R.a.c Advise ?

[rambler]

hi folks

ive just remembered what the R.A.C man told me when my Battery died recently.

and i was / am intriqued as to if he is correct?

he reckoned that each time you start a vehicle to move it (i.e shunting cars around on the driveway),you should always keep it running for about 20 mins to allow to Battery to recover its charge from the initial start up...????

i have never ever done this with any vehicle,and find it annoying to sit in it / or leave it running in the drive so Battery can....recover its charge??!!

do batteries need to....recover

i dont like to question the RAC recovery men,but this chap didnt know that toyota made a rav4... with diesel engine

[bothwell_buyer]

hi folks

ive just remembered what the R.A.C man told me when my battery died recently.

and i was / am intriqued as to if he is correct?

he reckoned that each time you start a vehicle to move it (i.e shunting cars around on the driveway),you should always keep it running for about 20 mins to allow to battery to recover its charge from the initial start up...????

i have never ever done this with any vehicle,and find it annoying to sit in it / or leave it running in the drive so battery can....recover its charge??!!

do batteries need to....recover

i dont like to question the RAC recovery men,but this chap didnt know that toyota made a rav4... with diesel engine

A man after my own heart..... should a RAV4 have a diesel engine -? Of course not!

To give you a practical idea, I started our diesel (yuch) generator today using an 80amp capacityph Battery which had a max output of 600amps so it said on the label. After a bit of cranking it started and the ammeter read over 30amps for 10 minutes before dropping to 10 amps.

So if the chap said 20mons to replenish it, then it won't be far wrong. Of course the Battery you have is good for a few starts before it flattens.

[shcm]

There was an old rule of thumb, that it takes 20 minutes of running to replace the charge that 1 start takes out. That's probably what he is referring to.

If all you are doing is shunting around on the drive, then yes, maybe you do need to leave it idling or invest in a Battery charger. Otherwise, I can't see that a few starts with a good Battery would hurt.

There is also another old piece of advice that says don't let the engine idle when cold, drive it normally as soon as possible. I try to do this, but not always possible.

So, as usual, conflicting requirements :D. Needs an engineering compromise.