Battery charge

[TJ1978]

How long would be ideal drive to time to recharge a classic carbureted car/truck battery after started? No fancy electronics or add-ons

Does letting it idle for 10-15 minutes have any positive effect?

 

[Wes Harden]

Idling that will begin to bring the battery up. Going by chargers and the ampere between 8-14 amp and 13-14 v @ 2 hours for very slow or clicking while cranking battery.

If it cranked and started quickly less than 30 mins to return to previous charge state.

I parked my 74 E200 at my brother's in Oct 21, last week I loaded up 3 radiators and went to Pomona, 50 miles 1 way.
It cranked very well, got gas after 3 short cranks and started.
I keep 1 of the small .25 amp solar panels in the windshield, facing south. Burb has 1 dedicated to aux battery.
I recommend them, be sure to check the out put voltage 8n full sun, keep it below 15v. Some I've checked were 18-20v

 

[TJ1978]

So does letting it idle for 10-15 min do anything positive or just drain the battery more?

How long of a drive is needed to recharge from the start up? All I keep reading is for modern cars with all electronics/computers

 

[Blue85]

If the vehicle started fine from it's own battery without extended cranking, 10 min idle is more than enough. If you had to get it jumped to crank, I would have it running for closer to 30 min if it was going to be parked off by itself somewhere.

Does it have a voltmeter? Any known issues with the charging system?

 

[dyeager535]

So does letting it idle for 10-15 min do anything positive or just drain the battery more?

That's going to depend on the alternator unless you've got crazy electrical loads at idle.

Real simple test. Check resting battery voltage. Start truck. Check battery voltage at idle. If it's above resting voltage then it's charging. Want to test more, turn the heater on high, and hit your high beams, and check again.

How long it will take? Dunno. Can probably calculate it out, IIRC the draw from the starter is something around 300A if it's the factory style. The mini-starters draw far less, they have a number of advantages over the original starters, including cranking amp draw.

 

[Blue85]

If the starter draws 300A for 5 seconds, that same power is recovered charging at just 10A for 2.5 minutes. A little more because of the losses in the battery, but that's the basic idea.

I had a Ford Fairlane in my barn for a while (not mine). I would start it up, drive it about 10 minutes, wave to the neighbors, and put it away again.