After our boat has been taken out of the water for the winter where should batteries be stored?
On the boat or at home (inside).
Regards
On the boat or at home (inside).
Regards
Battery - Winter Storage
- Thread starter Ducati
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Doesnt matter, especially if you apply a 'smart' trickle charger.
If you have 'battery combiners' then a single trickle charger can serve an entire battery bank.
example: http://www.amazon.com/Vector-VEC080...r_1_2?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285772246&sr=8-2
If you have 'battery combiners' then a single trickle charger can serve an entire battery bank.
example: http://www.amazon.com/Vector-VEC080...r_1_2?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285772246&sr=8-2
Assuming you and the boat are both in MD and you have wet cell batteries, it could get cold enough to freeze but that is no reason to remove them. Make sure they are fully charged when you close up the boat and they will be fine. For gels or AGMs, the same holds true plus you have the added benefit of a lower self-discharge rate which will be great if we enter the next ice age sooner than predicted.
As an aside to your question, I have recently noticed on places like eBay that the price of small solar panels (20w - 40w) is now about 50% of what they were when I bought mine a couple of years ago. Also low amp solar charge controllers aren't expensive. With solar, there is no need to worry about AC power to your winter trickle charger being accidently removed. For my boat, I don't have any power demand when I'm not there. The 20w solar panel keeps topped up my two deep cycle batteries and the AGM emergency battery. I don't have to connect to shorepower at my slip unless I'm spending the night and want the creature comforts of lots of electricity. Zincs last a long time.
Check with your marina
Agree with Don, you can leave the batts in the boat all winter if you fully charge them first. If you go the trickle charger route be sure to check with your marina to see if you can leave the boat plugged in. In mine, you cannot.
BTW, I've charged mine, the set the three way switch to off and left them on the boat over winter for a few years now and have not had a problem.
Agree with Don, you can leave the batts in the boat all winter if you fully charge them first. If you go the trickle charger route be sure to check with your marina to see if you can leave the boat plugged in. In mine, you cannot.
BTW, I've charged mine, the set the three way switch to off and left them on the boat over winter for a few years now and have not had a problem.
Freeze?
We leave them in up here in the Great White North and they don't freeze. Just leave them in. One guy I knew used to take them out. Dropped one coming down the ladder! It's safer to keep them in. If you can throw a charge in them halfway through the storage period. Helps a bit but they usually go all winter without a problem.Assuming you and the boat are both in MD and you have wet cell batteries, it could get cold enough to freeze but that is no reason to remove them. Make sure they are fully charged when you close up the boat and they will be fine. For gels or AGMs, the same holds true plus you have the added benefit of a lower self-discharge rate which will be great if we enter the next ice age sooner than predicted.
I agree with Bill
Never took them out and have had no problem
The thought of schlepping them down at ladder is not pleasant
Leave em there
t
Never took them out and have had no problem
The thought of schlepping them down at ladder is not pleasant
Leave em there
t
For what it's worth, I should add that leaving them on a charger all winter is a chance not worth taking in my opinion. Regardless of marina policy, leaving the boat plugged into shore power while unattended, often for prolonged periods, can lead to some unpleasant surprises. There are very valid reasons why many marinas prohibit this practice and doing so (simply to unnecessarily trickle charge batteries) isn't worth the risk.
This was a whole bank of 6V batteries that froze. The owner left the batts connected and a phantom load discharged them, perhaps a bilge pump switch or stereo memory wire.
Fully charged batteries will not freeze until colder than it really gets around here but a dead battery can freeze solid as warm as 20f.
Mine stay on board disconnected as the boat yard does not allow batteries to remain connected over the winter. I charge them up when I go to the boat in the winter to check on it. Self discharge rates are considerably slower in colder temps so leaving them on-board fully charged should cause no harm, and no disc problems in your back either..
In order for a battery to freeze it needs to be discharged as MS's example. It is the core of the battery that needs to drop below the freezing point and as long as there is a charge in the battery, the core temp will be higher that the surrounding air temp. This will be our second winter north in a long time and last year with the eight feet of snow, the batteries stayed on the boat and were fine. Chuck
Well said Maine.
Here is a link for those that like to add more to the cobwebs
http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
Been using 6 volt batteries for my off grid U.P. cabin for many years. For those not familiar.....it is where cold comes from
Here is a link for those that like to add more to the cobwebs
http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
Been using 6 volt batteries for my off grid U.P. cabin for many years. For those not familiar.....it is where cold comes from
Using a "BatteryMINDer"
For the past couple years I've been using a BatteryMINDer on my golf carts. They advertise that they use frequency pulses of varying frequency to desulfate the plates, and they have a patent on this concept.
Link: http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/catalog/Boating-Battery-Chargers-orderby0-p-1-c-26.html
The one I'm using is Model 12248 which has 2, 4, or 8 amp capability. For my situation it seems to like the 4 amp to 8 amp setting the best. When I first started using it the 8 amp setting seemed to be the best but in the past year or so I've been using the 4 amp setting.
The batteries are quite old, I think going on 10 years now, so keeping them desulfated is important as they're past their prime.
Forgot to mention my battery house bank consists of four golf-carts.
For the past couple years I've been using a BatteryMINDer on my golf carts. They advertise that they use frequency pulses of varying frequency to desulfate the plates, and they have a patent on this concept.
Link: http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/catalog/Boating-Battery-Chargers-orderby0-p-1-c-26.html
The one I'm using is Model 12248 which has 2, 4, or 8 amp capability. For my situation it seems to like the 4 amp to 8 amp setting the best. When I first started using it the 8 amp setting seemed to be the best but in the past year or so I've been using the 4 amp setting.
The batteries are quite old, I think going on 10 years now, so keeping them desulfated is important as they're past their prime.
Forgot to mention my battery house bank consists of four golf-carts.
For the really obsesive
You can also disconnect the batteries except for your solar panel trickle charger.
You can also disconnect the batteries except for your solar panel trickle charger.
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