The Life Expectancy of a Battery: Maintenance Helps

So today as I began to write this blog on the life expectancy of a battery I decided to take a look at the life expectancy of humans just for fun. What I found was amazing and a little disturbing.  Per the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). Population Division:

1. Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country at 82.73 years overall.
2. United States was a surprising 40th right under Taiwan at 77.97 years overall.
3. There are 15 countries that have a life expectancy under 50 years!

So what did I take from all this information? Well, I was surprised to find the United States so far down on the list. A country that has all the resources, technology and education at its fingertips still managed to place 40th! I also was surprised at the huge gap between the longest and shortest life expectancies; almost 33 years!

According to howstuffworks.com, there are many factors that have an effect on life expectancy; disease, access to health care, wealth or lack of, clean drinking water, sanitation, education. So many factors that it can effect a country's average life expectancy by 33 years!

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BATTERIES?

Similarly you can find many factors that contribute to the life expectancy of the lead acid battery in your car.  A recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel discusses the many factors that can shorten or extend the life of a battery such as extreme cold or heat, routine monitoring and proper maintenance. Even installation of a replacement battery with the proper cold cranking amps can contribute to the battery's life expectancy. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

If you're one of those drivers that live in Fairbanks, Alaska or you're living near Death Valley, you can't do much about avoiding the extreme environment and the toll it takes on the battery but we can all be pro-active in proper battery maintenance. Batteries should be checked and cleaned regularly. 

1. Check the terminal connections. Make sure they are clean and tight. They should be tight to the cable and tight to the battery. Dirty and loose terminal connections can cause early electrical failure and drastically shorten the lifespan of a battery.
2. Check the electrolyte level. Not all batteries permit this but if yours does, make sure the cells have the proper level. If you're not comfortable doing this. Take it to a professional or ask your mechanic next time you get your oil changed.
3. Clean the battery regularly.  Many online posts will tell you to use a mixture of baking soda and water but there are some shortcomings to using baking soda. First, baking soda has no color change properties therefore it cannot locate acid leaks. It also creates a messy paste that is difficult to remove.  Quick Cable has plenty or battery maintenance chemicals that are specifically formulated to work on a battery - Quick® Battery Cleaner w/Foaming Action, Quick® Battery Cleaner w/Leak Detection and our 1 oz. Battery Cleaning Pump Spray.
4. Protect your battery connections by applying protective washers to the battery terminals. Add some Red Corrosion Preventative, QuickCote + Corrosion Preventive or Silicone Preventative to keep the corrosion away even longer. 

"MAINTENANCE FREE" DOESN'T MEAN "FORGETABOUTIT"

We recently asked one of our battery distributors what percentage do "Maintenance Free" batteries make up in their overall sales of batteries. Not surprisingly they came back with a 65% figure. Maintenance Free sounds like a hands off solution but really all is means is that you don't have to check or change the fluid inside the battery. You still need to check the outside of the battery and do the maintenance mentioned above.

So I know the basics to make my car battery live longer. Now I need to go get me some kale at the farmer's market and work on improving my own chances!


Richard Sosa
Video Producer/Web Contributor
Quick Cable Corporation

Sources

• http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/life-expectancy2.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,  Extending Battery Life Starts with Maintenance by David Thome, Special to ADAMM
• http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/battery-articles/battery-basics.html