On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 10:10:56 -0400, Terry Spragg
wrote:

Clean, dry tops seems the most important thing, followed by
monitoring, trickle charging, and steam distilled water
replenishment. Buy and learn to love a hydrometer, it will que your
actions.

Roger that on the clean tops, clean terminals, distilled H2O top-ups
(if necessary) and the hydrometer. Just remember to calibrate the
hydrometer reading for ambient temperature.

R.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Popular widsom has it that the batteries should be removed from the
boat before winteer storage. The boat will be stored outside, here in
Montreal,.

Question is, why can the batteries not be left in the boat if they are
fully charged before the winter and charged again in the spring?

Many thanks in advance

Matt


If you think about the task, you will probably do more damage by moving them
than by leaving them on the boat.

In the winter, I charge mine every once in awhile. I have 2, 8D batteries
and even my wife can't lift them ;-)

Bill

This has probably been said in one form or another, but just in case:

Lead acid batteries will not freeze if they are fully charged. In fact,
the extreme cold will reduce capacity (while cold) but actually extend
the battery's life!

The challenge, obviously, is to maintain a fully charged condition over
the winter.

At the very least, the battery should be disconnected from any possible
load, no matter how small.

A small solar charger would probably keep up with a battery's rate of
self-discharge.

An interesting question is whether batteries should be left connected in
parallel or isolated from one another. If left connected, a bad cell in
one will quickly discharge its partner. However, under some
circumstances a battery with a relatively high rate of self-discharge
could be "kept alive" to some extent by a parallel-connected partner.

A discharged lead acid battery is likely to freeze with unfortunate
consequences.

Chuck

Leave them in or not ... if so, I would charge them (as you posted), then
disconnect either lead so there's no chance of leakage/discharge. I bring
mine in so they'll be there in the spring ... along with the prop. Bonus ...
I have on one occassion hauled the boat battery out of the basement to jump
start the jeep. I keep mine in the basement and charge them now and then. I
don''t bring them for fear of freezing ... I'm in Ottawa where it has been
known to go down to -55C ... if the jeep battery doesn't freeze, then
neither would one left in a boat ... i.e., nobody around here brings their
car battery in on cold nights :-)


Popular widsom has it that the batteries should be removed from the
boat before winteer storage. The boat will be stored outside, here in
Montreal

Terry Spragg wrote in
:

Because, in Montreal, they can self discharge, freeze solid, burst
the case, thaw, leak weak acid, and eat a hole in the bottom of your
boat?



I see only one good solution. Dock the boat in Aruba until spring and stay
aboard it to "do battery maintenance", an excellent excuse why you can't go
back to Montreal until after the spring floods.

Problem solved. Rum anyone? Not a single battery in the Caribbean froze
solid last winter! I checked!

--
Larry

( Mika) wrote in :

My boat is stored outside, over 6 months every winter, temperature
here in Finland being sometimes -30C...


Aruba's too far to save this battery. There's a great little marina in
Ta'Xbiex, Malta, I remember from when I was there.

http://www.maltavista.net/en/map/big/v.html
See the yacht marina office up at the top of this map up Lazaretto Creek?

I doubt Ta'Xbiex has changed much since I rented a house there right after
independence from the British in the late 60's. It's a beautiful place.

http://www.maltavista.net/en/list/photo/331.html
Hmm...looks like they've added quite a few new slips since then, too!

Tell your friends you're going there and see how many can come even close
to SPELLING it....(c;

--
Larry

Larry wrote:
( Mika) wrote in :


My boat is stored outside, over 6 months every winter, temperature
here in Finland being sometimes -30C...



Aruba's too far to save this battery. There's a great little marina in
Ta'Xbiex, Malta, I remember from when I was there.

http://www.maltavista.net/en/map/big/v.html
See the yacht marina office up at the top of this map up Lazaretto Creek?

I doubt Ta'Xbiex has changed much since I rented a house there right after
independence from the British in the late 60's. It's a beautiful place.

http://www.maltavista.net/en/list/photo/331.html
Hmm...looks like they've added quite a few new slips since then, too!

Tell your friends you're going there and see how many can come even close
to SPELLING it....(c;

I've got a buddy in the BVI who would be very helpful giving advice on
your battery or other boat issues. He has both his Captain's papers and
his Surveyor Certificate. That would be a great place to while away
Dec-March

On 8 Nov 2005 20:14:50 -0800, wrote:

Popular widsom has it that the batteries should be removed from the
boat before winteer storage. The boat will be stored outside, here in
Montreal,.

Question is, why can the batteries not be left in the boat if they are
fully charged before the winter and charged again in the spring?

Many thanks in advance

Matt

I give the batteries a full charge at haul-out, dis-connect the ground wire on
the first battery then give a boost each month throughout the winter. Gives me
a good excuse to go to the boat and play for a while as the batteries are
charging. As I live in an apartment, removing the batteries is out of the
question. The solar panel idea seems interesting though.

Jan
"If you can't take a joke,you shouldn't have joined"

Jan wrote:

On 8 Nov 2005 20:14:50 -0800, wrote:

Popular widsom has it that the batteries should be removed from the
boat before winteer storage. The boat will be stored outside, here in
Montreal,.

Question is, why can the batteries not be left in the boat if they are
fully charged before the winter and charged again in the spring?


I give the batteries a full charge at haul-out, dis-connect the ground wire on
the first battery then give a boost each month throughout the winter. Gives me
a good excuse to go to the boat and play for a while as the batteries are
charging. As I live in an apartment, removing the batteries is out of the
question. The solar panel idea seems interesting though.

Jan
"If you can't take a joke,you shouldn't have joined"

I've seen that they have solar panels for car batteries for the same
purpose. Bob has the panels fixed so that if the batteries are
charged (which they often are), the excess energy runs some little
fans in the two cabins which also keeps them aired out to some extent.

grandma Rosalie

I have hooked a 5 watt solar panel to my bank (two 8Ds and a group 24
for the genset) and hope they will make it through the winter on the
hard next to Lake Superior, where it will get down to -30F.

Those 8Ds are just too heavy to move. I will be checking them twice
this winter and be able to put the charger on them.

Capt. Jeff