Off-season battery maintenance

Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

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Jul 7, 2004
8,496
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
What has worked for you? I read about removing them so they don't freeze and also leaving them because they will not freeze as long as they are kept charged. I have an AGM in my other boat and never worried about it. Now I have 3 huge deep cycle batteries and I don't want to ruin them. I could go out once a month and charge them while it is on the hard if that is sufficient. It doesn't go below -10F here. We get a lot of sunshine. Would a solar panel help? How big woild it have to be to have any effect on 3 batteries in parrallel? Thanks for your words of wisdom.
 
M

MitchM

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Jan 20, 2005
1,031
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
for 35 years i've been traveling to the boat every 6 weeks to run the onboard 3 stage charger to charge batteries in place. haven't lost one yet, and it sure beats lugging 3 huge batteries on and off the boat every year. for the past 10 years we've run AGMs which require very little charging to top up over the winter. our DEKA East Penn engine start AGM is 10 years old and going strong, as are our 4 year house batteries.
 
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Don S/V ILLusion

Don S/V ILLusion

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Sep 25, 2008
7,486
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
If it is of any comfort to those worrying about your batteries in winter, rest assured it's nothing compared to how hard our summer heat is on batteries. Far more damaging.

The good news is winterization here is defined as the season we need to put air in our fenders.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,711
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Don S/V ILLusion said:
If it is of any comfort to those worrying about your batteries in winter, rest assured it's nothing compared to how hard our summer heat is on batteries. Far more damaging.

The good news is winterization here is defined as the season we need to put air in our fenders.
Click to expand

Absolutely! Heat is definitely murder on batteries.
 
D

duality

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May 25, 2004
443
Catalina 400 mkII Harbor
i posted a link to maine sails test on batteries over the winter, but for some reason with this new concept it didnt show.

search the forums for maine sail, and winter battery, he shows you what will happen if you do nothing to your batteries all winter.

(hint, you are wasting your time)

thanks maine sail!
 
Rich Stidger

Rich Stidger

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Feb 10, 2004
4,152
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
Don S/V ILLusion said:
If it is of any comfort to those worrying about your batteries in winter, rest assured it's nothing compared to how hard our summer heat is on batteries. Far more damaging.

The good news is winterization here is defined as the season we need to put air in our fenders.
Click to expand
Don that is a mean-spirited thing to say. I have just spent the last two days at hard labor winterizing everything on on boat at Bristol.
 
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woodster

woodster

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Sep 15, 2009
6,243
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
duality said:
i posted a link to maine sails test on batteries over the winter, but for some reason with this new concept it didnt show.

search the forums for maine sail, and winter battery, he shows you what will happen if you do nothing to your batteries all winter.

(hint, you are wasting your time)

thanks maine sail!
Click to expand
it worked for me
 
Don S/V ILLusion

Don S/V ILLusion

.
Sep 25, 2008
7,486
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Rich Stidger said:
Don that is a mean-spirited thing to say. I have just spent the last two days at hard labor winterizing everything on on boat at Bristol.
Click to expand
You're a good worker Rich. It used to take me a week. 'Winter' here means sailing season after 5 months of daily thunderstorms.

Seriously, the summer heat here is far more damaging to batteries than any winter we spent in RI. Cars too even if garaged. I put our spare deep cycle batteries in the garage refrigerator in the summer.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,711
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
The
duality said:
i posted a link to maine sails test on batteries over the winter, but for some reason with this new concept it didnt show.

search the forums for maine sail, and winter battery, he shows you what will happen if you do nothing to your batteries all winter.

(hint, you are wasting your time)

thanks maine sail!
Click to expand
The link is in your post #3. Just click on the underlined words....
 
Richard Bryer

Richard Bryer

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Jun 3, 2004
890
Hunter 34 Toronto, Ontario Canada
I leave mine on board all winter and we usually see lots of days of -10C. I run the charger every 30 days. My oldest of the three deep cycle wet cells is a group 31 which is now 12 years old and still seems to test fine.
 
Terry Cox

Terry Cox

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Dec 25, 2000
5,945
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
We cruise year-around in PNW waters. I leave shore power connected while in the slip so that our AGMs stay topped up at all times. I also keep a small marine space heater and three dehumidifiers (one for each cabin) going to help keep the boat warm and dry while away. Seldom does our temps get below +20F.
 
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