astounded how fast batteries discharge in storage

[Local150]

The wing but theory is crazy and wrong!!! I set mine on wood and put a battery tender on mine no problems,, I'm guessing possibly your charger is messed up. Go to Amazon and get a Battery Tender

[seventhfire]

Originally Posted by Beachbourbon

Take the wing nuts off the posts! This is what I was talking about. You are discharging your battery by leaving the wing nuts on IMO.

Can you explain how the wing nuts discharge the battery? Thanks

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by seventhfire

Can you explain how the wing nuts discharge the battery? Thanks

see explanation #1 - 6
https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...erm=Wing%20Nut

[Mrfriz]

Originally Posted by Hart_family

We disconnected our two deep-cycle RV batteries from our trailer at the season's end. We store them in our garage and have worked to keep them fully charged using a smart trickle charger. Because I have two batteries but only one charger, I switch them out ever 1-2 weeks once they are fully charged.

I am finding that my batteries are going from 100% charged to near 0 in about 8 days time. Is this a normal depletion time when disconnected?

Here in Utah, our high temperatures have been in the 30's and our lows are often in the 20's. But these are in our garage, which is slightly warmer (but not a ton). The batteries are Interstate SRM-24 with 690 cranking amps (550 CCA), 81 amp-hours, and a reserve capacity of 140 at 24 amps.

This may be an Old Wives tale. When I purchased my 2012 Aspen Trail new I was told to never store the batteries on a concrete floor, they will self discharge. I store them in a double 2x6 platform and them are still working great. I charge them every 3-4 months. When I do they recharge in about ep minutes at 4 amps and always work great when I need them. Hopefully this will work for you.

[Leisure Solar]

This is the ol wing nut discharge feature that Interstate puts on their batteries.

Hey, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you...

[Leisure Solar]

Sometimes if you hook up a smart charger backwards, it will periodically sample the voltage to see if hooked up correctly. That will not only not charge the battery, it will slowly discharge the battery.

Or else your charger is bad. I always have a good ac/dc voltammeter around so I can measure what is actually happening. A DC clamp on ammeter costs about $50 on Amazon.

Sitting a battery on concrete is an old wives tale. It may be because the concrete is cold and cold batteries need more charge to keep them above 90%, which is where lead acid should be for maximum life.

[Leisure Solar]

I like franktafl answer the best!

[Viper67z]

The plastic covers are there from the factory to stop accidental connection that could cause a short during shipping and retail storage. The wingnuts etc. are provided as a courtesy. As mentioned before, complete discharge will kill the life of the battery no matter how new it is. I would have the batteries checked. Most auto parts stores will test the batteries for free. Worst case, they should still be under warranty.

[Hart_family]

The battery is a plastic-type case. I then have THAT battery in the black plastic container that they normally stay in when on the trailer. Then that is on the garage concrete. If someone my batteries are "leaking" through two layers/types of plastic into the concrete, then that is news to me. I can easily put them on wood, although a previous comment shared a post where wood brought moisture up through/to the battery too. Gee whiz - do I need to float these in air?

[Hart_family]

Originally Posted by Local150

The wing but theory is crazy and wrong!!! I set mine on wood and put a battery tender on mine no problems,, I'm guessing possibly your charger is messed up. Go to Amazon and get a Battery Tender

I have a much nicer smart charger than a battery tender. It is a Noco G3500, made for batteries up to 120 Ah (my battery is 81 Ah).

[Hart_family]

Originally Posted by sundancer 87

I've said it once so I'll say it again. Any battery that has a CCA MCAA listing is not a deep cycle battery, regardless of the sticker.
All you have is possibly a heavy duty automotive starting battery.

Thanks sundancer. I'm not a battery expert as you know already, but not sure how a large company like Interstate would call this battery a "deep cycle" for RV and Marine if it wasn't. They specifically differentiate their deep cycle batteries from everything else, including automative and starting batteries.

[Hart_family]

Originally Posted by Leisure Solar

Sometimes if you hook up a smart charger backwards, it will periodically sample the voltage to see if hooked up correctly. That will not only not charge the battery, it will slowly discharge the battery.

Or else your charger is bad. I always have a good ac/dc voltammeter around so I can measure what is actually happening. A DC clamp on ammeter costs about $50 on Amazon.

Sitting a battery on concrete is an old wives tale. It may be because the concrete is cold and cold batteries need more charge to keep them above 90%, which is where lead acid should be for maximum life.

I have checked the polarity. The charger charges the batters to 100% without any problem. But I have two batteries and I alternate charging (i.e., charge one one week, the other the next week, and so forth). I was just surprised to find the previously-100% charged batter to be below 25% after one week of sitting after fully charged.

I will have the batteries tested at an auto-part store or something like that.

[wildwest450]

Your batteries are bad. I have two small Interstate deep cycle (no CCA rating) batteries that sit in my garage year round for some work equipment. I haven't touched them in 4 months, no battery tender just sitting in the machine they run, one read 12.66 one read 12.7 with my cheap voltage meter. I hooked them up to my charger one read 90% the other was 92%. My garage doesn't go below 50F in the winter.