Yup, lot's of old wives tales out and about. Many have at least some
basis in truth, however great or small. Some are just that - old wives
tales - no truth in them - except perhaps as a morality tale or some
sort. As for the battery-on-concrete issue -  in my own personal
experience with batteries - and for my money since I pay the bills - my
batteries always sit on a 2x6 when in repose in the shop/garage. Always
remember "Yuz pays yuz nickel and takes yuz chances!"

Regards,

John

On 12/21/2013 12:31 AM, Scott Daniel wrote:
> There are two sides to this quite old notion ..about putting batteries
> on concrete, that dates possibly from an era where a different battery
> case material was used than is currnetly in use.
>    Road & Track Magazine researched  *** 20 years or more ago***  and
> said it might actually be good to put a battery on concrete floor.
>
> and today Snopes.com says .....just like I said above,
>
> shoot , it won't paste and copy the text , see it here :
>
>
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp
> ar batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
>
> And yes ...it is  true that batteries get a conductive thin layer of
> acid on top of them ( conventional vented lead-acid batteries ) and that
> very slightly can help discharge a battery over time.
> And the good thing to do is buy the type of spray battery cleaner that
> cleans acid off batteries and also turns red when it encounters acid so
> you can tell where there is acid.
>
> Stay Current !
> People study and read don't they ??  Knowledge grows, changes, morphs.
>
> Every old wives tail there is can be researched  on the incredible
> 'Infinite Library' we have right here at our fingertips .
> Virtually *anything* you can think of that you can put on a computer
> screen ..
> a bare part number ..a bit of slang ...even a '!' ,  or '3' or xxxooo ,
> whatever.  Try it, google  "x."
> You can google a period.
>
> 's so fun,
> scott
>
>
>
> Car batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
>
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
> Car batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
>
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
> ar batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
>
> ar batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
> ar batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
> ar batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
> ar batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was
> porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a
> conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The
> cases of today�s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far
> better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time
> has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and
> the vent systems.
>
> These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration
> has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa
> <http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=20>, "Nowadays,
> containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current
> to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit
> in a few inches of water."
>
> Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack)
> believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be
> a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the
> cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.
> Read more at
> http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp#biAmDwJlAiCb4PYz.99
>
>
>
> On 12/20/2013 8:05 PM, JRodgers wrote:
>> As some have suggested - try another battery. If it turns out you wind
>> up with an extra battery, or have  your good one out for a while - don't
>> park it on the ground or the garage floor. Sit it on a board some bit
>> wider than the battery, or on a piece of foam rubber insulation or some
>> of that foam rubber flooring. Batteries will tend to discharge if
>> sitting directly on a grounding surface. The way they are built you
>> wouldn't think so - but I think what happens is that over time a fine
>> ionized mist eventually envelopes the battery surface on the outside and
>> this provides a grounding path for a slow trickle discharge. So
>> basically get it up off the floor onto something electrically insulated.
>>
>> John
>>
>