Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

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?


Briefly, because batteries discharge somewhat directly to the air, and
if still hooked up to wire...even a discontiniuous circuit...will
"leak". That's why boats "put away" are recommended to disconnect the
ground.

The cold...and in Montreal, very cold...weather also lowers the
voltage rating of batteries significantly, perhaps to the point of
allowing the electrolyte to freeze.

Having said that, I keep mine aboard, but I charge them twice a week
as I live near to my club and have a tarp, heater and 15 amps to the
boat 16 hrs/day if I need it. I will deliberately run the cabin lights
or a small inverter to cycle them over the winter a couple of times on
the perhaps dubious theory that a battery bank being used and charged
is happier than a bank being half-frozen and then jolted with a
charger on occasion.

If you are leaving your boat entirely, standard battery preservation
lore has it to bring them home to a cool basement and trickle charge
them (assuming they're standard lead/acid "wet" cells) a couple of
times a month at 14.1 volts or so to "top them up".

R.

Winter battery removal
 

Also a low volt battery (from sitting) has a good chance of freezing
and busting. thus electrolite drained all inside the boat, that is
unless you're battery is encased in a battery box, and that's still no
garentee.

PLUS a battery will normally loose 3-4% of it's rating per month due to
natural deterioration, and by letting it sit idle in low temperatures,
will cause it to deteriorate at a quicker rate.

Yes, if you are going to store your boat for the winter, I'd suggest
taking the battery completely out and storing it inside if possible.

My friend lives in an appt. complex and cannot do such, so, he goes to
an extreme. he switches the battery in his pick up truck and boat
battery every couple weeks in the winter.

Yeah, like I said thats an extreme, but he doesn't seem to have much of
a problem with batteries being consistantly charged.

Winter battery removal
 

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?

You could try a rel small solar panel to keep up with internal losses.
Not the sunlight but the daylight type. Lots of boatowners here
(Holland) use 'm and are pretty satisfied with it.

Regards, Len.

Winter battery removal
 

Getting my 4Ds out of the boat to home is not an option. I get them
fully charged, then disconnect them and leave them in the boat. They
have never failed to start the engine on first try in the Spring.

Winter battery removal
 

Winter battery removal
 

Winter battery removal
 

Winter battery removal
 

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 14:17:50 GMT, Don White
wrote:

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'd bet over your 4 month winter the battery would discharge and freeze
if just left outside. The question is...do you want a reliable battery
to use in the spring?

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

No problems leaving fully charged battery in the boat with one wire
disconnected. Used to charge the battery once during winter. Would
start my diesel on first try in spring.

This year I connected a small 5 watt solar panel. Though there will be
_no_ sunlight for about a month in December ;)

Mika


.................................................. .............
A bad day on the water is better than a great day on land.

Lähetätkö e-mailia? Vaihda osoitteen eka (vai oliko se toka?)
kahdeksikko numeroksi viisi.

Winter battery removal
 

I agree with most of this, but primarily (again). with M. Rosalie. If
you have a battery you can take out, go ahead and take it out. But if
you have 700-800 Ah worth of batteries, then leave'm in. If leaving
in, disconnect from the system and trickle-charge if possible.
that's my 2 cents :)

Winter battery removal
 

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.

Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

( 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

Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

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"

Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

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

Winter battery removal
 

Tamaroak wrote in
:

where it will get down to -30F.


How do the government bureaucrats sell "global warming" to Minnesotans?

--
Larry

Winter battery removal
 

See www.batteryfaq.org.

I agree with the poster from Scandinavia who leaves his batteries outside. I
talked with two very experienced boaters yesterday who agree that:

1/ a good condition, fully-charged battery will not freeze in any conditions
reasonably expected in this area (and I live 2 hours from Montreal, where we
see down to almost minus 30 C).
2/ Note: "good condition, fully-charged." They don't do anything about this
except i) buy very good batteries to start with, and ii) charge them in the
Fall during lay-up, and iii) replace them after many years when they don't
hold a charge well anymore. Next season, they just start using them again,
and then repeat the cycle at lay-up. You can of course check for enough
water, check the electrolyte's sg, and I do these sporadically, but so far
the main thing that works very well for me is using a digital (not analog!)
voltmeter. Knowing what numbers to expect (i.e. the nominal "12V" is very
bad!) and correcting for temperature (see web site address above) is
critical.
3/ The internal self-discharge of a battery is minimal in very cold weather.
Chemical reactions slow down in the cold. The very place where you least
likely need a trickle-charger is where the battery is unheated. Indoor
batteries will discharge more.

Also, a completely discharged battery is not likely a problem, because you
would have known that it was malfunctioning and not have left it outdoors. A
marginal battery that had fooled you would still hold some electrolyte, and
I have never met anyone who had a battery casing fail due to freezing. Some
have bulged - but not broken. If they bulged, they were bad anyway and would
have needed soon replacement.

Also, of course, keep the battery tops clean to minimize any leakage current
between the terminals through the dust.

Remember what people do to keep back-up batteries (for flashlights, etc.) in
good condition: refigerate or even freeze them. Cold protects (good)
batteries.

====

Charles T. Low
www.boatdocking.com

====

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