On Monday, February 4, 2019 at 5:57:03 PM UTC-5, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Tom Del Rosso wrote:
If you turn over an engine periodically to keep it charged, how long do
you run it to make up for the charge lost in starting?

In this case it's my neighbor's 87 Buick Regal while he's in the
hospital.

5 min once every two weeks should be sufficient assuming the
battery and charging system is good. Turn everything off except
engine. It will need to be run at least 1,000 rpm for that time
period.

I've always been told that short run times creates condensation and acid in the motor oil from incomplete warmup - get her good and hot to drive off moisture. I realize the OP was asking about charging times, but he'd be better served by letting that old Buick idle for a good half an hour every few weeks, or better yet, have OP take the old girl for a blast.


OTH, Harbor Freight has cheap little float chargers but 120v power
will be needed. A friend uses one of these when out of the country:
https://www.harborfreight.com/automa...ger-42292.html


NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Don't suggest a solution (even a cheap one) that comes from a credit card lest Arlen Holder or one of his socks pitches a fit!!!