"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 01 Oct 2006 09:46:10 -0400, Larry wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote in
m:

So the plan is to just leave them in place and put trickle chargers on
each battery over winter.

Any thoughts?

Take them out and store them above 32F. Do not trickle them dry all
winter. Charge them once a month with an automatic SHUTOFF battery
charger. Trickle overcharging, and it will, just destroys them and does
nothing about plate sulfation.

Why store above 32F? That makes no sense.

If the batteries are fairly new, fully charged and hold a charge they won't
freeze. All batteries slowly discharge due to internal current within the
battery. If the batteries are a couple of years or more old there is an
increasing risk of them freezing because they don't hold a charge as long as
a new battery. I had one freeze and split even though it was fully charged
before storage (outside and left in the boat). That's why I like to keep a
float charger on them when stored in an unheated area.

Eisboch