I keep my bike in the attached, unheated garage during the winter on a battery tender. The cats have decided they want to use it as an activity center when they're in the garage and were scratching the saddlebag lids. I cleaned it all up and put a cheap Walmart cover on it to keep them off of the paint this past weekend.

Then I wondered if having the battery in the bike on the tender with the cover on it would cause any issue with gasses building up under the cover and cause any paint damage. I know the battery is gel-filled, not like the old acid batteries. Anyone know if this could cause me a problem?

It would suck to pull the cover off on a nice weekend and see the paint trashed.

Thanks!

 

Great post my friend. I do not know about the gases so I'm going to follow this thread and see what others say.

Regarding cats and other things getting up underneath you may want to "search" for that because I believe others have talked about it before and how to stop critters from sneaking up there that are unwanted and into your pipes.

BuzzCap7

 

The tender puts only a little bit of charge in the battery, just enough to keep it going, not throwing a charge on it like a regular battery charger. And there won't be any gases to worry about anyway. Ever see a battery in a boat? Sealed in a plastic box so gases should not be an issue.

 

charging batteries release hydrogen gas.

under certain conditions reacting with water - hydrochloric acid

under other certain conditions ending up as cover art for Led Zeppelin.

a breathable cover is good.

for longer periods, remove the battery and keep in a warmer place like your basement.


"gel batteries" have vents and acid in them

I use mothballs in my sheds to keep the critters at bay. 99¢ store

mike

 

This is what I was wondering about...

Those were the days. :-)

I've read that the cover I bought is not waterproof so I assume breathable but will check to see.

for longer periods, remove the battery and keep in a warmer place like your basement.

These are our cats getting on the bike. They don't all get along well so rotate through the garage to get away from each other at times. I might try setting open trays of moth ***** around the bike to see if that'll keep them at bay.

Thanks

 

Didn't think about boat battery boxes. You have a point on the small charge that the tenders use, thanks.

 

Plug it in and forget about it. If you are worried, cut a couple of slits in the cover just above the seat. I don't like cats.

 

I kept my bike in an unheated garage last winter, with an HD "breathable" (cloth) cover, hooked up to a battery tender.

No problems and it started right up in the spring.

It's out there now, same way....

 

I've been using a Battery Tender Jr. on my bike, under a cover in the winter, since 2006. No issues on the paint.

 

Ive also used a battery tender under my covers for years and never had any problems. Id worry more about condensation.