Winter Battery Storage

P

purl

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Joined
Jul 26, 2005
RO Number
18418
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27
Just wondering what the thoughts or experiences are on storing boat batteries for the winter.
My boat is stored in a non heated shed where the winter temps can get down to -30C(-20F).I always took the batteries inside,charged them up and left them in the basement for the winter.The marine shop where I get my winterizing done says you can just charge them fully,remove the leads(at least 1 of the leads) and leave them in the boat.
Any input on this.
 
That's what I've done the last few years with no ill effects. A charged battery won't freeze.
 
Pulling them out and taking them home where they are in a warmer atmosphere and can be hooked up to a charger occassionaly is certainly not a bad thing. If you been doing this in the past and have no problem with it, then continue to do so. If you weigh the risk of the battery freezing and causing damage, then the obvious choice is to take them home. Batteries will self-discharge over time.
From Trojans web site: The freezing temperature of the electrolyte in a fully charged battery is -92F. At a 40% state of charge, electrolyte will freeze if the temperature reaches approximately 16F.
 
I've always taken them home, put them in the unheated garage, and attached cheap (under $10 ea)trickle-chargers to them. These Delco Voyager Batteries have lasted 5 years. While there's no sign of them giving up, I'm replacing them this upcoming season.
 
Last fall, all batteries were charged,and left on the boat. One was bad and I pulled it out. This spring, the remaining four were all dead as door nails. The temp reached at least -32F here last winter and was in the -15 to -25 range at night for about a week. Last weekend I pulled all five "new" batteries from the boat and put them in our attached garage. It isn't heated, but will rarely drop below freezing. I'm going to put the trickle charger on them about once a month.
 
I've done it both ways myself. Last winter, I left the 'charged' batteries in the boat, and disconnected one side of all 3 batteries. One was a sealed battery and the other 2 were the acid fill type. Connected them to a small trickle charger and left them in this configuration all winter. This past spring, all 3 batteries were fine.

Maybe I'm getting too old to go through the hassle of yanking them out each winter, when there are equally as advantageous alternatives.
 
I take mine home and put them on those little battery maintainer devices. I believe one good reason to take them out is so you can take them to a battery shop in the spring and get them properly tested.

Niles
 
I leave mine in and don't even disconnect them. Engines always start right up in the spring without charging.
 
I charge em when I winterize the boat in Oct...then again every couple of months over the winter...and just turn the battery switch off...charging them every couple of months seems to keep them in good shape...in that extreme cold bringing them into a warmer basement might be preferable...just have to be careful about the hydrogen gas batteries give off....Here our coldest temps are from 0-10 above so it's not such a big issue as long as they are charged regularly and there are no draws on them while in storage...
 
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