Let's put this myth to an end...

[mopar 3 B]

Was not just the military. Two Chrysler dealerships, one GM, one John Deere and the equivalent of two years of automotive technology. Do not store batteries on concrete. May have been a myth but then whom wants battery acid eating the finish coat off the concrete floor?

 

[khryslerkid]

Who remembers dropping an aspirin in each cell to "bring back" or "rejuvenate" a tired battery?

I remember doing it but don't remember if it worked or not.

The older vented type batteries would give you a warning when they were going bad. You could get by with one for a couple of weeks or even a month or two until having to replace it. They also would seem fine until there was a cold snap. Then that would bring out the "weekness" in one.

These new batteries are like a light bulb. They can work one minute, then be dead shorted the next. I even had one that shorted out the alternator when it went bad.

We use to use a hydrometer to check the gravity in each cell. If you found a week cell that would warrant a replacement. The plates in the cell would deteriorate and the sediment from it settles to the bottom, shorting out the plates.

When you bought a new battery, they came without any electrolyte, they were dry stored, and you or the supplier had to add that. Then it had to be slow charged, preferably overnight.

Things sure have changed.

 

[super-bee_ski]

FACT:
Your question is a frequent one. Many people have the impression that when batteries sit on concrete, energy "leaks out" or they are ruined. The short answer is that letting modern batteries sit on concrete does not harm or discharge them in any way.

However, this legend is historically based in fact. The first lead-acid batteries consisted of glass cells that were enclosed in tar-lined wooden boxes. A damp concrete floor could cause the wood to swell, breaking the glass inside.

 

[Budnicks]

FACT:
Your question is a frequent one. Many people have the impression that when batteries sit on concrete, energy "leaks out" or they are ruined. The short answer is that letting modern batteries sit on concrete does not harm or discharge them in any way.

However, this legend is historically based in fact. The first lead-acid batteries consisted of glass cells that were enclosed in tar-lined wooden boxes. A damp concrete floor could cause the wood to swell, breaking the glass inside.

 

[Al Zangenberg]

"Inta-rrresting...verrry inta-rrrestink..." If you're a fan of aspirin, in each cell of a car battery, to: "bring back" or rejuvenate a tired battery, ...you might save a few for the water, in the Christmas tree stand! Even if it did help (which it doesn't), but if it did - it would all be in vain, as your cat will no doubt topple the tree anyway...
HAH!

 

[Auggie56]

I always heard it was the cold concrete or cement, if you prefer that slowed down the chemical action causing the battery to loose charge.

 

[Ron H]

Call me old fashioned but I'm one raised on don't put **** you want to keep nice on concrete like my bumpers on wood planks until done with the body work, my aerosol cans, I even keep a section of drywall beneath where I keep my car in storage...oh yeah and the battery...