Off Season Battery Care and Questions.

[Tuds75]

Now that the soft water season is about done, I was wondering what I need to do to keep my boat's batteries (deep and cranking) healthy and running at optimal performance when I hook them up in the spring and take the boat out.

Just some questions I have; Should I check the water levels and if so how do I check them? Should I use the deep cycle over the winter in my fish house or is better to keep it charged. How often should I recharge the batteries over the winter?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[BoxMN]

Check water, add to just over top of lead. Then charge fully. Then charge about once per month. That will take care of them. Use it or not, whatever works for you, but main thing is to keep them charged while being "stored" or used. No need to leave them plugged in all winter though, as it could get over charged and boil off some water.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

For the last several years I have been using the VDC "BatteryMINDer" maintainer that I bought at Northern. Works great all year.

Prior to that, I was forgetting to charge them and would kill a battery every couple of years.

[bak2MN]

I was told to charge completely and then put into the feezer. Afully charged battery wont freeze and wont discharge if frozen. Anybody else heard of this?

[Northlander]

I charge mine fully and then plug in the on board charger. If the lights gren I unplug, if its orange I charge until green then unplug. I check weekly. They stay right in the boat just like summer.

[Barony]

If you keep them in the house and charge, remember that the CO2 detector will go off. I don't have a heated shed and brought them in one winter. Hooked up the charger and the detector goes off. Scared the you know what out of me.

I have a neighbor that insists that they can't be stored on concrete. Any truth to that?

[Matt C]

I typically bring em in during the winter. This year, I will be leaving them in, and just plugging in the on board charger for a few days on, 1 or 2 weeks off to see how that works.

Bringing them in and topping off, charging has been great! I am just being lazy, and am trying another route this year

[Tuds75]

I have a neighbor that insists that they can't be stored on concrete. Any truth to that?

I heard this one too, but also don't know if there is any truth to it?

Ok what about use fisherman who have our boat in storage so we can't keep it on an on-board charger?

[Jim Almquist]

My friend who works for a large power company was told in a class that it make no difference if the battery is on a concrete floor. Mine are usually in something or on the work bench so they never seem to sit on the floor.

[aquafang]

I talked t a tech at the company who makes my onboard charger. He said bring the batteries in if possible. Batteries love 60 degrees or so. You don't know what to believe. this pretty much shoots down the freezer theory. or does that theory shoot down the 60 deg. theory??? Ive heard leave them plugged in all winter with a onboard chgr. Then I've heard just plug them in once a month. Heres what I think, charge them once a month or keep them plugged in all the time with an onboard charger. Just don't leave them unattended all winter without charging. Heck, I'm gonna combine tecniques. gonna plug in my onboard once a month.

[BobT]

I was told to charge completely and then put into the feezer. Afully charged battery wont freeze and wont discharge if frozen. Anybody else heard of this?

NO, NO, NO. Cold is not a battery's friend. It is true that a charged battery will not freeze at our winter temperatures but storing them in a freezer is not in the best interest of the battery.

BoxMN hit it exactly correct.

• Maintain electrolyte level by adding water until it covers the plates. Dry plates will harm a battery by contamination. Distilled water is best as it contains no or very little contamination.

• Store them in a warm dry area

• Periodically place on a trickle charger to maintain charge. It is not necessary to leave a charger connected. Some claim they won't over-charge but I wouldn't trust them completely.

Bob

[UMDSportsman]

About the concrete, i have not heard about not storing them on concrete, but i will never leave the battery on the concrete while charging. If you don't have a sealed battery the acid can boil over and when it gets onto the concrete it can and will discolor the concrete and eat away at it.

Who ever mentioned CO2... Carbon dioxide(CO2) is harmless, It is Carbon monoxide(CO) is the dangerous one.

[Pat K]

Cold does not hurt a charged battery. It goes dormant and does not discharge as rapidly as it does at 60 degrees.

A charged battery doesn't freeze until -75.

Growing up on a farm, where you have alot of batteries in equiptment that spends more time in storage than being used, I can tell you that summer heat is much rougher on a seasonly stored battery than winter cold.

[Whoaru99]

I left mine in the boat and left the OB charger plugged in most of the time. The batteries last 8 years and some odd months.

About batteries on concrete, this is about the most reasonable explaination I've read...

"Like most old wives' tales, the one about concrete discharging batteries is based on partial truths. Take a well-used, dirty battery covered with sulfate fur and road grime, park it on a damp concrete floor, and it will sure enough discharge itself within a few days or a week or two. Take that same battery, clean the top and sides off with baking soda and water, rinse and dry. Park it on a nice dry piece of concrete, and it will retain its charge for months. The difference is, the dirt and moisture act as a path to conduct electricity from one battery post to another. Clean off the dirt, dry up the moisture and there's no path.

Under ideal conditions a lead-acid storage battery will discharge itself at a rate of nearly 1 percent per day."

[BobT]

Cold does not hurt a charged battery. It goes dormant and does not discharge as rapidly as it does at 60 degrees.

A charged battery doesn't freeze until -75.

Growing up on a farm, where you have alot of batteries in equiptment that spends more time in storage than being used, I can tell you that summer heat is much rougher on a seasonly stored battery than winter cold.