battery storage and maintenance

[EXNODRAMANOTCH]

Good info Andy. I have Schumacher chargers for all 3 of my Mustangs and 1 for the M715 too (available at Walmart for under $20 each). The leads stay connected on the battery (battery stays in the car) and I just connect the cable whenever they are not being driven. Before I did this my 86 Mustang GT (which sits a lot) went through 3 Red Top Optima batteries in 3 years from sitting too long (luckily got them all replaced under warranty). I won one of these chargers at a car show and put it on the GT and have had the same Optima battery for over 7 years. When I got the MSP in April I put it on a new one of these chargers, but it would take forever to charge (the battery was 6-years old) and at a couple of shows this Spring it would not start the SSP when I went to leave (I always carry a jump pack to car shows). At first I thought the charger was defective. Turns out it could no longer be charged to full capacity, so I took it to a Walmart (it was a Sam's Club battery, but I don't have a membership there) and they honored the 84 month warranty with 12 months left on the warranty to save me some money on a new 72 month battery. Once they are gone there's no bringing them back to life.