Hey all you smart people,

"my friend" has a dumb question, and he's embarrassed to ask cuz he doesnt wanna look like a twit, so me being a good pal and all, I said I would ask on here "for him"

"my friend" has a F150, and he keeps a box in the bed full of all kinds of emergency gear that he might need.

2 things he has are a pair of Motorola 2 way radios, and one of those electric rechargeable power units that you can plug stuff into and use it to boost your battery.

He always keeps these items charged up, and leaves them in his truck in case he needs them.

Now, since "my friend" lives in a place with very cold winter temperatures, will these items lose their charge when the sub zero temperatures arrive?
Or will they stayed charged up through the cold winter if he never uses them.

Thanks in advance, I will pass the answer on to "my friend"

 

Batteries are supposed to keep their charge better in the cold. Just keep them fully charged. Of course if a car battery has a bad cell it is usually discovered during the first cold spell...

So ... I do not know ... I keep an iPod in my truck all the time. The iPod seems to be doing better than I thought it would in the extreme high temps/high humidity. It has been in the truck since January of last year and I have not had any trouble out of it.

 

OK, good news, that makes me feel better... er... I mean "my friend" haha

Just finished charging everything up, and packed everything in there neat and tidy.
I am ready for winter now!

Thanks

 

I would have to agree with screwfun. I know people that keep batteries in their frig because they are suppose to last longer. However you may have some say that the cold will discharge them sooner. The reason they may say that is because most people have problems with their car batteries in the winter when its cold. Usally not holding a charge or hard starting.

Usally the reason for that is not so much that the cold is hard on a car battery as far as charge but rather when it is cold it takes ALOT more amps from the battery to start a cold stiff motor. Thus if the battery is begining to go bad, as screwfun mentioned a bad cell you will notice it during winter (cold weather) when the battery needs about all the juice it has to start the car. During the warm months the battery don't have to work nearly as hard. Thats why you see batterys rated in (Cold Cranking Amps).

So after me blabbing on here for a while you, oops, I mean your friend should be all set.

Unless of course you have 50w oil in any of your toys, then your going to have a problem in the cold

 

Well there are other things about cold and batteries, The cold slows the chemical reaction process to produce electricity . That is why they rate cold cranking amps and people keep their batteries in the fridge .

 

now yu got me....

In cold "at least in this country" the battery would loose some charging in the cold . and my way to get some power to a worn óut battery is to put it on the owen.. and during winter time i see guys with jumpcables everywhere..

 

Habibi

Just FYI, I'm sure you know, but I've come across this tons of times with various individuals. Those things you plug in to boost your battery (in the cig lighter) are just fine if you have a good battery that just isn't getting recharged (bad alt., etc).

However, if you have a bad cell in the battery, those plug in things will do you no good. You need one of those things that will clamp to the battery and can delivery some serious peak amps to help you out (not a recharger).

Just my experience, but it's few and far between that my battery isn't getting recharged and I don't know about it. All the times I've needed help with a battery, it's because who knows how many cells have bit the dust and the battery is just plain gone. You need a jump then or a portable jumper.

I carry a portable jumper with me at all times...

 

Cold temperatures will not cause a battery to discharge. Cold temperatures will slow down chemical reactions in a battery, therefore, the battery will hold it's charge longer in cold rather than warm weather. By the same token, since battery output is dependant on a chemical reaction, if that reaction is slowed down, the electrical output will be lower while the total available amps over time will be similar to a battery at STP. The chemistry doesn't change. It just happens at a slower rate when cold.

I have friends who come here for the winter only. They put the batteries from their two cars into a refrigerator in the garage. When they return, they put the batteries back in the cars and the engines start right up. The batteries are over 6 years old.