Basic Battery Question

Boomer54

Boomer54

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Feb 3, 2015
299
Marlow Hunter 37 Reefpoint Marina Racine, WI
I bought a dinghy this summer from a friend. It is a nice AB RIB center console with a 20hp Tohatsu. It has a start battery. I think (hope) my question is very basic. When I had a motorcycle and a car that I did not drive in the winter, I put each one on a battery maintainer over the winter. I still have one so I am wondering if I should put the SBS Marine Starting battery on the maintainer, or simply charge it up and disconnect it. The dinghy will be stored in a heated garage. The battery maintainer is a Schumacher Battery Maintainer, fully automatic with float mode monitor. Output is 6/12V DC at 1.5A DC.
 
D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
11,399
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
If the battery is fully charged and has enough water, then it will be better left outside than in a heated garage. Cold will slow the battery's natural discharge. The last set of batteries lasted about 8 years in Upstate NY following this protocol.

I'll defer to someone with more knowledge on the battery maintainer on that aspect.
 
Ken Cross

Ken Cross

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Oct 24, 2010
2,405
Hunter 30 Everett, WA
I've had good luck in years past using a float charger during winter.

Ken
 
Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,399
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
I dont know if i would trust a "maintainer" going 24hrs/day in my garage. We should see the specs and i would verify voltages with a good VOM. You have obviously used them in the past "successfully" but if you're storing it in your garage, I would just charge it and get the state-of-charge up to "100" % and leave it. You can hit the charger every month or so. No need to disconnect unless there is some load that bypasses your key switch..
 
hewebb

hewebb

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Oct 8, 2011
329
Catalina Catalina 25 Joe Pool Lake
I have two vehicles in the garage that I rarely drive and I keep a Battery Tender (Brand Name) on them. Also, I have a travel trailer that sits for several months that I also keep a Battery Tender on. I have been doing his for years with no issues. Make sure the water level is OK. (A Battery Tender is not a simple low amp charger.)
 
bawlmer

bawlmer

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Sep 15, 2013
707
Catalina 270 Baltimore
You have lots of folks from each school of thought. My opinion is to charge it full and store it in an unheated area without the float charger. Also do not store it on concrete or other alkaline surfaces.
 
B

Barnacle Bill

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Jun 9, 2008
1,771
- -- -Bayfield
I charge my boat batteries up and make sure there is enough water in them before hand and they sit outside in the frozen tundra all winter and usually start the engine and work fine in the spring. It has to have a full charge as an uncharged battery will freeze in the winter and then it will crack and then you need a new battery. I have a roadster that I only drive in the summer and when I am not using it, I have a battery maintainer on it all the time - even all winter long when I don't ever start it. It has an alarm system that uses battery power and if I didn't have the maintainer on it, it would for sure die, freeze and have to be replaced. Each spring the roadster starts up like no tomorrow.
 
C

Capt jgw

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Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
Main sail recommends charging up full then disconnecting all loads. That won't run your alarm though. The cold weather won't hurt them if they're charged up. It fact the self-discharge process slows way down in the cold. The jostling of lifting them in and out of the boat may do more harm than good stirring up sediments from the bottom of the battery case, not to mention what it can do to your back.
 
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