Storing batteries

JRSutton

Well-known Member
I just saw this again in another post below, and I didn't want to go off on a tangent from that
posting.

But can somebody explain to me why it's bad to store batteries on a cement floor?

I've always heard this since I was a kid, but I never understood why a battery in a plastic case
would care if it's on cement or wood.

Just curious what the science is behind this.
 
It isn't.

What is important is that storage batteries that are not in service be charged every 4 - 6 weeks.

Dean
 
I have heard that it was more true 40+ years ago, when battery cases were made out of a Bakelite type material. Remember how easy they would break if you dropped one? I think that material was more conductive than modern plastic and could cause some discharge. I still never set a battery directly on the ground or concrete, just an old habit.
About storing them in a heated area, the chemical action inside the battery slows down with lower temperatures, so if their any good they won't freeze and will discharge slower, if their not any good it doesn't matter. On my newer truck where there is some draw for the computer I disconnect one cable and leave it sit 3 months in the winter, with no problem. If I am suspicious of a battery I will remove it so it doesn't freeze and break, leaking acid all over.
 
I think the idea of setting battery on wood comes from back when battery cases where made of hard rubber. The concrete if got damp had a reaction that was not good on the hard rubber case of the battery.
 

It's the difference in temperature between the concrete floor and the room air. This set up a small voltage gradient and this current across the plates .
Set the batteries on a plank of wood.
 
If a battery is fully charged it will not freeze. From what I have read a battery has to get well below -60 degrees before it might start to freeze.If you put them on a battery maintainer you won't have any problems.
 
There may, or may not have been a certain amount of truth to the concrete floor deal back when they were made from hard rubber and all of them leaked from the joints but I have had old timers tell me it was BS even back then.
My advise is if a person choses to worry about this subject he should throw a board under his batteries and save his gray hairs for important things
 
I don't know I was taught that in Auto Electric class and It was in the textbook. I'll try to find it . Read Buicks post above.
 
(quoted from post at 10:39:07 10/13/15) I don't know I was taught that in Auto Electric class and It was in the textbook. I'll try to find it . Read Buicks post above.
.S. today, but it goes back further than hard rubber or bakelite cases. It was wood cases. Wood will take up moisture from the ground/concrete & become conductive & discharge the battery. Today, the battery will be just as well off sitting on mother earth/concrete as if it were suspended in free air. Bank on it!
 
It's 12V DC. No corona, no hysteresis, no eddy currents. The only thing I know of would be the heat sinking of the concrete or a reaction of the acid if spilled or leaked.
 
NOT setting them on a damp moist conductive concrete floor was more of an issue wayyyyyyyyyy back when and the cases didn't have the electrical characteristics todays batteries have. That being said, and even if its minimal harm, Id probably still set them on another surface if at all handy. However, regardless what theyre setting on moisture and foreign material could cause a slight conductive path allowing for a slight discharge although even in perfect no conductive situations a battery still chemically discharges when setting. Bottom line I wouldn't worry much about setting them on concrete unless they were going to stay there for weeks on end in which case moisture accumulation and temp differences could possibly allow for slightly more discharge then the batterys own self discharge rate. Whats MORE important is to not allow a battery to sit in a discharged state causing sulfation.

That's my story n Ima stickin to it

John T Live from Gila Bend Military Campground in Arizona
 
It will cause more damage to the floor than the battery! I have a couple of rusty, etched imprints on my garage floor from the previous owner leaving a leaky battery sitting on the concrete.
 
I'm not a scientist so I can't explain it but it is. My theory is it's a combination of temperature difference, case contaminants, and moisture. I have no idea if new batteries behave the same but I tested the theory several times back when I was working on NG's all the time. One battery on the shelf and one on concrete or earth. After a couple of weeks the battery not on a board would be dead while the other one was fine. This was simply a real world test with pairs of old batteries from high energy demand tractors.

Your batteries so you can do what you want BUT I can guarantee you don't want a farmer walking in your shop and seeing his batteries on the ground.
 
(quoted from post at 11:37:38 10/13/15) I'm not a scientist so I can't explain it but it is. My theory is it's a combination of temperature difference, case contaminants, and moisture. I have no idea if new batteries behave the same but I tested the theory several times back when I was working on NG's all the time. One battery on the shelf and one on concrete or earth. After a couple of weeks the battery not on a board would be dead while the other one was fine. This was simply a real world test with pairs of old batteries from high energy demand tractors.

Your batteries so you can do what you want BUT I can guarantee you don't want a farmer walking in your shop and seeing his batteries on the ground.
Pairs of old batteries" is not a good test. Same battery in both situations, maybe sort of OK test. Use a new battery, set it on concrete, measure Sp Gr & voltage every week for 6 months. I guarantee that it will be fine. Done it, already!
 
Unless it is storing them in a shop with in floor heat, the concrete floor is cooler than the air in the room. The cool floor wicks heat out of the battery so it too is cooler than the air in the room. The cool battery "sweats", in that water from the warmer air condenses on it's case, causing more conductivity of any acid and dirt that may be on the battery case, causing faster self discharge of the battery.
Storing a battery on a material that insulates it from the cool floor, slows this discharge process. keeping the battery clean, free of acid and dry helps too.
 
(quoted from post at 12:10:43 10/13/15) Unless it is storing them in a shop with in floor heat, the concrete floor is cooler than the air in the room. The cool floor wicks heat out of the battery so it too is cooler than the air in the room. The cool battery "sweats", in that water from the warmer air condenses on it's case, causing more conductivity of any acid and dirt that may be on the battery case, causing faster self discharge of the battery.
Storing a battery on a material that insulates it from the cool floor, slows this discharge process. keeping the battery clean, free of acid and dry helps too.
n my 6 month test, my battery was new & clean.
 
(quoted from post at 12:33:53 10/13/15) Yeah it's bad,
You might kick it and bust a toe!

Steve A W
rue, but if you knock it off a 31 inch high bench onto your toe!!!!!!! :twisted:
 
(quoted from post at 10:57:29 10/13/15)
(quoted from post at 10:39:07 10/13/15) I don't know I was taught that in Auto Electric class and It was in the textbook. I'll try to find it . Read Buicks post above.
.S. today, but it goes back further than hard rubber or bakelite cases. It was wood cases. Wood will take up moisture from the ground/concrete & become conductive & discharge the battery. Today, the battery will be just as well off sitting on mother earth/concrete as if it were suspended in free air. Bank on it!

You are on a different topic than my post.
 
(quoted from post at 13:50:05 10/13/15)
(quoted from post at 10:57:29 10/13/15)
(quoted from post at 10:39:07 10/13/15) I don't know I was taught that in Auto Electric class and It was in the textbook. I'll try to find it . Read Buicks post above.
.S. today, but it goes back further than hard rubber or bakelite cases. It was wood cases. Wood will take up moisture from the ground/concrete & become conductive & discharge the battery. Today, the battery will be just as well off sitting on mother earth/concrete as if it were suspended in free air. Bank on it!

You are on a different topic than my post.
HAT?!
 
Interesting -especially about wood cased batteries. THAT makes sense, not placing them on cement. I can see where something like that could carry over as new materials came into use.

Don't get me wrong, I've ALWAYS stored my batteries on concrete floors - it's the rebel in me. I just wondered what exactly I've been rebelling against all these years.

After all those years - turns out I'm not the rebel I thought I was. :)


Thanks all.
 
(quoted from post at 19:23:59 10/13/15) Interesting -especially about wood cased batteries. THAT makes sense, not placing them on cement. I can see where something like that could carry over as new materials came into use.

Don't get me wrong, I've ALWAYS stored my batteries on concrete floors - it's the rebel in me. I just wondered what exactly I've been rebelling against all these years.

After all those years - turns out I'm not the rebel I thought I was. :)


Thanks all.
ome things, we just can't shake.....especially like this that once had substance. They just keep on hanging around!

A similar one: Woman cuts the small bone end off a ham & drops it & the ham in a cooker. A relative asks her why she did that. She said, "because her mother always did". Lady asks her mother why she did it. Mom says, "because your grandmother always did it that way".. So they ask grandma. Grandma, said, "because I never had a pan gig enough to fit the whole ham in it."
 
(quoted from post at 14:31:25 10/13/15)
(quoted from post at 13:50:05 10/13/15)
(quoted from post at 10:57:29 10/13/15)
(quoted from post at 10:39:07 10/13/15) I don't know I was taught that in Auto Electric class and It was in the textbook. I'll try to find it . Read Buicks post above.
.S. today, but it goes back further than hard rubber or bakelite cases. It was wood cases. Wood will take up moisture from the ground/concrete & become conductive & discharge the battery. Today, the battery will be just as well off sitting on mother earth/concrete as if it were suspended in free air. Bank on it!

You are on a different topic than my post.
HAT?!

I'm talking temperature not moisture .
 
Hello JRSutton,

The only reason to put a battery on a piece of wood is to protect the concrete not the battery. If battery top is clean and dry, then it does not matter, go ahead and put it down on concrete!

Guido,
 
I can't tell you why not to store a battery on a concrete floor. I can tell you I removed one from a car I was working on and it set on concrete for over 2 years. Shame on me for not putting a maintainer or at least the charger on it in that time, but I will say when the car was done I put it in and it started the car just fine (no charging, no jump). Maybe I got lucky, but the concrete thing is bs as far as I'm concerned.
 
(quoted from post at 22:34:37 10/15/15) I can't tell you why not to store a battery on a concrete floor. I can tell you I removed one from a car I was working on and it set on concrete for over 2 years. Shame on me for not putting a maintainer or at least the charger on it in that time, but I will say when the car was done I put it in and it started the car just fine (no charging, no jump). Maybe I got lucky, but the concrete thing is bs as far as I'm concerned.

Where do you live ?
 
(quoted from post at 23:56:48 10/15/15)
(quoted from post at 22:34:37 10/15/15) I can't tell you why not to store a battery on a concrete floor. I can tell you I removed one from a car I was working on and it set on concrete for over 2 years. Shame on me for not putting a maintainer or at least the charger on it in that time, but I will say when the car was done I put it in and it started the car just fine (no charging, no jump). Maybe I got lucky, but the concrete thing is bs as far as I'm concerned.

Where do you live ?
he "H" with where he lives! Why don't you give us some specific facts, evidence, where & why the temperature difference will kill the battery in what period of time? Where is the discharge path, & how many microamps is it? Or is this just some insignificant academic argument?
 
Was there ever a wood battery case exposed to electrolyte, or just a wood box containing / protecting glass battery cells.
 
doesn't matter where/how you store it.
A 'smart' battery maintainer once in a while, and keep it clean.
no issues.
(the clean is important, if it doesn't look like you bought it yesterday, get out yer rag.)

couple of opinions...not right or wrong..just opinions..
best place to store a battery is where it belongs, just pull a cable and keep it clean and charged.
and like some beliefs, I believe a battery has its lifespan determined when it is 'born'
I've coddled and cared for batteries that died anyway, and I've had batteries that except for a tender, I don't care for at all
(like the one I put in my NAA in 2000 or thereabouts)
that just keep working.
 

no way a concrete floor is more conductive than a steel battery box. Old wives tale at best.

Battery containers are designed to prevent any shorting or discharge through bottom, sides or top today.

and concrete floor is no colder than the work bench????? if anything, touching mother earth should make it a tiny bit warmer???

All batteries will self discharge if stored long enough through chemical reactions internally. Even a carbon dry cell has a shelf life. Has nothing to do with being stored on concrete, wood or a tile floor. And temperature can change the speed of chemical reactions. Cold storage could make the cell store or last longer, but also being cold reduces output vrs being warmer.
 
I don't know if there is any truth to it or not but I just paid 80 dollars for a motorcycle battery. I would like to keep from doing that more than necessary. I use a battery tender. And I do not put them on concrete! It would be interesting to put a data recorder on a battery charger and see if the battery pulled more amps over time. After 2 weeks, switch batteries...

Aaron
 
(quoted from post at 20:49:56 10/19/15) I don't know if there is any truth to it or not but I just paid 80 dollars for a motorcycle battery. I would like to keep from doing that more than necessary. I use a battery tender. And I do not put them on concrete! It would be interesting to put a data recorder on a battery charger and see if the battery pulled more amps over time. After 2 weeks, switch batteries...

Aaron
on't cross the path of a black cat or step on a sidewalk crack either!!
 

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