Fact or fiction about life of batteries in hot areas

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I do not know of a battery under the hood of a motor vehicle that is not mistreated. Try as they might, charging system controls can and do not apply proper correct voltage for minus temperatures, short trips, lights, heater, you name it. To verify this yourself look at a corrected temperature chart, then imagine a slow-engine-speed with the alternator output barely able to maintain amperage then the voltage is in the fourteens. For -20F temps? Gimme a break. Going home and connecting the car to a battery maintainer that supports CORRECT float voltages would enhance battery lifespan multi-fold. You WILL notice that cars and trucks in frigid area that are started then ALWAYS driven long distances will have much longer battery life in frigid climes.

Hot, low and high Ph agents are infinitely more reactive than cold media. This is normal and expected behavior in chemistry. Chill battery acid in a freezer to 0F, drop a spoonfull of raw hamburger in it wait 2 hours and examine. Heat the same acid to 200F in a PYREX vessel and do the same with the hamburger. Oooooo! Now imagine the hamburger as being your eyeball.

Batteries in elevated temperature climes do not operate at ambient temperatures. I have seen 190F underhood (battery lead) temperature in summer desert areas. What "charging" voltage is correct for a flooded lead acid battery at 190F.? This temp is so severe it cannot be touched with a finger without screaming OUCH!

Battery OEM scream 120F is the absolute maximum temperature limit for even the most infinitesimal of charging. With the battery in the trunk or inside a hatch at 120F how much charging "should" it see? How about if it's discharged and needs to be charged?

These are quandaries that have no practical answer. To put it bluntly, the battery takes it in the shorts. Surplus acid batteries like golf car and industrial tolerate elevated temperatures better because they have thicker plates to absorb ablation, and more surface area on their case to dissipate heat.

Go ahead. Access those temperature charts. Compare the date versus what your charging system insists on doing...

Then wince...

I think one reason my Mercedes batteries last so long is that they are NOT under the hood in the engine compartment. The sedan has the battery under the back seat, the roadster in the trunk. Way less heat than sitting underhood all the time.

Next is the battery itself. flooded cell, but looking at the details it has different composition of other metals than the typical lead acid. Don't recall which, but looking up, adds cost but extends life.

The sedan I replaced the battery after something like 13 years, not because it was giving trouble, but because DW was driving to work long distance every day and decided with winter coming didn't want her to have a battery go bad. And in the winter we do lots of stop and go and use the "rest" function to keep the heat in the car when shopping. runs an electric water pump and fan to circulate the coolant through the heater core to keep the car at a set temp for up to 1/2 hour. Still the batteries last a long time, same treatment with the roadster.