for maximum shelf life without recharging are 10C or less- the warmer the battery, the faster it discharges itself. However, it is difficult to fully charge a cold battery properly.

It's definitely true that a battery allowed to discharge and left like that will soon be just a doorstop. Ideally it should be fully charged then left on float charge for storage- a decent two ar three state charger should do this automatically and should be temperature compensated as well.

There's loads of info out there from a quick google.....

Chris

[charlotte001]

No idea on the rocket science of it. I found the info on one of the battery manufacturers sites so guess they know more than us.

Charlotte

[LankyTim]

It is true, a cold concrete floor kills batteries. I think its more of a cold thing. I have no idea why but its certainly true.

[gnhuk]

This is noticable if you have a digital camera and carry a spare battery in cold weather. The battery in the camera will go flat extra fast and if you've not kept the spare in an inside pocket it won't be much better when you swap it over....

[peteS40]

Yep, cold makes batteries not work so well. Or rather hot makes them work better.

Our old physics + electonics teacher used to tell us that you could eek a little bit more out of AA cells by putting them in the oven for a couple of minutes. Never tried that though! He also used to like blowing up big capacitors, so the guy was a bit of an eccentric.

Anyway I am sure you'd have to keep the battery on said concrete floor for ages for it to have any sort of affect.

Hey - maybe someone (with nothing better to do) could conduct an experiment?! Take two batteries, put on on a concrete floor and put the other on a concrete floor which has underfloor heating. If both batteries lose charge at the same rate then the concrete is what does it, otherwise it is a temperature issue. Now repeat the experiment using different types of floor material and you will end up with a parameter which we could call the "Surface Affecting Discharge" property - or S.A.D for short
:D