How long will my car battery last fully charged without a working alternator?

The car battery was bought this year and is confirmed good. I was thinking of just buying a battery charger and just charging it everyday at my house and just drive short distances INSTEAD of buying a new alternator. Its a 1984 Volvo Diesel.



Question #2 Please answer this too...

If my battery died and I got a jump and it started but died after a few seconds its my alternator right? Is there anything else it could be?How long will my car battery last fully charged without a working alternator?
It could be the alternator, that's the most expensive possibility, but it could be a broken wire leading from your alternator to the battery, or anywhere in the electrical system really. You should take it in before just buying an alternator and get it checked with the ohm meter or diagnostic machine. If you are broke, and know a high school student, they might do it for you at the auto shop at the school.How long will my car battery last fully charged without a working alternator?
You should have no problem at all if you charge it every day. In fact you're probably good for once a week. Batteries have a reserve capacity rating which is the number of minutes it can supply 25 amperes without being charged. 120 minutes is a typical rating so the question becomes how many amps does your car draw. Your car has no ignition system and you use very little capacity during a few seconds cranking to start. Have you ever noticed how long headlights remain on when people forget to shut them. It's about 4 hours so you'd be good for four hours of driving with your headlights on, probably more than 24 hours of driving headlights off. Keep in mind batteries have less power in cold weather but you still should be OK. It's a good way to damage your battery because it's not a deep cycle battery and it's not made to be used that way.



If your car dies after a few seconds with a dead battery it's probably a bad alternator.How long will my car battery last fully charged without a working alternator?
start the car then disconnect the negative battery cable,if the car continues to run the alternator is ok,if it dies the alternator needs replaced