6v Battery

[morrisminor]

How long should a 6v battery last ?

[Peter Johnson]

My last two batteries (type 421) have only lasted 3-4 years on the saloon. Although I only kept them charged using the car’s 3 brush dynamo.

I have changed to a bosch battery which is a tight squeeze into the battery box and that has been running in the cup model for a few years now. But I do try to keep it topped up with a maintenance charger.

Peter

[Ian McGowan]

When I bought the chummy - Feb. 2009 it had a fairly new Exide 80Ah battery, say around 2008. This battery lasted until 2018 when I replaced it with another Exide 80Ah. I do take care to charge the battery every month when the car isn't in frequent use and the car has a battery isolating switch that ensures that there is no unforeseen current leakage when out of use.

[Bill Dixon]

I have just changed an Exide 80Ah after 7years.

[Ian M]

Regular use of a battery conditioner is reported to be a major factor in maximising battery life. AccuMate is one brand name that springs to mind and I possess a couple of those myself, older models. Recently, I obtained a CTEK 6v conditioner unit from Tayna at the same time as ordering a new Exide 80Ah battery, although I have yet to put it through its paces.

[Andy Bennett]

Mine is nearly 8 and working fine, is permanently on an Aldi/Lidl trickle charger.
previous one not on trickle charger died at 2 yrs.
Andy

[morrisminor]

I think I shall have to get myself a trickle charger along with a new battery as it only keeps a charge for 12 hours,  if I'm lucky !

[Colin Morgan]

After I had a 6v battery fail that was only a couple of years old, I realised that whilst I intended keeping it topped up over the winter, in practice I had left it a good while. Now I keep a note of the date of the last charge - it is amazing how quickly time flies and a month has passed by...

Colin

[Bob Culver]

What constitutes a charge? As batteries age the ah capacity effectively diminishes. Even so if genuinely fully charged should hold better than that. Usually one cell fails before others, recharging then overcharges the rest reducing their lives. If you can draw acid, a hydrometer usually reveals odd cells. Or great differences in gassing stages.
Regular deep discharging is very damaging (Gaurantees do not apply to vehicles without regualtors.) In a past life I had contact with telephone cable jointers. Once a lead wiped joint was open they worked around the clock to complete. Used batteries for lighting, regularly flattening them. The batteries had an extreme short life.

A modest charge rate in the car backed  by a good float charger seems the ideal. Perhaps with a traditonal 4 or 5 amp for occassions when significantly flattened, as prolonged charging from low at low rate is not ecommended..

The advent of more or less sealed Low Maintencace batteries has complicated things. Sources state not supposed to be charged beyond 14.2/7.1 at reasonable rate, yet modern regulators apparently operate at 14.6. These batteries hold charge with almost no loss. Ironically, in modrn cars the diodes and computer etc drain significantly!

(Even with traditonal batteries tolerant of overcharging, I dont know how owners of other old cars get along. Ford 8s for example have no voltage regulator and no Summer charge. must hammer batteries on trips.)

[morrisminor]

Anyone had experience of a Enduroline 6v battery as oppose to a exide one ?