Seasonal vehicles and classic cars can sit unused for extended periods of time. Likewise for certain types of fleet vehicles. When a vehicle sits around unused, its battery can quietly deteriorate. The main culprit here is something known as battery sulfation, a chemical reaction that can permanently reduce battery capacity.
Traditional battery maintenance calls for fighting sulfation by supplying a continuous, low-voltage charge. If you have ever used an old-school trickle charger, you are familiar with the concept. But over the years, equipment manufacturers have figured out a better way: smart battery maintenance that actively exercises a battery at regular intervals.
The PRO-LOGIX brand of smart battery maintainers offers this feature. By applying a load, a PRO-LOGIX unit simulates how batteries are used in real-world settings. This is the key to preventing battery-killing sulfation.
Real-World Use Keeps Batteries Alive
A good car battery should last 3-5 years, depending on climate, driving habits, and other factors. The good news is that driving your car every day helps maximize battery life. Daily driving encourages a continuous chemical ‘dance’ that keeps some batteries operating as they should:
- Active Discharge – Starting the car subjects its battery to an intense, sudden electrical load. Internally, rapid discharge breaks up chemical film layers that would otherwise build up on the positive and negative plates. In addition, active lead-acid reactions occur across the plate surfaces.
- Immediate Recharging – The minute the engine starts firing, the car’s alternator starts pumping current back into the battery. This dissolves soft sulfate compounds that would otherwise have the opportunity to harden into permanent structures on the plates.
What you have is essentially a push-and-pull workout among the chemical components inside the battery. This workout actually prevents sulfation. Trickle chargers do not help much because the same chemical components become stagnant. Soft sulfates slowly migrate to the plates, consolidate, and form dense crystalline deposits.
Simulating Load Accomplishes the Same Thing
Some types of vehicle batteries will sit idle for long periods of time. That is just reality. In the RV world, consider the seasonal motor coach. It might not be used for up to six months in a given year. Letting its battery sit unused for that long encourages sulfation.
A smart battery maintainer, like those produced by PRO-LOGIX, solves the sulfation problem by simulating loads at regular intervals. This is accomplished via the unit’s automated exercise phase.
While the battery is fully charged, the unit enters maintenance mode. But rather than delivering a trickle charge to keep battery capacity from falling below a certain threshold, the unit actually pauses. It continues to monitor capacity, though. When capacity dips below the threshold, it applies a load directly across the battery terminals. The load:
- Eliminates Chemical Resistance – The load simulates a starting event that draws current from the battery and clears the chemical layers that otherwise would create internal resistance.
- Triggers Absorption – The load pulls a small amount of capacity out of the battery, creating a chemical gradient. As soon as the charger kicks back into its power phase, the battery is ready to accept a deeper and more saturated charge.
- Dissolves Crystals – The combination of discharge and quick recharge breaks down newly formed lead sulfate crystals before they become permanent deposits.
Even though most consumers are unaware, the daily act of driving their cars helps maintain the batteries that start them. Regular starting and driving prevents the sulfation that acts as the number one battery killer. If you own seasonal vehicles, you want to simulate real-world use during storage. A smart battery maintainer with an exercise phase will do the trick.