house battery maintenance

Ok All( Esp Ron)

Today I was out in the pole barn and while I was out there I took the house batteries out of the mh for winter storage. Obviously, the children and my spouse were away so I has some free time. My pole barn is not heated.  I noticed that the battery pan has the very small beginnings of rust.  I am thinking that maybe I should spray the pan with undercoating material? Ideas and thoughts on this?  Also, now that I have the batteries out and on my wooden workbench, what the heck do I do with them to maintain them over the winter? Thoughts and ideas here are also much appreciated.

Thanks.

DJM

Although not a PC owner, What I did was clean the pan and like you sprayed the pan with undercoating, then cut a heavy rubber mat for the pan. I have a weird battery set up. I have two 6v and 1 12v the six volts in sires and then the two 6v parallel to the 12v. The six volts were older so I installed a cut-off blade on the 12v. Now I use the 2 6v and when needed put the 12v in line. After all that I purchased a Battery Tender, and when on shore power it plugged in for the 12v. The Battery Tender is a good product. Just my opinion. billy

billy has some good advise, a battery tender works great.

About the battery tray, mine too has been through the rusties.  The tray comes out without too much trouble.  I suggest to remove, take off the glides, sand, prime, and paint two coats with Rustoleum paint and rusty metal primer.

I fear undercoating products will be hard to get off if rust returns and you then decide to paint.  I do like the rubber mat idea.  I'll have to add that in mine.

If you are daring, buy a gallon of Muriatic acid from your local hardware or home improvement store.  Handle with care in outdoor conditions as the fumes will get to you quickly.  It will remove 100% of rust from steel FAST.  The hard part will be finding a tray large enough to submerged the tray in.  The acid can be diluted with water, 1/4 strength and works great.  When the rust is gone, rinse with water, blow dry, then prime and paint.

Good point Ron.

Thanks guys. Sounds like I have something to do over the holiday vacation.

DJM

While you have the tray off, I'd recommend you install the mud shield I believe is shown in this forum.  It's easy to do and really keeps the battery area clean.

Yep, you are referring to my article with pictures mentioned here, Item #18:  http://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php?topic=8.0

Detailed here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/37432012@N08/sets/72157622075091526/

I would recommend a slightly different approach, as outlined below:
1.   Remove the batteries from the tray.
2.   Wash the tray down with a Baking Soda mixture to neutralize the acid.
3.   Rinse thoroughly with clear water and let it dry completely.
4.   Remove as much of the old paint and rust as possible with a wire brush.
5.   Spray the entire tray with a rust converter (Rust Check Rust Converter or similar), which stops the rusting and converts any remaining rust to a paintable primer.
6.   After the coating is completely dry, paint the tray however you want.

I’ve done this quite a few times in automotive and marine applications and it holds up much better than any rust inhibiting primer or paint I've found.

Regarding a Battery Tender (or other charger):
Check the battery’s water levels regularly.