Hello, is it safe to store a car battery indoors like a basement? I know a battery gives off toxic/flammable fumes while being charged but does it give off anything while just sitting disconnected. I took the battery out of my classic car for the winter and am thinking it would be better indoors rather then out in the cold but i want to make sure it will be safe to store indoors first. My son plays down in the basement and i don't want him inhaling stuff he shouldn't or I don't want to worry about the battery being in the same room as the furnace. thanks for the help.
Safe to Store Battery Indoors?
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Yes, just don't charge it near an open flame, & I'd keep it away from the kids (don't want to spill the acid). I keep my deep cycle indoors (& charge it occasionally), & it's within 5 feet of both a gas dryer & gas water heater (with a lit pilot)-haven't blown up the house yet!!! Put a block of wood under it, it'll stop the ground discharge.
i once had my car stereo system in my bedroom set up while i was inbetween vehicles. It involved 2 speakers, a 12" subwoofer, and a pioneer car cd player. I used this for the auxilary port from my dvd player so I could up the bass in my room. It was connected to a 12Volt deep cycle battery, and anytime the charge went low I just flicked the switch i had on a 10amp charger beside it.
Maybe lay a piece of cardboard or something over the top so nothing falls and shorts the terminals.
Get a Battery Minder that will maintain the battery over the winter otherwise it will self discharge. That is the best way to handle a battery. The battery will certainly be fine to charge in the spring if you do nothing, but will have sulphated some. Bettery that does not happen. A Battery Minder (a float charger) costs maybe $35 and is well worth it.
Thanks for the replys!
So can anyone tell me if a battery that is not connected to anything gives off fumes? Or is this only when the battery is connected and charging?
I don't plan on charging it indoors, just storing it until the spring. I will put it on a piece of carpet to keep it off of the concrete and maybe I will cover it with a box or something to prevent anything hitting it.
I was going to get a battery tender, but the only thing stopping me is that I have read about the toxic/flammable fumes that come off a battery when charging and my car/garage are right next to me sons bedroom, so I am alittle hesitant leaving that hooked up all winter and decided maybe it would be safer to just take the battery out and store it over the winter and then recharge it next spring.
So can anyone tell me if a battery that is not connected to anything gives off fumes? Or is this only when the battery is connected and charging?
I don't plan on charging it indoors, just storing it until the spring. I will put it on a piece of carpet to keep it off of the concrete and maybe I will cover it with a box or something to prevent anything hitting it.
I was going to get a battery tender, but the only thing stopping me is that I have read about the toxic/flammable fumes that come off a battery when charging and my car/garage are right next to me sons bedroom, so I am alittle hesitant leaving that hooked up all winter and decided maybe it would be safer to just take the battery out and store it over the winter and then recharge it next spring.
Battery will not out-gass while idle. Storage in controlled temp is far preferable to outside. Should still be "topped off" probably once over winter. Only real danger is junior (or others) addidently shorting across posts, which can cause various problems. Believe I'd get one of the plastic boat-rv type battery boxes to store in in. Pretty cheap at Wallie World and others.
The Old Wives Tale of discharge from setting on concrete is JUST THAT!!!
Bob
The Old Wives Tale of discharge from setting on concrete is JUST THAT!!!
Bob
In my basement, I have a Flotec "Battery Backup" sump pump. This unit consists of a submersable pump with hoses/clamps, small fuse box with alarm, float assembly(that triggers the pump on/off) and a marine deep cycle battery(purchaced seperatly) in a vented but enclosed black plastic box. Attached to the battery is a plug in battery minder/tender that monitors the batterys state of charge and charges only when needed. I do check the water/acid level in the battery about every 3 months. I have had this in my basement for about 5-6 years now. Works very well.
My friend sells batteries. He always has at least 100 lead acid car type batteries in the store at any time. He's been there at least twenty years. If there was a problem with having batteries indoors, I'd know about it by now.
Thanks for all the replies. Good points! I guess its going in the basement then for the winter, and thats a good idea, i will look for a battery box next time i'm at the store since I will be doing this every winter. thanks again.
Box is a good idea for couple reasons. Too easy for accidental placing of metalic object (clothes hanger,aluminum foil,etc.) across posts causing accidental sparks or worse(try it some time with a stretched-in-length piece of steel wool!!!!HOOOOWEEEEE!!!!. AND. Don't know Jr's age, but by the time I was 5-6 I'd have been experimenting with every battery powered toy I had tryin' to get that sucker to REALLY show some performance!
Bob
Bob
I've got an APC SmartUPS 1000 connected to a pair of deep cycle marine batteries in my basement. It's been that way for almost a year. Nothing's blown up yet. They're in marine battery boxes. There isn't even any corrosion on the terminals, but that's because they're not Exide batteries. Incidentally, it'll run my Dell Optiplex 260 and the 15" LCD for about 14 hours--and that's running Folding@home. It'd probably go for 20 hours without that running since it uses 100% of the CPU with a corresponding increase in power use.
If it gives you some idea of how much flammable gas these batteries actually generate, I might have to add an ounce of water to each of the cells every 6 months.
If it gives you some idea of how much flammable gas these batteries actually generate, I might have to add an ounce of water to each of the cells every 6 months.
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