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From: camter28@astro.ocis.temple.edu (Carter Ames)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Lead ACid Batteries PART 2!!!
Message-ID: <1993Apr25.013013.13717@cronkite.ocis.temple.edu>
Date: 25 Apr 93 01:30:13 GMT
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   I thought the first thread was hilarious, so here goes another post.

Some more background information on what has happened to my poor batteries.

  One year, I left the batteries in the garage.  The garage is Unheated.  
They were left in their places that they needed to be.  One in the riding
lawnmower (what a lux) and one in each motorcycle.  The battery in the 
riding lawnmower was about 3-4 years old, and one of the cycle batteries 
was new, and one was around 5 years old.  Upon spring time, I discovered
that all of the batteries were dead, and needed to be recharged.  They all
worked properly, except for the older ones, and they had to be replaced 
about halfway through the summer.  (they had originally been stored
in the garage, and I think I remember my dad charging them in spring)
  Last year, I decided to bring them in to the basement, which has two parts.
one is dirt and brick, and the other is concrete.  I brought in all three, and
discovered in the spring, (about 15 days ago) that not only were the batteries
dead, but when I put the charger on them, the charger said "HMMMMMMMM" and 
the amp-meter read around 1,000,000,000  (In other words, it was pinned)
the internal circut tripped, and I went on to the other batteries.  They
were the same.  
   Realizing that we still had 2 GIGANTIC sailboat batteries, also lead
acid, I decided to put the charger on them.  (these had been sitting for around 1 and a half years, on the brick and dirt part) and noticed that they only
needed a small charge, around 2 hours or so on trickle.  I tested them
by using them at the local gas station for giving jump starts, and they
worked fine for around 25 of 'em. 
  This leads me to believe one of several things.
     1) I bought really #$%tty batteries last year. (sorta true)
     2) the concrete has something to do with the discharge of the
        batteries.
     3) There was enough moisture to short out the terminals in the 
          room where the concrete is, 
     4) The dirt room was able to absorb the moisture in the air
         better than concrete.

(BTW, I can almost waterski in the dirt room)  

   Any other ideas?
    *could be the aliens, anything is possible.*
 
