Batteries

Paul LeClair

Paul LeClair

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Staff member
Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I have 8 motorcycles that have been in unheated winter storage in a 40 foot cargo container. Temps have been down as low as - 40 C over the winter. Just rescued the first two of them and have brought them to the house I have moved to, which presently has an unheated small 1960's single garage.

While I was preparing to move everything went into storage very quickly in the late fall, the only storage prep for the bikes was fuel stabilizer, and I had no where to keep the batteries even if I had removed them, so I just left them in the bikes.

Brought home the 79 1200 and the 84 RGS Executive from the cargo container the other day, as they were the two bikes I was working on up to just before I moved, and neither is fully re assembled yet.

Anyway, checked the battery just now on the 79 1200. An Odyssey PC 680, several years old. On my fancy digital charger/reconditioner, it showed a 95 % charge as the bike came out of storage, and took just a few minutes to come back to 100% charge. Really amazing.

While I doubt I will have the same success with all the batteries in the other 7 bikes, here is hoping....... A few more of them have the Odyssey PC 680 as well, although the Moto Guzzi and the Harley have conventional "wet" batteries that I suspect I may have to replace, we'll see.

I have several different versions of garage plans now drawn and am just having building costs estimated on various alternatives, hoping to get started on demolition of the existing old garage in early spring.

Paul LeClair
 
If your batteries were reasonably well charged before you put them into storage they should be OK, even the wet cell ones. The freezing point of the electrolyte depends on the mixture ratio of water and sulphuric acid. A fully charged battery is mostly acid which freezes at around -50C. A discharged battery is mostly water which freezes at 0C. If a battery freezes, the expanding water crystals can damage the lead plates or the battery casing. If that happens they're buggered.

Cold storage for batteries is like anything else, it'll actually preserve them in a kind of suspended animation so long as they don't freeze and rupture any of their vital parts.
 
Of course on our old bikes there is no draw on the battery when it is sitting so a g?od fully charged battery in the cold stores well. Not the case  on newer bikes or cars that have clocks etc drawing cuurent.....they don't last so long in Canadian winter unless charged before the battery goes flat and freezes.
 
henrywillms said:
Of course on our old bikes there should be no draw on the battery when it is sitting so a g?od fully charged battery in the cold stores well. Not the case  on newer bikes or cars that have clocks etc drawing cuurent.....they don't last so long in Canadian winter unless charged before the battery goes flat and freezes.
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Fixed, have seen a few dud regulators cause current draw on these old girls..

Fact is,  with modern AGM batteries you will find that their shelf life actually is actually extended with lower temperatures... hence you Odyssey findings

 
put the RGS battery on the digital charger/reconditioner tonight. Also an Odyssey PC 680 battery, also a few years old, also still roughly 95% of its charge after its hibernation at -40 C in an unheated cargo container all winter so far. Really impressive.

As the cargo container has no power anywhere near it, I recently bought a beat up non running used inverter/generator http://www.powerhouse-products.com/powerhouse_product/ph3100ri/ for $100 on a bet with myself that I can get it running and producing power. And, I need something to do with my hands....... If I can get the inverter/generator running I am going to tote it over to the storage container and spend some time running the digital charger/reconditioner on the other 6 batteries, give me an excuse to hang out with my bikes  :D :D

Paul LeClair
 
Paul, you're a gambling man, I can see that!  I'd be terrified that one or another of the batteries stored in such a cold environment would burst and puke acid over the painted and polished bits.
As far as the PC680 batteries go, you could very well find a mixed bag there.  The PC 680 in my Mirage is at least 10 years old and it's still as strong as a bull.  I've bought other PC680s since then that went tits up after a couple or three years.  Very odd.  ???  I'll be interested to learn of your experience.
 
Batteries don't do much at -40C (ever tried to start a car with a battery that cold?) so I dunno whether it'll actually take a charge at that temp. Maybe the charging current will warm it up enough for it to come alive.

Personally I wouldn't bother. If they were charged when they went into storage they'll in all likelihood still be charged (as you've found with the Odysseys). Any battery that was flat enough to freeze solid when it went into cold storage is likely to be knackered beyond salvation. Either way, charging them won't achieve much.

Paul, this has me wondering whether your regularly used vehicles have heaters that need to be plugged in overnight. When I worked in Antarctica, any vehicles that were parked outside had to be plugged into a mains power outlet while not in use. They were fitted with electric sump heaters to stop the engine oil turning to wax, as well as heated pads in the battery trays.
 
I thought all cars in Canada had that plus outlets and plugs at all parking spots, that appears to be the rumour I heard over the years.
 
certainly that is the case is Scandinavia vince.
What I have found here in UK where temps rarely go below -5c and sometimes not even below zero is that all batteries seem to stay charged if actually disconnected on one end. This applies to my digger, tractor, generator, Chevvy and two units in my caravan, they all seem to survive if I take the live cable off completely, and the only one that uses power when sitting asleep is the chevvy (clock) .
I have no idea why, but it works for me, I noticed when at a local transport storage yard that a large number of RBS artic tractors were in storage and all had their batteries disconnected, could be the same reason. Why a bank would have 20 artics standing idle for 6 months gets me, makes no sense.
CLEM
 
Maybe not darn sarf where you are Clem, but can get a wee bit colder than that up here.
Coldest I recall one year in the 70s was -25?C.
Even last winter where I was it got down to around minus 10, plus chill factor on top.
 
Vince said:
I thought all cars in Canada had that plus outlets and plugs at all parking spots, that appears to be the rumour I heard over the years.
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Only about half of Canada now ........ the millenials haven't figured out what plugging in for the night means.

I have an original Odyssey PC battery in my 2001 Guzzi that is still going strong. I have two battery tenders and an Optimate battery charger that I cycle around my 6 bikes for the winter. Usuaully one week on one week off. So far only one battery has failed in the last 5 years ....... Ducati Monster battery that seemed to have shed a lot of fluid and I didn't notice. I topped it up and it does still work but I don't trust it so got a new one and use the old one for bench testing stuff.
 
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