Keeping a battery warm

[Ned Kelly]

Living in the cold north, I thought it might be good to mount a gel-type battery (Optima) in the passenger compartment. This would keep the battery warm and dramatically improve it's performance (according to this link http://www.pacificpowerbatteries.com/aboutbatts/Car%20Battery%20FAQ/carfaq7.html. What do you guys think?

 

[73k5blazer]

It always helps to keep the battery warm. Warm battery does = improved battery performance. However, there is one major flaw. The passenger compartment gets just as cold as underhood, over time (say sitting overnight). So in the end, I don't see it helping that much. I think I seen little plug-in battery heater wraps.

 

[lrazer]

not to mention once the vehicle warms up the engine compartment is probally warmer than the pass. compartment

 

[Ned Kelly]

I was thinking either putting a battery blanket (50-80 watt size is standard ) around the battery or having an electric interior auto heater blowing onto the battery overnight to keep the battery warmed (and also warm the passenger compartment as a bonus). Both types of these warmers are frequently used here. Gooid point about the engine bay warming up, but I'm not sure how much the battery would get warmed up. Maybe I'll put a thermometer by my current battery and see what it reads after 30 minutes or so.

 

[Russell]

My GMC never had any problems when it was -40 or so out here. But I do have a 1200 cold cranking amp battery too, so that makes a bit of a difference

That said, one of those little blanket warmers would work well for helping to start in the morning.