Boat Batteries

[BartmanMN]

So I took my 2 deep cycle and 1 cranking batteries out of my boat before storage and have them in my basement. Should I purchase a battery tender or what other battery chargers are people using to keep them in 'shape'?

[CAMAN]

I just use a regular battery charger and hook them up once a month.

But just an FYI - I have heard of peoples CO2 detectors going off from a battery being charged in the home. Might be a better idea to set them in the garage instead of the basement.

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

I am a concerned about leaving tenders hooked up all of the time. I put a charge into the batteries with a 2 amp charger once a month. I also used to bring mine inside over the winter but have gone to disconnecting them and leaving them in the boat. Just to heavy to tote in and out.

Mike

[Esox_Magnum]

If I bring them in I chrge them once or twice during the winter, if they stay in the boat then the onboards stay plugged in all the time...

[gregg52]

you right capt

thats what they told me just charge them once in awhile

mine are as you sy heavy and under the rod storage so a pain to get out

onboard charger so much easy to just plug in once in a while

really all the time

does it turn on and off on its own

[Esox_Magnum]

Yes all the time, charges, floats and maintains....

[pulleye16]

I leave mine in the basement and charge once/twice throughout the year. I have forgotten a few years and my batteries were still fully charged come the summer.

I have onboard chargers as well but feel more comfortable leaving them in a warm basement vs cold garage with a charger on 24/7...also would hate for something to go wrong and cause some damage like a fire cause the boats unattended for weeks/months sometimes.

Batteries are going on 6 years and still hold a GREAT charge!

[SkunkedAgain]

Don't forget that if your battery requires maintenance, that you should add some distilled water to the cells if they are low BEFORE you recharge them. I stick mine in the basement for the winter, and throw the charger on once or twice just to keep them topped off.

[Northlander]

My batteries have always stayed in my boat in my garage in the winter. I make sure they are fully charged at the end of the season and once a month toss a charger on them. I have not found it needed to bring the batteries inside the house.

[Down Deep]

I bring my batteries inside for winter storage. Every fall I disconnect and clean all my contacts, so bringing them in is not that big a deal. If a deep cycle is more than 3 years old I run it by Batteries Plus and have it checked. I'd rather know now, not when I'm on the water next spring that a battery in on its last leg. If the battery needs replacing I wait until spring to purchase new.

[TR21HP]

The only time my batteries are not plugged in is when I'm on the water. I've had 4 boats in the last 20 years and have never had a problem or had to replace any batteries. Talk to any pro and he shares the same philosophy, thats what onboard chargers are for.

[Pat K]

A guy I worked with several years ago conducted his own battery storage test. He was retired and working part time and estimated he fished from his boat 75 to 90 days a year.

When he bought a new set of batteries for his 24v trolling motor he stored battery "A" in the boat in an unheated pole shed for the winter. Battery "B" was pulled from the boat and stored in a closet in his town home. Both batteries had their fluid checked and were fully charged. He didn't charge either battery at all during storage. When he would charge them in spring, he said it never took more than a half hour for them to be fully charged.

Battery "B" that was stored in his house was the first one to die. It lasted almost through its 6th season before giving out. Battery "A" that was stored in the cold boat was used in his fish house for 2 or 3 years after "B" died.

Not a large enough sample to prove anything definitively but I always found the results interesting.

As a retired electrician it was his opinion that anyone who charged a battery in the utility room of their house with a furnace and water heater near by was a strong candidate for the "Darwin Award".

[BobT]

A guy I worked with several years ago conducted his own battery storage test. He was retired and working part time and estimated he fished from his boat 75 to 90 days a year.

When he bought a new set of batteries for his 24v trolling motor he stored battery "A" in the boat in an unheated pole shed for the winter. Battery "B" was pulled from the boat and stored in a closet in his town home. Both batteries had their fluid checked and were fully charged. He didn't charge either battery at all during storage. When he would charge them in spring, he said it never took more than a half hour for them to be fully charged.

Battery "B" that was stored in his house was the first one to die. It lasted almost through its 6th season before giving out. Battery "A" that was stored in the cold boat was used in his fish house for 2 or 3 years after "B" died.

Not a large enough sample to prove anything definitively but I always found the results interesting.

As a retired electrician it was his opinion that anyone who charged a battery in the utility room of their house with a furnace and water heater near by was a strong candidate for the "Darwin Award".

Makes perfect sense. Heat is a battery's enemy. Keeping them in cold storage is actually better for them so long as you make sure they remain charged. Batteries will slowly lose charge over time so it's a good idea to top them off about once a month or so just to make sure. A fully charged battery will not freeze in a MN winter.

I used to bring mine in every year and then I learned this tidbit about cold storage. Now, I leave mine in the boat in my lean-to. When I winterize my boat I make sure to top off the electrolyte with distilled water and put the charger on to bring them to full charge. After that I just hook up the charger about once a month for a day or two to make sure they are fully charged.

Last year I installed an on-board "smart" charger. The manual indicated that while it was okay to leave the charger plugged in continuously they also issued a warning to check electrolyte periodically through the winter to make sure it hasn't evaporated to a low point. A charging battery generates heat and this can speed up the evaporation of the fluid, which is not a good thing. For those of you that leave your chargers plugged in continuously, keep this in mind.

[boatfixer]

Battery storage is a debate that will go on and on. I've known guys who bring them in don't charge, charge. Leave in boat, charge don't charge. Take out and put on the work bench, charge don't charge. And in most cases they end up being replaced after 4-6 years no matter what. My F I L us religious about bringing them in the basement, setting on a 2x6 (concrete doesn't drain a battery) charging etc and he usually gets the same result as me when I leave me when I leave my batteries alone.

What I do like to see is batteries disconnected to reduce chances of fire

[BartmanMN]

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like it's a toss up. I suppose I could have left them in the boat and used my on board charger since the boat is in my garage. They are heavy as hell to lug around. The tip about charging in the funace room is interesting, since that is of course where my batteries are sitting right now.

[delcecchi]

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like it's a toss up. I suppose I could have left them in the boat and used my on board charger since the boat is in my garage. They are heavy as hell to lug around. The tip about charging in the funace room is interesting, since that is of course where my batteries are sitting right now.

I am skeptical, unless you overcharge the heck out of them, that they would outgas enough to make an explosion hazard. And your furnace room is well ventilated these days.

[gregg52]

explosion

I had one do that yrs back I forgot i had the charger on it in the garage

i was watchin the race and heard this kaaabooom outside

thinking what the hec was that

walked out side took me a bit to figure it out but a piece of the battery was on the front of the boat

kinda funny now but coulda been a bad deal

it was hooked up about 2 weeks i think

[Hookmaster]

My boat is stored off site so I pull all my batteries and on-board chargers. I rehook up everything in the garage and charge them 2-3 times a winter.

[rocstar]

What I have heard from the experts is if the battery is good, charge it at the end of the year, disconnect all wires and leave it in the unheated garage. A good battery could be put in a freezer without harm.

[bassNspear]

as long as its charged

[delcecchi]

yes. The one in you car sits under the hood in way below zero temps on occasion and doesn't freeze because it is fully charged.

[Kyhl]

But the one in your car is charged most days.

I put a charge on my boat batteries every month in the off season. They are sitting on the floor in my garage. The boat with onboard charger is in storage.

If they did lose charge and freeze, I'd rather it happen in my garage than in my boat.

[delcecchi]

If there is nothing connected to them, and it is cold they won't lose charge.