New Vehicle battery and Inox

[VK8DOD]

USING INOX in a new vehicle battery
Folks,
I'm about to buy a new Century battery, specifically a NS70X. I have a Champion N50X which is going legs up due to age and cold weather, more than 3 years.
Since I can only base my actions on anecdotal trivia from the shops, I would like some engineering advice based on fact.
Have any one of you'll had any issues with INOX added to a new battery over its lifetime ?

[VK5ZD]

Have any one of you'll had any issues with INOX added to a new battery over its lifetime ?

Hi

The only INOX I'm aware of is a spray lubricant (similar to WD-40). How do you plan to 'add' this to the battery?

73
Iain

[VK8DOD]

Ian,
INOX make a Battery Conditioner. It contains Cadmium Sulphate and is supposed to remove the sulphate build up on plates.

[VK7DX]

Hi ???

I have tried inox and it didnt seem to do anything.A burst of high voltage (18v ) seems to do better.

The main killer of auto batteries is heat,it gets very hot under the bonnet.When I lived in Alice Springs between 6 and 12 months was the life of a battery.
Relocating out of engine compartment makes them last a lot longer.
Cold weather wont kill them either,its quite often minus 10 here in the highlands with plenty of snow etc and I have batteries last for many years.I have one in
a tipper that was fitted in 1996,another in a 4wd is 15 years old.

hope this is of some help
cheers
Frank

[VK3AIF]

I can't help much with the Inox question other than I have read a couple of articles on it with mixed reports.

But I find the biggest killer of batteries in 4x4s and boats is the mechanical pounding they get. I think it shakes the heavy cells that are only supported from the top and works the connections loose creating a high resistance with corresponding voltage drop when a load is applied. I have also heard of them exploding when the starter is hit and suspect that is a result of the same thing? Over temperature is also a killer but well behind mechanical shock for my usage.

I was going through 1 a year until I changed brands, I would have done this sooner excepting the pro-rata warranty kept me getting the same ones but eventually I cut my losses as I did not want to get stranded along the Canning Stock Route when I did the in 2010 and the delco one I am now using has done 2 years and some pretty rough trips so fingers still crossed. That was the result of what some would call extreme four wheel driving and something the Toorack Tractors would probably never experience

I would think the cold reduces the available capacity but perhaps does not detract from or possibly improves longevity?

It looks like there could be some good information here http://www.batteryfaq.org/ but I cannot vouch for it, use at own risk.

[VK2HRX]

I researched the Inox conditioner a while back. The result I got to was that a well maintained battery with a charge on a multi stage charger every few months is better than the Inox. The multi stage chargers have a sulphate mode as well so I invested in a CTEK 15A charger. I run 3 x AGMs (Starter, Fridge, Radios) so they are worth bit of coin so a CTEK is a cheap investment to look after them.

Compton
VK2HRX

[VK2JDS]

I bought a really big BP deep cycle battery as a second supply for the landcruiser back in 1996.
fitted with an expensive dual battery controller it lasted 2 years so i tried INOX. it made virtually no difference.
it concerns me that this substance is being touted to use from new as the stuff is only surposed to strip the buildup after its happened, rather than a preventative.

since then i have changed to oddysee batteries. these things are dear. but mechanically brilliant. you can mount them at any angle except upside down
the 1550 model will still start my landcruiser diesel when discharged below 11v. the company blurb says you can flatten it 400 times to zero and it will still work ok.
they are AGMs and i got 10 years in the ute on my first one. its still in use actually in the moonbounce radio hut and i replaced it only as it wasnt as high a cranking speed in the ute on a below 0 degrees C morning.

i wont be going back to flooded cell batteries here in the central tablelands. every morning in winter its below zero. 2 to 3 years is all you get out of conventional battery

[VK2HRX]

i wont be going back to flooded cell batteries here in the central tablelands. every morning in winter its below zero. 2 to 3 years is all you get out of conventional battery

Neither would I. The AGM's such as Odysey etc are cheaper in the long run have far superior CCA etc etc, but it isnt always possible for people to step into them as it requires quite a few extra $$.Plus you generally need to have an onboard DC DC charger to look after them and so forth. Hence the Inox etc products get touted for those with wet cells

Compton

[VK8DOD]

Thank you all,
You've confirmed my suspicions. That's a wealth of advice you've presented here and the Battery Link is very useful. I did all the right things with the old Champion but that was before I realised some of the glow plugs had died after I bought it and it was doing hard work until I replaced all the plugs. Also, I only bought a smart charger about half way thru its lifespan.
I decided not to go for a brand name and bought a Repco which is a rebadged Century (which incidentally was the original battery model { Century } in the vehicle when I bought it and that gave me 4 years service).
So I'll see how this goes and the Inox will sit idle.