How should a new battery be maintained?
Proper lead-acid battery maintenance involves periodic mechanical inspection and cleaning, and proper charge maintenance. Flooded (wet) batteries should have water levels checked routinely, particularly in hot weather or high charge/discharge cyclic applications, and topped with distilled water if necessary. Terminal connections should be checked routinely, and any corrosion should be neutralized with baking soda and water, and removed. Battery post cleaners or small wire brushes can help with this process. The sealed batteries, AGM and true Gel, all but eliminate the mechanical maintenance issues. Lead-acid batteries including the sealed types like to be kept fully charged when not actually being cycled. There is NO benefit to fully discharging lead acid batteries as part of maintenance or use, and this includes the true Gels. The newer microprocessor chargers allow long term maintenance with a float mode, which will not overcharge batteries. Batteries used infrequently and not on a f
Related Questions
- When the battery is depleted down to 30% SOC (state of charge)after 40 miles, why is it maintained there instead of the generator recharging it?
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- How should a battery be maintained ?