Alright already!!!! So the logic isn't there -- nor the scientific proof!.

But I won't set my battery on a concrete floor!!

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

David Brodbeck wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Dec 2002, John Rodgers wrote:
>
>
>>Most acid electrolyte batteries "Fume" just an imperceptable bit, and
>>the result is an almost undetectable coating of electrolyte on the case,
>>providing a direct circuit to "Ground", in this case, the concrete
>>floor. Result - dead battery. The wood acts as an insulator.
>
>
> The floor isn't 'ground' to the battery, because no part of the battery is
> connected to it.  Any discharge path would have to be from pole to pole.
> That's going to be across the top of the case; what the battery is sitting
> on doesn't matter.  A thin surface film also has a high enough resistance
> that at 12V it isn't going to be significant.
>
> The ground is only electrical 'ground' for systems that are connected to
> it elsewhere -- for example, the U.S. power grid is ground-referenced, and
> neutral conductors all have a path to ground somewhere.  This isn't true
> of a battery that's sitting all by itself.
>
>              _ _
>   __ _ _   _| | |  | David M. Brodbeck (N8SRE)              Ypsilanti, MI
>  / _` | | | | | |  +-----------------------------------------------------
> | (_| | |_| | | | @ cyberspace.org
>  \__, |\__,_|_|_| "To the optimist, the glass is half full.  To the
>  |___/             pessimist, the glass is half empty.  To the engineer,
>                    the glass is twice as big as it needs to be."
>