Want to seek out opinions on winter battery removal. The boat is wintered in Northern Wisconsin for six months. If I hook up the shore power every one to two months to recharge all four while they remain on the boat, is it really necessary to remove, store inside and monthly recharge all four batteries? And is it safe to re-charge them when they will be soo cold? They are now fully charged and water levels are full. My plan is to replace all four every two years irregardless, but if monthly charging while leaving the batteries on the boat will suffice, I would prefer this to the back-breaking chore of removal and Spring re-installation.
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Pete
winter and batteries
If you really are going to replace the batteries on two year intervals I would no bother to remove them but would charge them every so often. the reason for removing batteries is for longevity and ease of keeping charged. A good battery that has be charged and maintained will last well over two years but the key is keeping them charged and not letting them run down,cold weather and no use will kill a battery. Remember do not add water with out recharging as the water will freeze and crack your battery.
If you really are going to replace the batteries on two year intervals I would no bother to remove them but would charge them every so often. the reason for removing batteries is for longevity and ease of keeping charged. A good battery that has be charged and maintained will last well over two years but the key is keeping them charged and not letting them run down,cold weather and no use will kill a battery. Remember do not add water with out recharging as the water will freeze and crack your battery.
Better to remove them in case you cannot get there
Winter Battery Storage - Provided by Surrette Battery Company and Coast Battery Prior to placing batteries into winter storage make certain the electrolyte level is approximately 1.2" (30 mm) above the top of the separators. The electrolyte level in very cold batteries will be lower than normal, so let batteries warm to a normal temperature before judging electrolyte levels. Once the electrolyte level is correct, ensure that the batteries are fully charged and that the battery tops are clean and dry. Now the choice is whether to leave the batteries aboard your boat or remove and store in a cool dry area. If the batteries are stored aboard the boat, disconnect the terminal cables. This will prevent premature discharge of the batteries due to a ground in the electrical circuits or failure to turn a piece of electrical equipment off. If the batteries become discharged, the electrolyte can freeze when stored below -7 degrees C ( 20° F). Below shows temperatures at which electrolyte, in various states of charge, starts to freeze. Specific Gravity Corrected to 80 degrees F (26.7° C) Freezing Temperature 1.280 -69° C (-92° F) 1.265 -57° C (-72° F) 1.250 -52° C (-62° F) 1.200 -26° C (-16° F) 1.150 -15° C ( 5° F) 1.100 -7° C ( 19° F) A 3/4 charged battery is in no danger of freezing. Therefore, batteries should be kept at least 3/4 charged, especially during winter weather. The frequency of checking batteries depends greatly on temperature. The effect of temperature on self discharge for the average fully charged, new, conventional battery in good condition is approximately as follows: At 38°C (l00° F) .0025 Sp.Gr. per day At 27°C (8O° F) .001 Sp.Gr. per day At l0° C (5O° F) .0003 Sp. Gr. per day A fully charged battery stored at 27°C (80° F) will take 30 days before it self discharges 25 percent. At 10° C (50° F) the time period increases to 100 days. This will give you an idea of how often a battery should be checked. Some makes of batteries will have a higher and some a lower rate of self discharge. This depends on the method of manufacture and purity of materials used.
Winter Battery Storage - Provided by Surrette Battery Company and Coast Battery Prior to placing batteries into winter storage make certain the electrolyte level is approximately 1.2" (30 mm) above the top of the separators. The electrolyte level in very cold batteries will be lower than normal, so let batteries warm to a normal temperature before judging electrolyte levels. Once the electrolyte level is correct, ensure that the batteries are fully charged and that the battery tops are clean and dry. Now the choice is whether to leave the batteries aboard your boat or remove and store in a cool dry area. If the batteries are stored aboard the boat, disconnect the terminal cables. This will prevent premature discharge of the batteries due to a ground in the electrical circuits or failure to turn a piece of electrical equipment off. If the batteries become discharged, the electrolyte can freeze when stored below -7 degrees C ( 20° F). Below shows temperatures at which electrolyte, in various states of charge, starts to freeze. Specific Gravity Corrected to 80 degrees F (26.7° C) Freezing Temperature 1.280 -69° C (-92° F) 1.265 -57° C (-72° F) 1.250 -52° C (-62° F) 1.200 -26° C (-16° F) 1.150 -15° C ( 5° F) 1.100 -7° C ( 19° F) A 3/4 charged battery is in no danger of freezing. Therefore, batteries should be kept at least 3/4 charged, especially during winter weather. The frequency of checking batteries depends greatly on temperature. The effect of temperature on self discharge for the average fully charged, new, conventional battery in good condition is approximately as follows: At 38°C (l00° F) .0025 Sp.Gr. per day At 27°C (8O° F) .001 Sp.Gr. per day At l0° C (5O° F) .0003 Sp. Gr. per day A fully charged battery stored at 27°C (80° F) will take 30 days before it self discharges 25 percent. At 10° C (50° F) the time period increases to 100 days. This will give you an idea of how often a battery should be checked. Some makes of batteries will have a higher and some a lower rate of self discharge. This depends on the method of manufacture and purity of materials used.
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Les Andersen
Solar Panels
Jim, Have you considered leaving them attached to a solar panel trickle charger over the winter? Mine keep charged up and are ready to go in the spring with no care throughout the winter. MD is certainly not Wisconsin but it does get cold and snow. Might save you on both tasks. Les s/v Mutual Fun
Jim, Have you considered leaving them attached to a solar panel trickle charger over the winter? Mine keep charged up and are ready to go in the spring with no care throughout the winter. MD is certainly not Wisconsin but it does get cold and snow. Might save you on both tasks. Les s/v Mutual Fun
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Don Evans
I Know Your Angst
Before I bought better quality deep cycles I would charge the batts on the boat, stored at home, and on the trailor, by running a 100' extension out to the boat. I also used to replace them every other year or so, buying relatively cheaper brands. I have recently bought a 3 stage charger and I dismantle this and set it up in the house, and remove my expensive batts now. There monitered and charged automatically. Thats about 200 lbs of lead, over the side and into the basement and its a pain to move, but we can, as you can at your latitude see -40 degree C nights. I paid a lot of money for my new batts and I'm not going to kill them prematurely by forgetting to charge them. Its an extra couple of hours work, but I feel its justified. Don
Before I bought better quality deep cycles I would charge the batts on the boat, stored at home, and on the trailor, by running a 100' extension out to the boat. I also used to replace them every other year or so, buying relatively cheaper brands. I have recently bought a 3 stage charger and I dismantle this and set it up in the house, and remove my expensive batts now. There monitered and charged automatically. Thats about 200 lbs of lead, over the side and into the basement and its a pain to move, but we can, as you can at your latitude see -40 degree C nights. I paid a lot of money for my new batts and I'm not going to kill them prematurely by forgetting to charge them. Its an extra couple of hours work, but I feel its justified. Don
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Bob Carlton
Bilge Pump
I would assume, given your location, that your boat is out of the water. However, based on the fact that you mentioned hooking up to shore power, it sounds like the boat may stay in the water. If that's the case, removal or discharge of the batteries will eliminate power to your bilge pump.
I would assume, given your location, that your boat is out of the water. However, based on the fact that you mentioned hooking up to shore power, it sounds like the boat may stay in the water. If that's the case, removal or discharge of the batteries will eliminate power to your bilge pump.
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Ken Shubert
Easiest way out
I'm with you.... leave them aboard and charge them once a month. Cold doesn't hurt a well charged battery, heat does. Removing is hard work and involves some risk of dropping or otherwise damaging them. If you must remove and store them, be sure to place them on wood or plastic. Do not place them on concrete or other masonry surfaces. Five years should be a normal life. Ken S/V Wouffhong
I'm with you.... leave them aboard and charge them once a month. Cold doesn't hurt a well charged battery, heat does. Removing is hard work and involves some risk of dropping or otherwise damaging them. If you must remove and store them, be sure to place them on wood or plastic. Do not place them on concrete or other masonry surfaces. Five years should be a normal life. Ken S/V Wouffhong
Storing on concrete is OKAY.
Ken: Just read an aritcle about battery storage. This is no longer true regarding storage on a concrete surface. This old tale had to do with old batteries had cases made of materials that would swell up from moisture that they would absorb from the concrete. I personally do not like to store them on the floor. I always store a battery on a couple of 2x4's anyway.
Ken: Just read an aritcle about battery storage. This is no longer true regarding storage on a concrete surface. This old tale had to do with old batteries had cases made of materials that would swell up from moisture that they would absorb from the concrete. I personally do not like to store them on the floor. I always store a battery on a couple of 2x4's anyway.
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Ken Shubert
Cemented Relationship
The strong acid (sulpheric) in a battery has a tremendous ionic affinity for the base (lime) in a concrete floor. A battery case only separates these two by 1/8 inch. Maybe the new space age polymer cases are better than the old, old rubber cases but I still have my doubts. I wish somone independent of the battery manufacturers would do this test. A piece of wood is cheap insurance or..... just leave it sitting on the fiberglass. Ken S/V WouffHong
The strong acid (sulpheric) in a battery has a tremendous ionic affinity for the base (lime) in a concrete floor. A battery case only separates these two by 1/8 inch. Maybe the new space age polymer cases are better than the old, old rubber cases but I still have my doubts. I wish somone independent of the battery manufacturers would do this test. A piece of wood is cheap insurance or..... just leave it sitting on the fiberglass. Ken S/V WouffHong
It really is OKAY!
Ken: The only thing I could ever find about storing batteries on the flood had to do with getting them in water and having the water flow into a creek or drainage system. http://www.powerstream.com/Storage.htm
Ken: The only thing I could ever find about storing batteries on the flood had to do with getting them in water and having the water flow into a creek or drainage system. http://www.powerstream.com/Storage.htm
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Bob F.
battery charging
I live on an acreage and with the tractor, lawn tractor, boat batteries and welder engine battery, I have a half dozen batteries to look after. For winter time, I place all of the batteries on a 2X4 and plywood platform and hook them in parallel. (all 12 volt) I then hook a charger to them and run it on a timer that kicks on for 30 minutes daily. This amounts to a trickle charger for them all and never a problem in the spring.
I live on an acreage and with the tractor, lawn tractor, boat batteries and welder engine battery, I have a half dozen batteries to look after. For winter time, I place all of the batteries on a 2X4 and plywood platform and hook them in parallel. (all 12 volt) I then hook a charger to them and run it on a timer that kicks on for 30 minutes daily. This amounts to a trickle charger for them all and never a problem in the spring.
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