Battery thermal covers

[MDSimpson Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDSimpson]

Ok, so here is the juice.

I bought a new aux battery 18 months ago.
It is failing, the supplier states it is due to under bonnet heat, so with the new battery, I want to try to make it last longer than 18 months.

I know Derek has these covers at ABRSidewinder, but do they work?

Oh, by the way, my battery is being replaced outside of warranty, as their brochure states 'heat resistant, good for under bonnet applications'.




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[winniliss Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close winniliss]

They work in the short tern. Just like a sun shade for your windscreen or a subbie cooler. But over time everything heats up so you are better off buying a battery that is better suited for under bonnet environments.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

My theory to would be once the heat ha transferred into every thing (eg battery n cover) then with cover on wouldn't it also take longer to then cool down ??? Only reason I ask is when we bought our new house the aircon bloke said to get aircon first with insulation after because if we got insulation first yes it would take longer for the heat to get into the house but once it did it would also take heaps longer to cool down due to the insulation holding the heat in like we want it to do in winter.... Just my thoughts on the cover. I have also heard that's why battery's in euro cars in Australia die quicker as they have insulated covers around them which is fine in country's that have freezing cold winters.... Cheers Steve

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Better idea is to ceramic coat stuff to try and keep the source of the heat cooler rather than the destination. This is largely impractical so just get some Optimas.

[johna Member Find all posts View Profile Close johna]

My theory to would be once the heat ha transferred into every thing (eg battery n cover) then with cover on wouldn't it also take longer to then cool down ??? Only reason I ask is when we bought our new house the aircon bloke said to get aircon first with insulation after because if we got insulation first yes it would take longer for the heat to get into the house but once it did it would also take heaps longer to cool down due to the insulation holding the heat in like we want it to do in winter.... Just my thoughts on the cover. I have also heard that's why battery's in euro cars in Australia die quicker as they have insulated covers around them which is fine in country's that have freezing cold winters.... Cheers Steve

think the air-con guy was pulling your leg re the insulation, unless you misunderstood him.

do you have to remove the insulation before turning on a/c then put it back in when house cools down to lock the heat out ??

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Na his point was that with insulation but no aircon once the heat was trapped in it would take longer to cool without air but if we got air first it would just have to work a bit harder till we got insulation. Anyway we got both at the same time and two whirly birds lol so covered it all........Cool In summer and warm in winter mind you I hardly use the aircon anyway at home. Got to be 40+ before I use it, wifes the opposite only gotta say its summer and might be 20 outside and she will have it on lol.......Cheers Steve

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

I've got the insulating covers on both batteries, got them for free. Do they make the battery last longer, not sure both batteries are 3 years old and going strong.

What the covers will do is reflect radiant heat from the engine, they won't stop convected heat. Given how hot some parts of the engine get this may help keep the battery a bit cooler. At any rate they won't do any harm as they'll make bugger all difference to keeping heat in the battery, the engine and associated bits take a long time to cool down, much longer than the cover will keep heat in the battery. It's all about the thermal loads in the engine bay.

As for the aircon guys recommendation to not put insulation in, good way to sell bigger a/cs and waste power, but obviously no idea of how insulation works.

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

Na his point was that with insulation but no aircon once the heat was trapped in it would take longer to cool without air but if we got air first it would just have to work a bit harder till we got insulation. Anyway we got both at the same time and two whirly birds lol so covered it all........Cool In summer and warm in winter mind you I hardly use the aircon anyway at home. Got to be 40+ before I use it, wifes the opposite only gotta say its summer and might be 20 outside and she will have it on lol.......Cheers Steve

See my i sulation bloke told me the complete opposite. He sells the insulation too so I'm sure he knows what his talking about. Lol

[MDSimpson Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDSimpson]

OK, so i wont expect miracles, but every little bit helps.
As for buying a battery that is more suitable, I will when the time comes, but at this point, 18 months on the old one and a FREE replacement battery will do me just fine..

Might go Optima next time....

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

Back in the old days, when it got hot inside an insulated house the occupants opened the windows.

That wouldn't work if it was as hot or hotter outside already, but then the AC man's theory goes up in smoke either way.

Best solution for battery covers are radiant heat barriers with ventilation. That way the battery should stay reasonably close to ambient temperature.

[MDSimpson Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDSimpson]

Well, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank John and Andrew at Radum in Melbourne for helping me facilitate the replacement battery outside of the warranty period with their supplier.
The service these guys provide is awesome.
www.radum.com.au they sell more than batteries, from craft stuff, to security cameras to IT equipment.

As for the battery cover, I may give it a go, Derek has a sale on now at Sidewider.
Santa, what I want for Christmas is…….

[MickL Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MickL]

Here's my effort.
$5 worth of Supercheap sun shade and some duct tape.
Batteries are shielded on the radiator side and back only. Doubled up and edges made tidy with duct tape. The shield extends all the way forward to the radiator support panel.
The front is still open and gets some cool airflow from the front of the vehicle.

Some very un-scientific testing with a couple of Jaycar inside/out side thermometers shows no more than a 5-7 degree rise over ambient at the worst.

I have also partially wrapped the radiator hose on the divers side as it very close to the battery and a major source of radiant heat on that side.

Completely enclosing the battery with no outside airflow creates a hotbox, all your doing is slowing the heat but eventually it gets hot inside and then takes longer to cool down. So basically the theory is: shield from the heat sources, then airflow to keep cool.

[LeighW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LeighW]

If you look at it from a purely logical stand point, the silver insulation should reflect
some of the radiant heat. However in an engine bay you will have radiant and convention
heat occurring, adequate insulation will slow the thermal transfer but it will still occur.

The mass of the object being heated will determine its actual temperature rise and
the speed of the rise.

As most standard batteries are positioned in a cool air stream ie behind the headlight
one would need to consider before fitting a thermal blanket that you might actually
be preventing the cool airflow cooling the battery?

Where the battery is located away from a cool air source then the blanket may slow the
rise of temperature increase but is unlikely to prevent it, as also pointed out will slow
the cooling once the heat source is removed. In this situation might be better to look
at possibly putting in some form of cooling duct from the under the car, through a guard
or in front of the radiator if possible.

Leigh

[gantulga Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gantulga]

We buy insulating cover during winter times. over time, but really, this doesnt help after two hours engine turned off. sadly there is no good battery for cold climate. i am currently using Canadian made dry core battery. for you, it's blessing that you need to cope with heat. just buy a good grade battery and your problem is solved...