6 volt battery 1947 Plymouth business coupe

[cerick305]

I’ve replaced my 6 volt battery in my 1947 Plymouth two years ago and it appears I now need to replace it again.   I’ve only had the Plymouth for 4 years, is this common or should I be buying a special 6 volt battery?

 

thanks,

 

chad

 

[Reg Evans]

I keep all my buggies hooked up to trickle chargers to extend the battery life. I was typically replacing batteries every 3 or 4 years and am hoping this will extend their lives another 1 or 2.

[maok]

Attach a battery charger on it for a few days to see how it goes. Often fairly new batteries will recover. Our old cars don't do much for the battery life, especially if you leave it not running for a long time and the voltage regulators from the generator are not the best at keeping them charged well.

 

I usual expect about 5 years from my a battery in a modern car.

[P15-D24]

Drive it everyday?   Then it would be unusual. Occasional driving is hard on batteries, invest in a smart trickle charger like Battery Tender.   I've also had much better luck with Optima batteries, usually seeing 10 plus years of service while keeping them maintained on a trickle charger. 

[cerick305]

I will try charging it for a few days and trickle charging it and see if it helps. Thanks all for the input. 

Over the winter I don’t drive it at all, but did charge battery for several hours before starting it up in the spring. 

Edited May 4, 2018 by cerick305

[Dan Hiebert]

Automotive 6-volt batteries don't have as long a life as 12-volt.  Just the nature of things.  A deep-cycle charge may revive it - that's a nice, slow charge taking several hours, vs. a one or two hour quick charge.  But I'll second/third/etc. that it needs regular use and/or a trickle charger, and that will take it to five or six years.  The shortest life I've ever gotten from a 6-volt was three years, and that was with admittedly poor treatment, longest has been only six years, keeping it above freezing, checking voltage regularly and charging it when car is not driven regularly, but no trickle charger.      

[epix1718]

I use this battery tender/charger, works well for both 6v or 12v.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BM3B-Automatic-Maintainer/dp/B0051D3MP6

[Don Coatney]

I have a box full of old electronic equipment power supplies and many have an output of 7 volts. No point in spending cash on a battery tender when these old power supplies can get the job done by simply adding a couple of alligator clips.

 

[Mike36]

Batteries come in different grades, reflected by different price levels. If you are buying low price, you are getting low quality. Optima is a very good choice, but on the upper end of price range. Interstate is a good choice and less costly.

 

[jeffsunzeri]

You are making a serious maintenance mistake if you are running an AGM battery with an old battery charger or maintaining charger meant for flooded cell batteries. The Optima battery is AGM and you will shorten its life considerably by not using a modern charger or trickle charger specifically designed for the charge profile of an AGM battery. Check the manufacturers requirements for re-charging and follow them to the letter. You will be surprised at the difference in life and charge level a proper charge cycle will make.

[Tubman]

I am on my second Optima in my car. The first lasted 13 years. I have 6 on this one. I use a regular battery maintainer on it with no problems. In my opinion, Optima batteries have single-handily made 6 volt systems a viable alternative for these old cars.

 

There are two things to pay attention to. First, make sure that you buy them from a place that is willing and able to honor the warranty in the slight chance you may have a problem down the road. Second, I have heard that if you keep them hooked up to a charger for indefinite periods, the connectors between the cells (which are supposedly thinner than regular batteries) can corrode through. I have not experienced this myself, but just to be sure, I have my maintainer hooked up to one of those cheap mechanical timers (less than $10 at Target, etc.) and run it only 30 minutes a day. I have found that this is enough to keep the battery "up" and eliminates any chance of damage to the inter-cell connectors.

 

Oh yeah, they are rated at 800 Cold Cranking Amps. Check the rating of your current battery; you may be surprised. The only downside for me is their odd shape, but there are some tricks to help with that, too.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Tubman

[BigDaddyO]

1 hour ago, Tubman said:

I have my maintainer hooked up to one of those cheap mechanical timers (less than $10 at Target, etc.) and run it only 30 minutes a day.

 

That's a great idea.

 

[BigDaddyO]

15 hours ago, Don Coatney said:

I have a box full of old electronic equipment power supplies and many have an output of 7 volts. No point in spending cash on a battery tender when these old power supplies can get the job done by simply adding a couple of alligator clips.

 

This is also a great idea.

 

Edited May 5, 2018 by BigDaddyO

[Richard Cope]

A couple of years go, changed my 6 volt conventational  battery to an optium 6 volt.  Half the size, more crank amps and doesn't require water with is a big plus since it is under the seat.  Took and old battery, took the insides out and put the optium inside so when viewed from underneath the car the original battery is seen.  

Rich C.

[FlashBuddy]

I have heard of putting an Optima into one of these fakes...

An empty box waiting for your non vintage battery. I stuff a lot of spare cash in mine too ? 

 

Thrift stores generally have boxes of old cell phone or other device chargers. You can pick your voltage and amps for about 50 cents to a buck.

[desoto1939]

This very same topic was recent discussed at the Annual AACA meeting in February in Philadelphia. One of the presenter who is an electrical engineer from Penn State University was leading the seminar.

 

The issue is that as your battery is not getting charged everyday like it would in a normal daily driver it is best o get a trickle charger of even go to a Costco and i got a 6v charger that I leve hooked up to the car at all times. This prevents the plates inthe cells from falling aparts and the battery will last you approx 6 years an even longer.

 

rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

Edited May 4, 2018 by desoto1939

[Merle Coggins]

Invest in a good battery maintainer/charger. And as mentioned earlier, if you have a AGM battery, be sure the charger/maintainer is AGM compatable. I have one that I keep on my truck over the winter, or during longer periods of non-use. My last battery lasted close to 6 years. 

[Grdpa's 50 Dodge]

Do those solar chargers work for battery maintainers when vehicle is driven seldom and short distance?  I inherited one and know nothing about it.  Call me Sgt. Schulz if you want to, I am a slow learner.    . (~; b

Edited May 5, 2018 by Grdpa's 50 Dodge

[keithb7]

@Don Coatney never fails to impress. .65A 7V battery charger. Brilliant. Simple, cheap at the thrift store and so effective. Do you leave it on there for long periods Don? Or just plug it in for a few days every month or so over the winter?

Edited May 5, 2018 by keithb7

[desoto1939]

After reading some of the replies I saw that someone posted about AGM Batteries. So i searched the web to get some more information and this is what I found for AGM Batteries:

 

rich Hartung   Desoto1939@aol.com

 

[keithb7]

Yes, this is true about AGM batteries. Here are some more benefits:

 

Spill-proof through acid encapsulation in matting technology

High specific power, low internal resistance, responsive to load

Up to 5 times faster charge than with flooded technology

Better cycle life than with flooded systems

Water retention (oxygen and hydrogen combine to produce water)

Vibration resistance due to sandwich construction

Stands up well to cold temperature

Less prone to sulfation if not regularly topping charged

Has less electrolyte and lead than the flooded version

[Tubman]

I'll play devil's advocate here and question the use of any random old 6 volt power supply as a long term battery maintainer. The main problem is that they lack the "smarts" of a regular maintainer and don't know when to quit. Several years ago, I went to get my boat out of winter storage and found the battery was no good. It had been boiled dry. It had a Schumacher 1.5 amp maintainer hooked up all winter. As is usually the case., it said on it something to the effect that if you had problems, you should not take it back to the seller, but to return it directly to the manufacturer. Mainly out of curiosity, I packed it up and sent it back to Schumacher. About a month later, I received a new maintainer from them , with a note apologizing for the failed retainer. Since the unit was still putting out the proper voltage when I sent it in, the only logical conclusion is that the limiting logic built into it had failed. If you are going to go this route, at least check the amp ratings of the unit you are contemplating using. I don't know if .65 amp is enough to fry a battery, but it looks like 1.5 amps will do it and I'd rather not take the chance. This is another reason that I run my chargers/maintainer through a cheap timer.

Edited May 5, 2018 by Tubman

[keithb7]

I have about 6 seasonal batteries to maintain throughout the winter. I have about 3 or 4 digital batter maintainers that I use on the batteries. I do not leave them on all winter. Yes, they are supposed to kick out but I don't trust them. What I do is plug them in for about 3-4 days every month. I rotate the maintainers through all the batteries.

 

I store an ATV in a shed with no power. I bought a smaller sized solar charger with a long cord with 2 alligator clips. I lay the solar charger on the shed roof and flip it up toward the sun for a couple of days every 2-3 weeks to charge. Then flip it face down when I want the charge to stop.  Seems to work well. No boiled batteries yet. I keep an eye the water levels too. If I can see tops of cell plates, more distilled water would be added.  Have not had to add water in some years if I recall.

[Curt]

I went through two regular flooded cell batteries before buying a 6V Optima AGM type for my Chrysler New Yorker with the 323 straight eight. I have had great results using an AGM battery in my airplane the last ten years. Both my plane and my 6V Chrysler sat in unheated storage all winter at -20F temps here is Canada and in spring the batteries crank like crazy and my vehicles fire right up. No charger/maintainer required. I use AGM batteries in all my vehicles now and will buy no other type. They are worth the money.

[epix1718]

In my performance cars/motorcycles I use those LiFoPO4 batteries.. not only are the extremely lightweight, they hold a charge like nonother.. quite expensive tho!  A downside is they lose much of their cranking power in cold weather.