Porsche Battery Maintainer

Hey, quick question, what color does the light shine when the battery is charging? Green or Red?

What color does it shine when the battery is fully charged??

I want to make sure it's working correctly before I cover the car!

Thanks!

[NickCats]

Hey Bmus !

Funny you should mention that, I just got my battery maintainer from Epic yesterday

From the owner's manual :

"The indicator light on the charger is lit during the charging process and goes out when the battery is fully charger (capacity reached)."

Hope this helps...

Nick

http://www.epiqautosport.com/pro_battery_maintainer.php

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

I would not recommend leaving the battery in the car during the storage period. Even on a maintainer, the battery will off-gas Hydrogen gas and moisture which you don't really want to concentrate in a closed area. It may not hurt anything to leave it in place, but it's probably better not to. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Originally Posted by NickCats

Hey Bmus !

Funny you should mention that, I just got my battery maintainer from Epic yesterday

From the owner's manual :

"The indicator light on the charger is lit during the charging process and goes out when the battery is fully charger (capacity reached)."

Hope this helps...

Nick

http://www.epiqautosport.com/pro_battery_maintainer.php

THANKS, Nick! I was being lazy today.

[z12358]

Bmuss, lazy? I have yet to order the tarp, the anti-flatspot rubber, the battery maintainer, the car cover, AND schedule the oil change. Just can't face the reality of not driving my Box for MONTHS! Today I had one of the best solo-runs ever. Three hours, and all the best twisties had no traffic at all. OK, now I have to buck up and start preparing for winter.

Z.

[z12358]

OK, the Tequipment Battery Maintainer can only be used through the cigarette lighter, right? Since I have no power where the car is stored I plan to take the battery out and maintain it indoors. What maintainers come with clamps for this scenario? ( I suppose most standard ones?) Any non-Porsche-OEM maintainers someone could recommend? How long can I keep the battery indoors without a maintainer before it really starts needing one?

Thx,
Z.

[z12358]

Would this one do the job?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BATTERY-CHARGER-MAINTAINER-1-5-AMP-SCHUMACHER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ63700QQihZ02 0QQitemZ300039234395QQrdZ1

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by z12358

Would this one do the job?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BATTERY-CHARGER-MAINTAINER-1-5-AMP-SCHUMACHER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ63700QQihZ02 0QQitemZ300039234395QQrdZ1

Hi,

That is the one which I have used for more than 5 years on my Esprit and I bought another one for the Boxster battery. Shumacher is a well respected name in Battery Chargers and Maintainers. You won't have any problems with it, but you might want to shop around locally for it at Target, Walmart, Fleet Farm and the like, I paid slightly less than what the ebay item is and that was without S/H...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[z12358]

Thanks Jim! Schumacher it will be.
Z.

How long does it take to become fully charged? Are we talking hours or days here? Thanks.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

How long does it take to become fully charged? Are we talking hours or days here? Thanks.

Hi,

It depnds on your starting point. But, usually, only about 4-6 Hrs. But, the maintainer keeps the battery from discharging by sensing a current drop and bringing the charger online to charge it back up. Because of this, the maintainer doesn't need the 3-10 Amps a Normal Charger uses and this is beneficial to the battery by eliminating the possibility that lead-sulphate crystals are permanently formed on the plates.

Sulphation is the formation of lead sulphate on the plates. As a lead acid type battery discharges, lead sulphate must form. There can be no discharge of such a battery without the formation of lead sulphate, it is the natural product of the chemical reactions by virtue of which current may be drawn from the battery.

When a battery has been discharged until the voltage per cell has fallen to the voltage limits, considerable portions of the lead peroxide and spongy lead remain on the plates. The sulphate which is then present is in a finely divided, porous condition, and can readily be changed back to lead peroxide and spongy lead by charging the battery.

If the discharge is continued after the voltage has fallen below it's voltage limits, an excessive amount of sulphate will form. It will fill up the pores in the active materials, and covers up much of the active material which remains, so that it is difficult to impossible to change the sulphate back to active material.

Plus, the expansion of active material which takes place as the sulphate forms is then so great that it causes the active material to break off from the plate. It is for this reason that sulphated plates should be charged at a low rate. A standard Charger (3-10 Amps) will get the battery up to charge faster, but at the expense of the battery's overall health and prolonged life.

Finally, there is a tendency for lead sulphate crystals to "tree" over from the negative to the positive plates, especially in an idle battery. Treeing will occur through the pores of the separators and as there is no flow of electrolyte in or out of the plates, the lead "trees" are not disturbed in their growth. A freshening charge causes this flow to take place, and break up the "trees" which would otherwise gradually short circuit the cells. This is another reason why using a maintainer is preferable to letting the battery sit for the off season and then recharging it in the Spring. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Thanks, Jim.

I checked the Battery Maintainer when I got home today. In total, it took about 2 days to charge-up and for the battery maintainer light to go off. I did not think it would take this long.

I will cover it tomorrow (still need to wash the windows and buff off some Zaino on the trunk lid) and then wake 'er up in March!

[MikenOH]

When I first hooked up my unit last fall, it was on for 24 hours + before the green light came on.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Thanks, Jim.

I checked the Battery Maintainer when I got home today. In total, it took about 2 days to charge-up and for the battery maintainer light to go off. I did not think it would take this long.

I will cover it tomorrow (still need to wash the windows and buff off some Zaino on the trunk lid) and then wake 'er up in March!

Hi,

Well, that's possible, as I said, they put out a very low amperage and it depends on your starting point (remember the Boxster really chews up the juice just sitting there), condition, age, and history of the battery etc. Plus, I don't know what the amperage is exactly on the Porsche unit. I've seen them from 0.3Amp to 1.5Amp, that's quite a difference.

Mine's already cocooned for the Winter. Mrs. MNBoxster has been away the past 2 weeks doing the AT&T Championship in San Antonio and I've been doing it piecemeal.

She gets in tonight about 9PM, then she's off again for another 2 weeks Wed. 7am for the Tour Championship in Atlanta, her last tourney for '06. That's when I'll be getting her S-Type all set for Winter - Snows, Clean-up, Oil Change (at the Dealer - free), Wax, etc.

I think I'm already gettin' the shakes...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[teacher]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

It depnds on your starting point. But, usually, only about 4-6 Hrs. But, the maintainer keeps the battery from discharging by sensing a current drop and bringing the charger online to charge it back up. Because of this, the maintainer doesn't need the 3-10 Amps a Normal Charger uses and this is beneficial to the battery by eliminating the possibility that lead-sulphate crystals are permanently formed on the plates.

Sulphation is the formation of lead sulphate on the plates. As a lead acid type battery discharges, lead sulphate must form. There can be no discharge of such a battery without the formation of lead sulphate, it is the natural product of the chemical reactions by virtue of which current may be drawn from the battery.

When a battery has been discharged until the voltage per cell has fallen to the voltage limits, considerable portions of the lead peroxide and spongy lead remain on the plates. The sulphate which is then present is in a finely divided, porous condition, and can readily be changed back to lead peroxide and spongy lead by charging the battery.

If the discharge is continued after the voltage has fallen below it's voltage limits, an excessive amount of sulphate will form. It will fill up the pores in the active materials, and covers up much of the active material which remains, so that it is difficult to impossible to change the sulphate back to active material.

Plus, the expansion of active material which takes place as the sulphate forms is then so great that it causes the active material to break off from the plate. It is for this reason that sulphated plates should be charged at a low rate. A standard Charger (3-10 Amps) will get the battery up to charge faster, but at the expense of the battery's overall health and prolonged life.

Finally, there is a tendency for lead sulphate crystals to "tree" over from the negative to the positive plates, especially in an idle battery. Treeing will occur through the pores of the separators and as there is no flow of electrolyte in or out of the plates, the lead "trees" are not disturbed in their growth. A freshening charge causes this flow to take place, and break up the "trees" which would otherwise gradually short circuit the cells. This is another reason why using a maintainer is preferable to letting the battery sit for the off season and then recharging it in the Spring. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

hi, you sound like you know your stuff, what is the best maintainer to buy? I need something that lasts at least 3 weeks...last time I went on vacation I had to buy a battery, and you know that ain't cheap! Any ideas?

[jeffsquire]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

I would not recommend leaving the battery in the car during the storage period. Even on a maintainer, the battery will off-gas Hydrogen gas and moisture which you don't really want to concentrate in a closed area. It may not hurt anything to leave it in place, but it's probably better not to. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

___________________________________________
Aren't there off-gases anyway even when the car is not being charged? Even if it's not, this seems like a minor concern, or am I wrong?

[NickCats]

Originally Posted by teacher

hi, you sound like you know your stuff, what is the best maintainer to buy? I need something that lasts at least 3 weeks...last time I went on vacation I had to buy a battery, and you know that ain't cheap! Any ideas?

I picked up this one from one of our sponsors :

http://www.epiqautosport.com/pro_battery_maintainer.php#?

Hope this helps...

Nick

[teacher]

Originally Posted by teacher

hi, you sound like you know your stuff, what is the best maintainer to buy? I need something that lasts at least 3 weeks...last time I went on vacation I had to buy a battery, and you know that ain't cheap! Any ideas?

Thanks for all your posts, especially MNBoxster, I do have a neighbor who was willing to start up the car during my absence. About how many days should the car be started up? I'm thinking 4 days, to be sure, and it is a relatively new battery...thanks for all your suggestions.
Bill

[teacher]

Hi all,
Thanks for your help and information for the battery charger situation. Well, I bought a charger from Porsche...cost $75 so I didn't complain about that. And the red light is still on after 2 days, even though the battery is relatively new (1 year old), but my question is, how much electricity is required to keep the battery maintained? I plugged my charger into the landlord's outlet, and no where on the lease does it say that this is unacceptable...but still, how much of a jump in an electricity bill should be expected for charging the car for three weeks? Anyone online now or into tomorrow who could help me would really be appreciated! Thanks in advance =)
Bill

[teacher]

Originally Posted by jeffsquire

___________________________________________
Aren't there off-gases anyway even when the car is not being charged? Even if it's not, this seems like a minor concern, or am I wrong?

I have covered parking with good ventilation, I think =)
Bill