Time can be both a friend and an enemy to classic car restoration. Car owners need plenty of time between shows to work on their engines, touch up the paint, and polish all that chrome. But a car battery sitting unused for longer periods of time can discharge and ultimately die. And unfortunately, the thing that silently kills car batteries can’t be seen. Car owners don’t know it exists until it’s too late.
Classic car owners generally know enough to maintain their batteries between shows. Yet there is a misconception within the community that battery chargers and maintainers are the same thing. Technically, they are two different things with different purposes – even though some manufacturers make dual-purpose units.
The Battery Charger for Emergencies
Clore Automotive, makers of some of the most respected battery chargers and maintainers in the business, describes the charger as a high-volume pump. It sends a lot of electricity into a dead battery very quickly. Its primary purpose is to shove as much power back into a depleted battery as is safely possible.
The point of the battery charger is to address starting emergencies. Another way to put it is this: recovery is the goal. Maybe a classic car owner left the lights on over the weekend. It’s time to take the car home, but he can’t get it started. A brief amount of time spent on a charger will solve that problem.
The downside of battery chargers is their linear operation. Most chargers deliver a constant stream of power while they remain on. So if an owner were to leave his classic car connected to a charger for a full month, the battery would likely end up overcharged. The battery could even boil, damaging the internal electrolyte and plates.
The Battery Maintainer for Wellness
If a battery charger is a tool for the automotive emergency room, the battery maintainer is a tool for the automotive wellness spa. Its primary goal is maintaining and preserving battery health. Clore Automotive says that its battery maintainers are technologically advanced devices designed intentionally for long-term connections. Through microprocessor control and a certain level of automation, a PRO-LOGIX battery maintainer can continually communicate with the battery it is connected to for the purposes of adjusting its maintenance procedures.
The benefit of such smart battery maintenance is preventing chemical damage that can ultimately kill unused batteries. So even when a classic car battery sits for months at a time, it doesn’t degrade through natural sulfation and stratification. Simply by keeping it charged with a smart battery maintainer, the owner can extend a battery’s life by several years.
The Parasitic Drain Dilemma
Classic car owners may feel like they do not need to invest in a smart battery maintainer because their cars don’t experience parasitic drain. That is not necessarily true. While classic cars aren’t equipped with all the electronics modern cars possess, parasitic drain can still occur thanks to clocks, after-market sound systems, and even slight imperfections or damage to old wiring.
Parasitic drain encourages sulfation. As you might know, automotive batteries naturally discharge even when they aren’t being used. During discharge, sulfation occurs. A smart battery maintainer simulates real-time battery loads to minimize sulfation and break up any sulfate crystals that do accumulate.
When it comes to keeping that classic car battery in tip-top shaped, the better option is a battery maintainer. Battery charges should be reserved for those emergency situations when a car owner needs a quick burst of energy to get things going. Even then, a portable jump starter might be a better tool.
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