indoor storage tips - duster or car cover?
#1
indoor storage tips - duster or car cover?
Hi do you guys who garage your cars use a car cover or a duster or both? My car is now officially semi-retired and will see only occasional weekend actions. I may also need to invest in a battery tender... How many days can the car sit idle without weird fault codes/warning lights popping up due to low battery?
Cheers,
Wolfy
Cheers,
Wolfy
#2
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Don B (08-17-2015)
#4
The following users liked this post:
Don B (08-17-2015)
#5
My car will go 2 months and still start and run fine. I normally do not let it go that long, though. If I know I am going to let it sit for a month, I disconnect the battery and do not use a charger.
The reason I prefer that is I had 4 batteries in a row last year that were always on a tenders, and all went bad within 2 years of new. Not sure what was happening, but it was much more than a coincidence. They were even using 4 different brand tenders. The tenders "tend" to kill a battery if you use them very long term. I now cycle a trickle charger between my "hanger queens", so that each gets a full charge about once per month. In between they just sit un-tended.
I use covers. If you are only going to leave the car indoors, there are some light weight terry covers made for dust protection that are easy to use. I have a Triumph that has not been washed in 3 years, because it never gets driven in the rain and is covered when not in use.
The reason I prefer that is I had 4 batteries in a row last year that were always on a tenders, and all went bad within 2 years of new. Not sure what was happening, but it was much more than a coincidence. They were even using 4 different brand tenders. The tenders "tend" to kill a battery if you use them very long term. I now cycle a trickle charger between my "hanger queens", so that each gets a full charge about once per month. In between they just sit un-tended.
I use covers. If you are only going to leave the car indoors, there are some light weight terry covers made for dust protection that are easy to use. I have a Triumph that has not been washed in 3 years, because it never gets driven in the rain and is covered when not in use.
Last edited by cjd; 08-17-2015 at 09:59 AM.
#6
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#8
Both my Jags are in the garage get dusted every morning, unless they have been in the rain, then they get washed.
The XK8 gets driven about 1 or 2 times a week the XJR gets driven almost everyday. So, battery isn't really a problem. If I am gone for a couple of weeks then I put a battery maintainer ( from Harbor Freight, $9) on the XK8.
The XK8 gets driven about 1 or 2 times a week the XJR gets driven almost everyday. So, battery isn't really a problem. If I am gone for a couple of weeks then I put a battery maintainer ( from Harbor Freight, $9) on the XK8.
#9
#10
The reason I prefer that is I had 4 batteries in a row last year that were always on a tenders, and all went bad within 2 years of new. Not sure what was happening, but it was much more than a coincidence. They were even using 4 different brand tenders. The tenders "tend" to kill a battery if you use them very long term. I now cycle a trickle charger between my "hanger queens", so that each gets a full charge about once per month. In between they just sit un-tended.
I use car covers too indoors for my collector cars. I drive them typically about once a month and it keeps them mostly dust-free so that when its time for the car show, all I have to do is pull off the cover, unplug and go. When I get back, I'll go over them with the California Duster and then put the covers back on. One thing I need to do tho is to launder my car covers. They're getting kinda nasty. You gotta go to a coin-op laundromat to use the big machines and that's kind of an inconvenience.
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The only problem with that theory is that its virtually guaranteed that you'll eventually forget to check it and sometime when you're ready to drive it, the battery will have gone flat. If you don't trust your battery tender to stay plugged in all the time, plug it in to a timer programmed to turn it on for a few hours a week. But the way they're supposed to work is to monitor the battery and turn themselves on only when the battery falls below some threshold.
#13
A trickle charger on the other hand, applies constant voltage to the battery and you want to avoid that.
#14
Hi Wolfy. You're referencing a trickle charger. I use a battery tender. A battery tender will only apply voltage when it drops to a preset level and once the battery is charged, it will shut itself off, so it essentially mirrors an alternator.
A trickle charger on the other hand, applies constant voltage to the battery and you want to avoid that.
A trickle charger on the other hand, applies constant voltage to the battery and you want to avoid that.
If she is sitting for a really long time, just remember to pull up the trunk floor every month and make sure no water has cooked out of the battery causing the nasty crusty stuff. In some of my cars, I'll actually pull the battery and connect it to the tender on the bench. Sorta OCD, but if lead filled, it helps me sleep better.
Cheers,
Jeff
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