[Openurmind]

I am fortunate when it comes to batteries. I am in the big rig repair business. Most trucks need all three batteries to be in very good condition to produce the cold cranking amps they need to start.

Every winter when the temps drop, usually one of the three will take a dump and stop putting out it’s share of the total amps needed. So standard practice is to just change out all three because the other two are not far behind. I keep these takeouts and turn in actual dead and good for nothing batteries or old batteries off my solar system to the vendor.

For a solar system that doesn’t need “cold cranking amps” they are still good to go for a few years. In fact, I have found having them on the slower charging solar system actually repairs most of the cold cranking amps they lost over a couple weeks. Why and how I am not sure, but it does... But when they start getting weak on my system I just swap them out again for fresher take outs.

[Texas Fossil]

Good use of what is available. If you are not a Ham Radio operator you would make a good one. I'm on of the old Hams, we were scroungers, the new ones are largely appliance operators.

I also had some great “Elmer's” who brought me along with building techniques. Old Ham's were inherently “cheap”.