Charge new Interstate battery?

[slug_bug]

I just bought a new Interstate Group 34 battery from Costco to replace the failiing 2.5 year old Autocraft Silver from AA. After installation I put my battery charger on it. It's a newer Schumacher charger that displays voltage and percent charge. It started out at 70% charge. After about 15 min. it was up to 80%, but was making a lot of gurgling/bubbling sounds. The battery casing did not feel warm to the touch.

Is this something I should be concerned about?

I changed the battery type from "automotive/marine" to "powersport" to kick it down from 15A to 3A. It was still gurgling, but, sounded a little quieter.

My second question is: Is it generally ok/good to charge a brand new battery, or, should I just install it and drive?

 

[JamesBond]

I've never noticed a battery make noise while charging. It's probably a good idea to charge a new battery.

 

[bbhero]

Ok to charge a new battery.... In fact a very, very good idea. Batteries lose charge while sitting unsold. And unless recharged regularly they will lose charge, sulfate, and lose capacity.

But 15 volts seems a bit high... Question is how many amps are flowing??

I think 14.6 to 14.4 volts would be more expected. I checked my 3 amp smart charger made by Schumacher with a voltmeter and it was 14.4 volts...

 

[slug_bug]

It displays 12 .1 volts and a percentage charged. There is a button to select 3A charge for powersport batteries or 15A for automotive/marine batteries. I don't know if the charger actually uses 15 Amps. It says it's a microprocessor controlled smart charger, so, I guessed that it would adjust the Amps as needed for optimal charging. But, that is just a guess.

 

[bbhero]

Hmmmm.... Yeah I think your 3 amp charge rate is a fine choice...

The battery not being warm was a very good sign. I would think that the 15 amp setting could be ok with good supervison. But I would like to know how many amps were flowing... Using a ammeter. Just to verify that the charger was operating properly.

 

[dogememe]

if it's boiling/gurgling it's junk

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by dogememe
if it's boiling/gurgling it's junk


Not always, but that can often be an indicator there's problems with it, yes

 

[eljefino]

So did you check the water?

 

[bbhero]

Could be a charger problem....

I have read where the Schumacher "smart" chargers have had bad issues with over charging at way to high of a rate charge. Runaway amperage/volts do happen with some of those "smart" chargers. I'd be willing to bet the problem is with the charger...

 

[JHZR2]

Yes, it's good to charge to top up the battery. Alternators don't fully charge batteries, you don't know how long it sat without a maintenance charge in the store either. Good idea.

Schumacher chargers have been observed to take voltage excessively high. Nice looking and sized units, but when they go to >15V, these noises can happen. Ive observed the same.

Does yours have a voltage readout?

 

[rshaw125]

What is the date code on the battery?? I have never put my new Costco batteries on the charger because they were very fresh per the date sticker. The only time I have used a charger is if the car has been sitting. A 2 amp charge until the charger stops at full charge.

 

[WyrTwister]

If you assume the car charging system system is OK , and if the new battery starts the car OK , drive it .

I have never charged a new battery .

But I live in the South . So , my starting requirements may be " easier " than those that live up " North " .

I usually buy for price , which ends up Walmart .

 

[slug_bug]

The charger only displays the voltage of the battery when first connected. Once the unit starts charging the display alternates between showing what voltage battery it's connected to and the percentage charged. I found several reviews of this particular model that complained of A) the stupid display showing what voltage battery it's connected to and not the actual voltage it's outputting and B) the charger pumping in excess of 15 volts into the battery while charging as indicated by a few posters here as well.
.
It's a Schumacher SSC-1500A-CA if anyone is interested.

My conclusion after reading the reviews was to only set it to the 15A "Automotive/Marine" setting if charging a severely discharged battery and I'm in a hurry. Otherwise I'll leave it on the 3A setting.

Thanks for your answers!

 

[Hall]

If you're not in a hurry, leave it on the 3A setting and let it charge for ~24 hours. I'm sure the "smart" charger will shut off or stop actually charging well before then and cycle as needed until you disconnect it.

Reality is, I'll bet 90% of batteries go from the store shelf straight into the car and at most the driver/owner is told "take the long way home to 'charge' it up good". Walmart, Sam's, Costco, and all of the chain auto parts stores will install batteries that you buy and don't ask you to come back in 8 hours, 24 hours, etc after they charge it before putting it in.

 

[Donald]

I have stopped using the Schumacher charger I have. I have several Battery Minder products, some maintainers and one charger. I trust them a lot more to charge properly than Schumacher.

 

[StevieC]

15 volts is fine for a lead acid battery and some vehicle charging systems will get this high if the battery is really discharged. It's not ok for an AGM battery however, this should not exceed 14.7 volts.

It's a very good idea to charge a new battery before installing it in a vehicle as the retailers only top them off occasionally while they sit on the shelf and if some time has lapsed between these top-off's you can get an undercharged battery. If installed this can put extra stress on your vehicles charging system until it's fully charged. Especially with smart charging systems.

I've not known batteries to make any noise while charging but it doesn't mean there is a problem so long as it's not leaking.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

It's good practice to charge any rechargeable battery when new.

A fully charged 12V battery should read 13.2V (each cell in a lead-acid battery when fully charged is 2.2V, so 6 x 2.2 = 13.2V). Charge it until it reaches that voltage, and then your charger should go into a maintenance charge, but you could also just unhook the charger and use it in the vehicle.

But, I would at least take it to a shop for a load test (every shop or garage that sells batteries will have one, and many auto-specialty retailers will as well) before I installed it. If it fails, it's back to Costco.

If it passes a load test, make sure you have the battery receipt, the warranty booklet, and that the battery is marked for month/year if a warranty sticker is on it. I don't see any problem in running it as long as you can have it replaced if it fails prematurely in the future.

 

[StevieC]

However... The actual resting voltage, or the voltage a battery will settle at 12-24 hours after being removed from the charger, is closer to 2.1 volts per cell, 12.7 volts for a 12v battery.

 

[Variant_S]

Originally Posted by rshaw125
What is the date code on the battery?? I have never put my new Costco batteries on the charger because they were very fresh per the date sticker. The only time I have used a charger is if the car has been sitting. A 2 amp charge until the charger stops at full charge.


I bought a Costco battery on June 8 of this year. The date sticker indicated June 2018. It took two hours before my charger shut off. The charger started at 2 amps and dropped from there.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Variant_S
I bought a Costco battery on June 8 of this year. The date sticker indicated June 2018. It took two hours before my charger shut off. The charger started at 2 amps and dropped from there.

That seems strange that the battery manufacturer produced the battery, shipped it to a Costco warehouse, then was distributed to Costco stores in less than 8 days. Granted, they might ship a full pallet of batteries to individual Costco stores and save 2-4 days at most.

I've seen the same at Walmart. I looked at batteries last weekend and they had stickers indicating "11/18" on them. Those were produced in November and in stores that quickly ? I'm skeptical.... I know distribution systems have gotten awfully efficient and yes, it's entirely possible.