Winter Storage – Plug In or Not?

[Alex F]

While storing on hard over the winter I see that some boats are plugged in to GFIs on telephone poles whenever an extension cord can reach. My boat is located near one this time around and I was utilizing the outlets anytime I’m on the boat, but then I would unplug the cord and turn off the batteries before leaving for a week or whatever.

Having 110ac power close to the boat got me thinking that I may have an option keeping the batteries connected and keep the charger on 24/7 if I keep the boat plugged in. This will allow me to have more comfort while doing projects over the winter. So, I was talking to a friend and the biggest concern is that in the event of a transformer failure there’s a risk of fire. I was told that due to this some yacht clubs have a rule no to plug their boats.

What you guys think, is this safe or not worth risking?

P.S. for now I did what I always do, which is unplugged the cord and disconnected the batteries. But, since I'm looking in to alarm systems I'd like to change my approach and have 110ac available 24/7 year round.

 

[Russ Calasant]

Alex, I know that my marina will not allow us to stay plugged in overnight. They have however asked me to just notify them when I plug in and they will unplug me. So I decided to leave the batteries in and connected, I will be there often enough to plug in and charge up.

 

[Alex F]

Alex, I know that my marina will not allow us to stay plugged in overnight. They have however asked me to just notify them when I plug in and they will unplug me. So I decided to leave the batteries in and connected, I will be there often enough to plug in and charge up.

I wander if they have a safety concern or just care about properly billing you for your usage?

 

[JimG]

I stay plugged in all winter with battery charger on. As discussed here several times, on charge is best for your batteries. I also have two low wattage air dryers w/fans on... one in the cabin and one in the cockpit (stored in doors, mooring cover on). Fire is always a possibility with electrical circuits... I feel my systems are in good order and safe. Its the other owners in the same storage building that I worry about... so what are you gonna do? :huh:

 

[Alex F]

I stay plugged in all winter with battery charger on. As discussed here several times, on charge is best for your batteries. I also have two low wattage air dryers w/fans on... one in the cabin and one in the cockpit (stored in doors, mooring cover on). Fire is always a possibility with electrical circuits... I feel my systems are in good order and safe. Its the other owners in the same storage building that I worry about... so what are you gonna do? :huh:

I would feel more comfortable staying indoors where most equipment, including electrical circuits, are under cover. I guess it would be a good idea talking to our marina manager to hear his opinion on this. After all, he might tell me that it's not allowed and people just plugging in ignoring the rule. This reminds me that a neighbor ran his cord under my boat to reach his boat, which is plugged in all the time. If his cord catches fire I might be in trouble. So, I'll have to address that too.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Seems like a lot of wear and tear on your charger and batteries if they aren't being used. I unhook the batteries. If i'm on the boat working I just run an extension cord. Seems like too many things can happen plugged in.

 

[saopm]

I plug in once a month to charge the batteries then unplug the next day. I had the guys shrinkwrap my boat so the end of the power cord drops below the wrap. When not in use I can just tuck it under. Last year I was able to reach the dock pedistal with my power cable. If I left in plugged in for an extended period of time they would unplug me. My guess is to save power rather then to prevent a fire.

 

[cod]

Alex,
Just curious why you think it's any less safe than when your plugged in when the boat is in the water?

 

[fwebster]

I've seen the marina side of this issue before. Some boat owners are complete idiots and will leave all sorts of junk plugged into a boat circuit if they can. The marina job supervising customers is reduced as is their liability exposure if the policy is no boats plugged in when out of the water. Your boat is much safer if the guy next to it isn't running various heaters and Lord knows what other electrical apparatus as he tries for a Darwin award. There is an exception here, however. Modern boats have so many electronic devices on them that, without the convertor on, the batteries can run down in just a few days. Our marina automatically runs a 30A circuit to the boat's power inlet receptacle and marina personnel turn on the convertor when a boat is hauled out for service.........keep in mind that this is a Florida marina where nobody winterizes or does a seasonal haul out and it is a Sea Ray dealer so almost all of the boats here are well engineered and maintained Sea Rays.


I don't see how comfort can be a factor in favor of powering up the boat because the heating system is winterized. The other observation is that your worry should be having lead acid batteries freeze and crack if you leave them in the boat instead of in your basement.

 

[Alex F]

I plug in once a month to charge the batteries then unplug the next day. I had the guys shrinkwrap my boat so the end of the power cord drops below the wrap. When not in use I can just tuck it under....

That's exactly what I did in the past.

Alex,
Just curious why you think it's any less safe than when your plugged in when the boat is in the water?

Steve,

I just trust Marinco cords with twist lock that are designed for marine environment plugged in to the tower near a slip much more than regular extension cords from home depot plugged in to a crappy 10 y/o looking GFI.

...I don't see how comfort can be a factor in favor of powering up the boat because the heating system is winterized. The other observation is that your worry should be having lead acid batteries freeze and crack if you leave them in the boat instead of in your basement.

Frank,

The comfort comes from electrical heater that I use all the time I'm doing my off season projects. Obviously I turn it off before leaving the boat. I'm not sure why you think that batteries will freeze. There are tons of larger boats with a lot of batteries in them and owners just charge and leave them in the boat. I took mine home for all the boats until 420. 320 had 4 batteries, which was a PITA, but not too bad. 420 has 6 batteries and seeing others having positive experience with batteries staying on board over the winter I decided to do the same last winter. So far no regrets. IMO, if a battery leaks and cracks it was due for replacement in the first place.

 

[Turtlesboat]

I have gel batteries so I leave them in disconnected. Acid batteries I take home and trickle charge throughout the winter. When I work on the boat during the winter, extension cord, space heater, ER heater, flannel lined jeans, wool hat.

 

[JVM225]

I store on the hard for the winter several feet away from where my boat sits alongside the bulkhead in season so I hang the cord out from under the shrinkwrap and plug it in to the same 30 amp outlet I use in the summer.
Two low wattage air dryers stay plugged in all winter and I turn the battery charger on every couple of weeks for a few days just to keep the batteries topped off. There is no drain on them in between. If for any reason I use a 12 volt light or something while I'm down there during the winter I turn the charger on.
I own the property and the electric is in my name so there is no argument with any Marina or Boatyard owner.

 

[Alex F]

I have gel batteries so I leave them in disconnected. Acid batteries I take home and trickle charge throughout the winter. When I work on the boat during the winter, extension cord, space heater, ER heater, flannel lined jeans, wool hat.

You don't trip GFI with more than one heater? Mine uses about 10-11amps so I don't dare to plug in another heater. I also have no idea what my neighbor has plugged in to the other outlet fed from the same line.

I store on the hard for the winter several feet away from where my boat sits alongside the bulkhead in season so I hang the cord out from under the shrinkwrap and plug it in to the same 30 amp outlet I use in the summer.....

I wish I had the option.

Seems like a lot of wear and tear on your charger and batteries if they aren't being used. I unhook the batteries. If i'm on the boat working I just run an extension cord. Seems like too many things can happen plugged in.

I agree, but the question is, if you have an alarm and/or surveillance that you wish to run even when the boat is on hard how would you manage the power? IMO, there are only two options:

1 - Have house batteries connected and shore power plugged to maintain the charge.
2 - Have all unplugged and house batteries disconnected, but have one dedicated battery provide the juice for the equipment. Then, have either solar to maintain the battery charge or go to the boat and plug in the battery in to a charger every couple of weeks.

My idea is to keep an eye on the boat all year round whether the boat is in the water or on hard. With all the thefts going on it doesn't make me feel any better having the boat without any supervision in the yard.

Having the need for constant AC or DC power made me think that storing next to a slip tower or store in water could be the options for the future.

 

[CV-23]

My boat is at home on the trailer and power is available 24/7. I really do not want to run the charger all winter and have left the batteries in the boat before. I have found that my Mercathode system runs when my batteries are switched off and will draw them down to the point they will freeze if not charged every two to three weeks. I am just pulling them this weekend because I have to disconnect them anyways to stop the draw. I know the deep cycle takes a few days to get full charge vs. the starting battery. Why wear them out when not boating. Being warm all winter has to be a plus. I never considered leaving the power on a fire hazzard unless gas starts leaking everywhere or lightning strikes. I usually only leave my power on, while docked, over the weekends to not promote corrosion on my outdrive, Mike.

 

[rcknecht]

Alex, I leave my boat plugged in all winter, and I run a small WM fan dehumidifier like this one:

 

[Alex F]

I guess it boils down to two main questions:

1. Does having shore power plugged to a GFI outlet on a telephone pole for the winter months qualify as a true fire hazard?
2. Why is there a concern for battery charger and batteries to have extra ware and tear if the actual load is as minimal as possible and making the charger do it's work maybe only once a week for few minutes (other times it'll just be in monitoring mode since the batteries will maintain the charge for a long time)?

Alex, I leave my boat plugged in all winter...

Rod, do you plug in to a outdoor GFI or do you have a marine grade 30amp outlet like we use in our slips?

 

[rcknecht]

Alex,

Sandy killed my dock electric, and replaced my outlet with a 30 Amp twist lock marine outlet. So now I have my yellow marine power cord pluged in. It is on a 20 Amp circuit, but I don't run anything that draws too much current. Right now it is not connected to a GFI, but plan on rewiring it and put in on the load side of a 20 Amp GFI... I am still fixing gremlins from Sandy... My dock electric was under about 5' of salt water, and I am working on issues with dock lighting...

 

[Alex F]

Alex,

Sandy killed my dock electric, and replaced my outlet with a 30 Amp twist lock marine outlet. So now I have my yellow marine power cord pluged in. It is on a 20 Amp circuit, but I don't run anything that draws too much current. Right now it is not connected to a GFI, but plan on rewiring it and put in on the load side of a 20 Amp GFI... I am still fixing gremlins from Sandy... My dock electric was under about 5' of salt water, and I am working on issues with dock lighting...

I guess prior Sandy you had it plugged in to a regular GFI?

 

[MasterFab]

[FONT=&quot]As some of you know, I keep my boat at home during the winter months, so I have a bit more flexibility as to how I store and maintain my batteries (5 Optima blue tops). I leave them in the boat all winter, and run my "smart" charger for several hours every week, or whenever I am out there working on the boat, so they are always fully charged.

It is a common misconception that cold weather is bad for a battery - It is not. Cold weather actually slows the normal, slow, chemical reactions that degrade a battery. Cold weather combined with a discharged battery IS bad, but a discharged battery stored in warm conditions is also doomed. When discharged, the batteries, especially wet cell lead acid batteries, become sulfated. This chemical deposition on the battery plates leads to reduced battery capacity and eventual failure. The best defense against sulfation is to maintain your batteries in a fully charged state, and recognize that ALL batteries will eventually fail - it's just a question of when.

A fully charged battery is resistant to freeze damage at temperatures well below 0 F. As a battery discharges, the specific gravity of the electrolyte is reduced, and the freeze temperature increases. A fully discharged battery will freeze under normal winter conditions, as Frank indicated, and once frozen, that battery is done. Not to mention the damage that could be done if the case cracks, and the electrolyte is spilled inside your boat. On the other hand, a fully charged battery degrades chemically at a lower rate when stored in cool conditions - so, if you can keep your batteries charged, and you don't live in an area that gets REALLY cold (think arctic) then the best bet is to leave them on the boat, in the cold, fully charged.

Dale
[/FONT]

 

[rcknecht]

I guess prior Sandy you had it plugged in to a regular GFI?

Yes, 20 AMP GFI using a pigtail 30 amp to 15 amp connector and an extension cord...