Periods of inactivity can be extremely harmful to lead acid batteries. When placing a battery into storage, follow the recommendations below to insure that the battery remains healthy and ready for use.

NOTE: Storing, charging or operating batteries on concrete is perfectly OK.

The most important things to avoid:

1. Freezing. Avoid locations where freezing temperature is expected. Keeping a battery at a high state of charge will also prevent freezing. Freezing results in irreparable damage to a battery's plates and container.

2. Heat. Avoid direct exposure to heat sources, such as radiators or space heaters. Temperatures above 80° F accelerate the battery's self-discharge characteristics.

Step by step storage procedure:

1. Completely charge the battery before storing.

2. Store the battery in a cool, dry location, protected from the elements.

3. During storage, monitor the specific gravity (flooded) or voltage. Batteries in storage should be given a boost charge when they show a 70% charge or less. See Table 1 in the Testing Section.

4. Completely charge the battery before re-activating.

5. For optimum performance, equalize the batteries (flooded) before putting them back into service. Refer to the Equalizing section for this procedure.