Chris,
You can charge the battery with it in the car. Remove
the vents, leave them loosely on the top. Hook up the
charger, and charge the battery. Turn off the charger
and wait about 20 minutes before disconnecting the
charger leads. This gives time for the hydrogen gas
to dissipate in case of a spark.
Usually the best reason for removing the battery is
to inspect, clean, and neutralize the metal around
the battery try. I use a little diluted baking soda
in water, and just flush the area around the battery
hold down.
On the electric vehicle obvious I charge the batteries
in place. <grin>. About once a month I'll wipe down the
tops of the batteries with windex. Ammonia is a base and
will neutralize the tops. With a little acid and moisture
we will see current leaks from the batteries. Windex does
the trick.
With my roadster sitting for extended periods, I really
like the OPTIMA red top batteries. Totally sealed, no
acid leakage. Best thing is they will hold a charge for
up to a couple of years! As long as there is no current
leakage, battery remains charged up. YAHOO! Usually I
only would get a couple of years of battery life, and
would have to hook up the charger a couple of hours
before heading out. Interstate carries the batteries,
so they are easy to find (about $125 for the group 24 size
I use).
Cheers,
Tom Walter '68 2000
Austin, TX
P.S. Wear safety glasses when working near a battery. I've
seen three nasty accidents from expoding batteries, two
easily prevented (wrench across the two terminals was the
worst!). In the third case the starter would not disengage,
terminal got so hot that it MELTED the battery post down
into the battery. We looked up at each other with a "what
the heck... " when it went BOOM! Both Steve and I wore glasses,
so it was not too serious. Freak accident, worst damage was
a ruined paint job and our clothes.
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