Lockdown Bad For Batteries
 

Had to change my battery today, after seven and a half years. It was a Yuasa Silver with a 5 yr guarantee. Mine was end of life but many will just go flat due to short trips. Would be interesting to know how many miles are required to put back the power used to start the car, answers on a sanitised postcard.

My battery was fried on my Toyota Friday. I'd hoped it could be saved but alas not. I have a solar charger I used on my Rover when I had my op that plugs into the lighter, but via the lighter the Toyota wont take it. I've got a different direct to battery lead for it now, so will be using that after I've done my shopping this week. I think a lot of people are going to have issues with this.

In answer to how many miles to put some power back, wouldn't that depend how charged the battery was in the first place? We probably need Marinabrian for this question hehe!

My mechanic reckons about 20 miles or 45 minutes stationary on tickover. I can see a lot of folk finding out the hard way if they have no way of charging or trickle charging because they are on the street.

Only one mile in first gear, three miles in third or five to ten in top,depending on how fast you go.
TC

I buy my provisions in bits and bobs, so I do a 10 mile round trip to the supermarket every day bar Sunday. Seems to do the business, plus, I really enjoy driving the 75.

I’m running both of mine every other week.

As far as how long it takes to put charge back in I know on a BMW 316. A friends wife had a job that was 1.2 miles from there house and the battery would need topping up in the winter every couple of weeks or it would not enough power to start the car. She swapped her job for another 2 miles from there house and now it is fine.

As a buy the way we fitted a new Bosch battery the first time it would not start and this made no difference. The alternator was putting out its full voltage.

So somewhere between 1.2 an 2 miles is the answer.

Got two vehicles sorned now, one on a ramp going no-where and another parked up on the drive. I'm rotating the use of my ctek charger between the vehicles that aren't moving. Otherwise a short trip once a week about three miles return seems to do the trick for me.

A former hgv fitter I knew once told my dad that each time you start a car, it takes 20 minutes of motoring to replace the charge taken to start it, mind that was a good 25 years ago, so probably different now.

When you do your shopping go the longest way to the store as possibly, ie the usual 1-2 mile trip, go the long way and turn it into 10 miles, I know we are supposed to stay at home :eek: but driving a car lets say on a dual carriage way/motorway from A to B how is that going to spread the Virus, is it clinging to the car, I doubt but I am no Scientist.

It is only when you exit the car that you can either pick up or spread the virus or am I wrong. :shrug:

I made a journey to our local Aldi yesterday and went the long way, while driving I passed to parked police cars going there, on the way back a police car followed me for about 3 miles then over took and was gone.