Battery life in a vehicle is tough to nail down because there are a lot of factors. Many have mentioned environment (heat/cold) and how the vehicle is driven (short trips vs longer runs) but understanding the battery theory and what affects longevity is more important. With routine maintenance, an auto battery will last a very long time, much more than the 3-4 years most accept as "normal" regardless of environment. Without routine maintenance, plan to replace every 4 years or so, earlier if a vehicle sits. Maintainers are a false sense of security...

Routinely cycling the battery increases longevity, how you do that depends on where you are and how you use the vehicle. Case in point is my truck- it's a 2010 and low miles (8 yrs old and <40k) but on the OEM battery. It started life in Southeast GA, several years in New England and now in the Mid-Atlantic so several temp/environmental challenges. The reason it is still alive and kickin (knock-on-wood) is because at least once a quarter, I will cycle the battery with a quality charger regardless of how it's been driven, along with all of our vehicles.

By that, I mean I will connect the charger for a full top-up charge that only takes about 20-30 minutes. From there, turn the ignition "on" without starting, with the HVAC fan running and headlights on for 5 minutes to knock if the battery's surface charge then off and sit for 20 minutes to level the charge. Then back onto the charger (will usually show about 60% charge) for a full charge taking several hours, sometimes even overnight.

Yes, this is more than most are willing to do but works well for all of my vehicles including 2 motorcycles and a boat- I'm a Sailor by trade and believe in PMS! I will connect the 'Vette to a maintainer if it will sit for extended periods of time but only after cycling the battery. Same philosophy worked well for the previous '09 C6 that sat (a lot more than the C7) with the OEM battery up to November of '17 when it was traded.

Again, this is likely more than most are willing to do but having a quality charger (an 8 year old Schumacher SC-10030A in my case) and descent maintainers (a Deltran tender Jr for singles, another Deltran 4-shot for the bikes and boat and the OEM tender from GM for the C7) are worthwhile investments...


Allen

 

IIRC, the CTEK chargers claim to have a special cycle that does something to extend battery life.
Allen- can you explain the chemistry how your technique extends battery life?
Anyone- what claims does CTEK make for their chargers, and are they doing something similar to Allen or something different?

 

Well my 2014 was on a CTEK MUS4.3, one of there best tenders when ever parked more than 7 days straight. Got the Car Feb 5 2014. Nov 2017 I had to replace the battery, it would start leaving the garage, and Drive it, and hour go in some place, eat, and it would not start. Did a load test, it had a bad cell.

 

No, I can't because I can't locate the documentation and research I did over the years. Bottom line is I am not an engineer but researched the process I described (and is the condensed, usable version) to maximize battery health/longevity.

Killers of our batteries (besides extreme heat dependent on location) is intermittent use that results in small top-up charges. Maintainers are great for just that, maintaining a healthy charge but can't take into account how the battery is "exercised" to prevent surface charges and to some extent sulfation. When you add in that many of our cars sit for extended periods of time, it can lead to stratification of the electrolytes (i.e. the "juice" isn't properly mixed up with the natural agitation of movement) killing a battery quicker.

I know this answer doesn't provide the OQE (objective quality evidence) some like me would want and I offer my apologies for not being able to provide solid and proper citations!


Allen