Car battery insulation sleeve? The debate.

[Rule3]

Wife's car battery died. Went to Auto Zone. (Pouring rain) Asked the guy to please use a trickle charge to hold the electronic settings. Of course he was in a hurry and "forgot"

Anyway he did not put the insulation (foam sleeve) back around the battery. Said you don't need it, it was just for cold weather.

Well insulation works both ways IMO. So does it also help prevent engine heat from heating the battery up even more??

It's always hot down here and heat kills batteries as much as cold I believe.

Searched around the interweb and it is one of those yes/no/maybe topics.

Should I put it back on?

What do you folks say??

 

[sheepdawg]

I have three cars and two of them don't have any insulation sleeve around the battery. Never a problem, my batteries always last 4 to 5 years. I doubt where you live gets any hotter than Memphis, TN.

 

[Roadtrash]

Heat does affect your battery. Out here in the desert three years is about what you get on one.

 

[Arik]

I toss them when I swap batteries. Have been doing this for years. I get about 5 years out of them. I'm sure it makes a difference in extreme temperatures but I've never lived in the Sahara or Antarctica.

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[Rule3]

I have three cars and two of them don't have any insulation sleeve around the battery. Never a problem, my batteries always last 4 to 5 years. I doubt where you live gets any hotter than Memphis, TN.

No doubt it gets sweltering in Memphis but it is not classified sub tropics. It gets hotter here for longer periods day and night.

Grow any Coconut or Royal Palms? , 200 miles North of me they will not grow, it's too cold

 

[gregintenn]

I have a chevy truck that stays in the basement (climate controlled), and it has a battery cover. I have three more trucks and a tractor that are either outside, or stay in the barn (not climate controlled), and they do not have battery covers. I get 5-7 years out of a battery in each of them. One doesn't last appreciably longer than the other.

 

[mojave30cal]

During our hot summers here in Las Vegas, NV. I usually pop
the hood on my 2010 Toyota Tacoma after pulling into the
garage. This helps dissipate the heat from the engine compart-
ment. I replaced the original battery that came with the truck
after it was 5 years old. That's pretty good for Las Vegas!

 

[rwsmith]

I don't think it's a problem.....

I've never had a battery sleeve. In cold weather I put a light bulb or heater under the hood. And I have a starter/charger. They aren't very expensive.

 

[Hillbilly77]

In cold weather I put a light bulb or heater under the hood.

Cold weather in South Carolina?!

What'd it do, drop below 60°?



On a serious note, what kind of cold do you experience? It seems like a heater under the hood wouldn't be necessary.

Here in NY, a good battery will start a car at -20°F without much trouble.

 

[Fishinfool]

My retirement job is part time at an Advance Auto. I am the "oil & battery guy". Yes, the insulation will keep the battery a little cooler in the summer, but not for long enough to make a real world difference. It will still get just as hot or cold as the engine compartment in short order. Extreme cold and heat will have a negative effect on a battery, cold dropping voltage, and heat shortening its life.

What really makes a difference is keeping the battery on a trickle charger if it is not used regularly. A battery sulfates if not kept at the proper voltage, and all batteries lose voltage as they sit. Another issue is a voltage regulator that is not working properly, over charging the battery. This will also kill a battery over time. Discharging and recharging a non-deep cycle battery also has a negative effect on battery life.

Most of my riding buddies change motorcycle batteries every couple of years. I usually get 5 or 6 years out of mine. I store my bikes in a heated garage, and keep a trickle charger on them when not riding.

A word about battery chargers. Only use a low amperage (1, 1.5, 2 amp) trickle charger that is "automatic", in that it senses a full charge, and stops charging until it senses the voltage dropping. Lots of chargers are not automatic, and they keep charging until the battery acid literally boils. Not good. The high amperage chargers you see are for putting a quick charge in a dead battery, but unless closely monitored, at the expense of battery longevity.

Larry

 

[Tom S.]

GM (and other companies) are not in the habit of putting things on cars that aren't needed. Perhaps if you lived in San Diego, where the average temps are in the low 70's I'd agree with the brain surgeon that worked on it. Heat is actually worse for batteries than cold is.

 

[sheepdawg]

No doubt it gets sweltering in Memphis but it is not classified sub tropics. It gets hotter here for longer periods day and night.

Grow any Coconut or Royal Palms? , 200 miles North of me they will not grow, it's too cold

Ever have 26 days in a row over 100 degrees? 108 one day, 107 the next. 105 the next 4. Then throw in the humidity.

 

[rwt1405]

I've never had a battery sleeve. In cold weather I put a light bulb or heater under the hood. And I have a starter/charger. They aren't very expensive.

Thank you for the good laugh, I needed it after a long night!

I'm just imagining the severe cold seen in S.C. that requires a heater under the hood.

 

[chief38]

Tom S. beat me to the punch! I own two GM's and they both have the battery insulation sleeves. As Tom states, if it did not do anything I hardly think they would spend the money to put them on millions of vehicles.

I love it (NOT) when mechanics and technicians tell you "oh, you don't need that"! That just means they fudged up and are too lazy to re-do it the correct way.

When I was a kid, I worked a Summer in an Auto Glass Shop. We routinely replaced windshields and side window regulators. I can not tell you how many times some of the other guys would NOT replace the plastic vapor barrier that gets glued over the metal access ports of the car doors. I wonder how many people's cars got wet, rotted out and leaked air from those lazy repairmen!

 

[Kanewpadle]

Weather here in the Seattle area is moderate compared to other places. Have a 2011 Chevy with the original Delco battery. Still going strong. It only gets driven on weekends and has less than 30,000 miles on it.

I have no idea if the insulation makes a difference. But it seems to me that today's cars with smaller engines run hotter.

 

[Arik]

Ever have 26 days in a row over 100 degrees? 108 one day, 107 the next. 105 the next 4. Then throw in the humidity.

Yep. Despite living in the NE Pa does get hot and humid in the summer. Last summer. Last summer two straight months of near 100 degrees and 97% humidity

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[Arik]

GM (and other companies) are not in the habit of putting things on cars that aren't needed. Perhaps if you lived in San Diego, where the average temps are in the low 70's I'd agree with the brain surgeon that worked on it. Heat is actually worse for batteries than cold is.

Well.....yes and no. They put it in all cars because they don't know where each individual car will be going. Typically that stuff isn't needed but if you don't put it in the one car that goes to the North Pole you may have problems

Tom S. beat me to the punch! I own two GM's and they both have the battery insulation sleeves. As Tom states, if it did not do anything I hardly think they would spend the money to put them on millions of vehicles.

I love it (NOT) when mechanics and technicians tell you "oh, you don't need that"! That just means they fudged up and are too lazy to re-do it the correct way.

When I was a kid, I worked a Summer in an Auto Glass Shop. We routinely replaced windshields and side window regulators. I can not tell you how many times some of the other guys would NOT replace the plastic vapor barrier that gets glued over the metal access ports of the car doors. I wonder how many people's cars got wet, rotted out and leaked air from those lazy repairmen!

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[Tinhack]

Must be a Volkswagen. I haven't seen anything official but I'm guessing Jettas need that insulator to keep from boiling the battery acid. They generate so much heat under the hood I'm surprised the paint stays on. Haven't seen the newer models but the older models had the radiator/fan off-set from center and didn't blow the heat away from the manifold very well. It relied on ground speed to circulate the heat away.

 

[Rule3]

Ever have 26 days in a row over 100 degrees? 108 one day, 107 the next. 105 the next 4. Then throw in the humidity.

It's geography. We are closer to the equator.

But Tn is closer to the Sun at 337 ft elevation We are at 4 ft.

It does not snow here very often

Yearly average temps here iare much higher than Memphis

But this is all non sequitur

 

[vmumford]

The insulator is not to keep the heat out, Its to keep the heat in. The newer battery's are made different for the old lead aced battery's of yesteryear. These are sealed no maintenance and the plates are made of a combination of lead with other materials. In order to charge them correctly and fully, they need heat. In cold weather they need to generate this heat from the high amp rate of charge to properly charge them. This doesn't present a factor in many states but the manufacture's don't know where the vehicles will be sold so the equip all of the battery's with the blanket. So, I would advise if you live in cold or freezing climate, replace the blanket. My .2 cents.