[Paddlewise] Car Batteries on Concrete

I have heard 2 stories about car batteries on concrete:

One is temperature.  Stratification of the electrolyte due to temperature
causes premature failure of the battery.  I am not sure I believe this one.

The other explanation is that moist concrete is a conductor, and completes
the circuit between the corrosion products on the case and the terminals.
It is not much of a conductor, but a few millamps over a period of months or
years is enough to kill a battery that may not be too healthy to begin with.
With better sealed batteries, this is less of a problem now.  Should not
affect true gelcells at all.  (Note that not all "sealed" batteries are
gelcells!)

This last explanation sounds more plausible to me. 

But it is still cheap insurance to put the battery down on a piece of
plywood or 2x4.  And clean the crud off the battery, too.

Rob.

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