Multiple Battery Maint over winter

Weave

Weave

New Member
Jun 1, 2007
1,410
Western, MA
Boat Info
200 Sundeck 2005
Engines
4.3 MPI Alpha I Gen II
Wondering how you guys with multiple batteries maintain them over the winter layup?
I am looking at buying either a charger or Battery Tender but I am also planning on setting up another battery which would leave me with 2.
Do you swap the charger throughout the winter months?
Have multiple bank chargers?
Leave em alone all winter?
:smt100
 
I put the boat away with the batteries fully charged. That's it. In the spring they are fine after a 6 month layup. I do turn on the charger while waxing the hull, but that's about it. The current boat has maintenance free batteries, but I used the same approach when we had batteries that used liquid electrolytes. Not had any problems with battery life doing it this way.
 
I plug the charger in every month to make sure the batteries are fully charged. The batteries have always made it thru the long hard winter.
 
To add to what sbw1 said, I leave them in the boat, disconnected, and fully charged at winter layup. My boat is stored indoors, no heat.
 
I put the batteries on a charger once every 6 weeks or so. . .I leave the caps off the cells and make sure they are full. They sit in an unused bedroom at 55-60F all winter.

I have a total of six batteries between the various watercraft, and use two chargers.

Jetski batteries tend to last about 2-3 years. The SeaRay batteries I bought used with the boat and have used 3 seasons. . .seem ok as of now. I got seven years on the last Blowboat battery (I do not deep cycle this battery - it is a "standard" no-maintenance battery)
 
I will leave the batteries alone until around January & then put them on the charger. I'll charge them again in the spring before 1st launch. I honestly feel if I just left them alone they'd be fine thru the winter. Also, if it's a nice winter day it gives me a chance to peek under the canvas to make sure all is OK.
 
Weave,

Make sure the batteries are charged, disconnect the negative side(s) and put the boat to bed for the winter. The batteries will be fine, as long as there is a charge. Disconnecting them isolates them from any stray circuits, like Mercathode, GPS antenna etc that might drain them before warmer weather.

The risk for us in NE is not running the battery flat, but running the battery flat in cold weather AND having it then freeze. Because of the chemistry a charged battery will will not freeze, but a discharged battery will freeze, killing it forever.

Henry
 
Personally, I use a 4 bank Battery Tender charger over the winter, with the batteries stored in my basement. I've also learned that an important factor in battery life is keeping each cell full, topping them off with distilled water. I find each cell needs about a 1/2 inch of water after the season. Letting the electrolyte go below the top of the plates shortens the life as only a portion of the plate is getting the electrolyte and its a more concentrated exposure, thus the plates disintegrate faster.

I use the same technique with my motorcycle battery which is still going strong after 8 years.
 
seems like my best investment would be in a charger for now....?

What to look for when buying a charger??
 
Henry Boyd said:
Weave,

Make sure the batteries are charged, disconnect the negative side(s) and put the boat to bed for the winter. The batteries will be fine, as long as there is a charge. Disconnecting them isolates them from any stray circuits, like Mercathode, GPS antenna etc that might drain them before warmer weather.

The risk for us in NE is not running the battery flat, but running the battery flat in cold weather AND having it then freeze. Because of the chemistry a charged battery will will not freeze, but a discharged battery will freeze, killing it forever.

Henry
Click to expand...

The marina where I keep my boat is directly behind my house. When they pull the boat for the winter they will store it there. I was planning on leaving my shore power cable connected and my batteries connected as well. In that way every several weeks I will plug in the shore power cable and leave the internal charger on. Do you see any potential problems with this?
 
I leave mine plugged in 24/7. Even during the winter months when I seldom de-winterize and take her out to go fish, etc. She is currently put away till Thanksgiving when hopefully, I'll be able to be home and take her out for the weekend in Seattle.
 
I pulled the battery and stored it in the 65 degree F basement on a wood board. I topped off the cells with distilled water and gave it a full charge on a std charger. I used to charge it once a month with the std charger but this year I bought a "battery maintainer" from Harbor Freight for $4 (on sale). I've previously used one on my ATV with good results. It is not a "trickle charger" but a "float charger" that "automatically" monitors the levels and only turns on when needed, thus not boiling the battery dry.
 
On my ski boat, which I pull out for the winter, I pull both batteries and trickly charge them. alternating the charger between batteries every couple of weeks.

If you trickly charge, you should not have to pop the caps as there is very little hydrogen gas put off during a trickle/maintainece charge current. Good to check water level periodically for sure.

Very important! Do not leave your batteries sitting on concrete floor as they will discharge. Always have them sitting on a piece of wood or wood pallet if you have a bunch of them.
 
Storing your batteries on a concrete floor does not have a negative effect on their rate of discharge.
 
Idle batteries lose about 10% state of charge per month, more in warmer temperatures. When a battery sits at about 50% S.O.C. for extended durations, then the battery plates will sulfate, permanent damage that decreases capacity.

My six group 31s float at 13.8VDC all winter long using a custom system I designed that includes individual fuses and current limiting power resistors for safety.

The prior system was to move the charger from battery to battery, but that was a huge PITA, so I moved on.

A flooded cell battery should float at 13.8VDC for 24 hours, minimum to reach 100% charge. It will then drop to about 12.5VDC after the surface charge dissipates.
 
Buy a battery charger with a 12v and 24 v option, that way you can bridge 2 together and trickle chare them. Most chargers will give you the option switch for conventional, no maintenance and deep cycle. DO NOT sit them on a concrete floor and charge them. For some reason the concrete will kill the battery unless they are glass mat.
 
I take mine home and store them in the basement on wood. I have heard that wood is no longer necessary but old habits die hard. I do NOT charge them during the winter. Rather, I keep a monthly written log on their voltage to see if they can hold a charge. If an unloaded battery can't hold 12+V uncharged for 6 months in a climate controlled environment, it's time to replace said battery, b/c it will let you down, perhaps w/o fair warning, while you're out on the water.

In the spring, I will charge them up one at a time with a regular auto battery charger before I re-install them. I'll monitor them in the boat for the week or two that it takes to ready the boat for launch, then plug the boat (and converter) in to keep them topped off til launch.
 
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