In sci.electronics.repair on Mon, 23 May 2005 23:00:20 -0500 "Bob
Shuman" posted:


I have found from experience that if you keep a lead acid battery fully
charged using a trickle charger, and make sure the water is kept full as
well that it will keep for many , many years.

Bob

I guess this is OT, but I like this story. In 1966 I had a '50 Olds
with a 6-volt battery, not strong enough unless totally charged to
start my big V-8 in the cold Chicago winter (which is why they started
using 12 volt) I had a 1 amp 6volt/12volt charger, given to me by my
cousin who gave me the car.

I put the charger inside the hood and plugged into an extension cord
whenever I was home, but 6 volts was not enough, and I then set it to
12 volts. And the car started all winter. Inside the charger, the
glass circuit breaker (which looked like a long glass neon light or a
small xmas tree light) tripped ever 30 seconds and reset automatically
5 seconds later, and it ran like that day and night for 4 months. I
guess that is about 300,000 times. Years later I had to replace the
selenium rectifier with regular diodes, but now it is almost 40 years
later and the charger still works fine, including its circuit breaker.

The extension cord was something I made up from heavy twisted-pair
wire, with steel strands it seemed, rather than copper. It plugged
into the pantry of the place we lived and two of the four months,
although suspended at both ends, the wire was under the snow for 15
feet, but that didn't cause any problem either. Not even a blown fuse
inside where the house.

Meirman
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