Preservation for low use or storage

[rob love]

For Canadians, another point is to make sure your antifreeze is at the proper mix. If, for some reason, you had to add a lot of water during the driving season, then you will want to check the strength and top it up. Really though, the best prevention is to never add straight water, but rather top up or fill up with 50-50 mix. We used to use 60-40 in the military, although 50/50 will provide enough protection for the environment I am in, so should be good for 95% of Canadians. High arctic may need more.



Re Batteries, fully charged and disconnected should be good. That is provided the battery is clean and dry. If the top of the battery is wet with acid, then the battery will self discharge, even with the terminals off. I have seen battery cases that were permanently soaked. It you run a multimeter off one terminal, then slide the other probe across the top of the battery, you will see the amount of discharge that is occurring at all times. Nothing wrong with a battery tender either, as Terry uses, but really you are just covering for poor maintenance. A fully charged battery stored in cold conditions will be OK for 6 months.