Questions for my Fellow Northern Anglers

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, this is for the guys who live up North where currently your season is pretty much over and if you're like me and just got about 6" of snow and the temp outside is hovering around 20 degrees with the wind howling about. Do you leave your battery's in your boat over the winter or do you take them inside and put them on cardboard? My boat is in my garage so it's out of the elements but it's not a heated garage and it still gets very cold...just no snow will get in. Also, I did winterize my boat, put fuel stabilizer in the tank and ran it about 15 minutes to get some in the fuel lines. I fogged the motor. The one thing I didn't get a chance to do was change the oil in the lower end. It was changed in Spring and due to just not having enough time this year I only took my boat out once for a couple of hours...should I change it before Winter really gets here in earnest or am I okay until next Spring?

[MN Fisher]

I know we had this thread a bit ago - but here I go again. I have a Deep-Cycle for my TM and I store the canoe in the garage. But I do remove the battery, charge it up, then stash it in the basement where it never drops below 60 even in the sub-zero times. In the spring, haul it back out to the canoe, top off the charge and go.

[slonezp]

I've owned boats for over 20 years. Never removed them and froze the first one 4 years ago. I have stored them in the house since.

 

If they will not be on a trickle charger, make sure they are fully charged and disconnected from the boat. Modern motors and stereos are a parasitic drain on the battery.

[DanielG]

38 minutes ago, slonezp said:

I've owned boats for over 20 years. Never removed them and froze the first one 4 years ago. I have stored them in the house since.

 

If they will not be on a trickle charger, make sure they are fully charged and disconnected from the boat. Modern motors and stereos are a parasitic drain on the battery.

I don't know the particulars but sometimes if a battery goes bad at end of life could be 4 yrs or 9 yrs old, shorts out, like when you suddenly can't start your car in the morning because the battery needs replacing, it will freeze.

Right now I've got three 100 amp/hr. batteries outside. Two in the boat, one in the camper. All fully charged in the fall. It was 12 degrees last night. I've done this for years. In the spring there's still a 3/4 charge in the batteries.

[Brett's_daddy]

What about the oil change in the lower end?

[slonezp]

1 hour ago, Brett's_daddy said:

What about the oil change in the lower end?

Yes. If there's water in the lower unit from a bad seal, you risk freezing and causing damage. 

[12poundbass]

I leave my batteries in my boat and charge them at least once a month. 

[redmexican5081]

5 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

What about the oil change in the lower end?

An oil change may cost a few dollars and time now but a lower unit that freezes and cracks will keep you off the water and put a bigger hole in your pocket come spring

[Brett's_daddy]

13 hours ago, redmexican5081 said:

An oil change may cost a few dollars and time now but a lower unit that freezes and cracks will keep you off the water and put a bigger hole in your pocket come spring

The money isn't the problem really, it's the time. I always have something going on on the weekend and don't get out of work in time to get it to the dealer before they close at 5:30pm. He actually changed it in the spring and put a new drain plug in but he must have been hercules as I can't budge the d**n thing with a screwdriver. I don't want to break it either than it would leak. If I could somehow get it off myself i could change my own oil.

[FryDog62]

When I bought my boat, it was recommended to me to get a quality on-board charger and leave plugged in year round whenever the boat is not in use.  Was told in doing this the batteries would likely exceed the typical 5 year life expectancy as well.
 

So the boat sits in my unheated garage on the trickle.  I considered storing the boat at a facility this winter as we prepare our house for sale... but when I found out I would need to remove all the rods in my locker to get under the floor and take all 4 batteries out and haul inside then set up a charger... I decided nah just leave the boat plugged in the garage.. not worth the hassle for me.  And save the $300 storage fee for the Bait Monkey of course..

[Swamp Yankee]

I didn’t realize this was a thing ... winter care for batteries.

 

My 39’ camper has a 12’ x 3’ bump out that is extended each season by battery power alone. I’m still using the same deep cycle marine battery that was new when we bought the camper 10 years ago. I simply disconnect it in fall when we close up, and reconnect it in spring. It spends the entire winter on the trailer parked on our site. I haven’t even had to charge it yet... it just works when I open in the spring.

 

Of course, I realize that by sharing this, I’ve doomed myself to all sorts of problems opening my camper next year

[Scott F]

1 hour ago, Swamp Yankee said:

I didn’t realize this was a thing ... winter care for batteries.

 

My 39’ camper has a 12’ x 3’ bump out that is extended each season by battery power alone. I’m still using the same deep cycle marine battery that was new when we bought the camper 10 years ago. I simply disconnect it in fall when we close up, and reconnect it in spring. It spends the entire winter on the trailer parked on our site. I haven’t even had to charge it yet... it just works when I open in the spring.

 

Of course, I realize that by sharing this, I’ve doomed myself to all sorts of problems opening my camper next year

10 years, never been charged up, and still works. That sounds like the loaves and fishes story. We are witnessing a miracle! LOL!

[Swamp Yankee]

3 hours ago, Scott F said:

10 years, never been charged up, and still works. That sounds like the loaves and fishes story. We are witnessing a miracle! LOL!

I know!

 

When it’s all hooked up, the camper is plugged into metered electric. The battery charge is being topped off then from April till November.

 

Knock on wood... it has yet to need a charge up before I extend the bump out each spring. I just reconnect it and hit the switch.... and the bump-out cranks out. 

[Scott F]

1 hour ago, Swamp Yankee said:

I know!

 

When it’s all hooked up, the camper is plugged into metered electric. The battery charge is being topped off then from April till November.

 

Knock on wood... it has yet to need a charge up before I extend the bump out each spring. I just reconnect it and hit the switch.... and the bump-out cranks out. 

So it is hooked up to a charger over the winter. I thought you meant you never charged it.

[Swamp Yankee]

2 hours ago, Scott F said:

So it is hooked up to a charger over the winter. I thought you meant you never charged it.

No... it’s hooked up to automatic charge all summer.

 

Come November, I unplug the camper, disconnect the leads on the battery and the battery sits in its case on the camper frame all winter.

 

Come spring, I connect the leads and crank out the bump out on battery power alone so the 10 year old battery is retaining enough juice over the winter to crank out something that weighs a few hundred pounds at least. 

 

I’ve never had to charge it or boost it to get it to crank out the bump out in spring. And it’s ten years old. And I’ve never done anything to maintain or even protect the battery other than leave it in its case, exposed, on the tongue of the trailer. 

 

But of course, I’ve probably doomed myself by discussing this. I’ve angered the RV gods and, no doubt, they’ll smite my butt next spring for my hubris

[kjfishman]

Easy to change the lower unit oil yourself. 15 minute job. As far as batteries doesn't cost you anything to bring them in if you are concerned.  My boat is stored in the garage and I keep them in the boat plugged into the onboard charger.

 

[Tizi]

I take my batteries out and keep them in the garage on a trickle charger.

[Brett's_daddy]

On 11/19/2019 at 9:59 PM, kjfishman said:

Easy to change the lower unit oil yourself. 15 minute job. As far as batteries doesn't cost you anything to bring them in if you are concerned.  My boat is stored in the garage and I keep them in the boat plugged into the onboard charger.

 

Oh I've changed it before but this time the mechanic at the dealer must have used Hercules strength to tighten that oil drain screw...I just can't get it undone. I may have to use one of those hand held impact screwdrivers to get the dang thing off.

[Way north bass guy]

4 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

Oh I've changed it before but this time the mechanic at the dealer must have used Hercules strength to tighten that oil drain screw...I just can't get it undone. I may have to use one of those hand held impact screwdrivers to get the dang thing off.

If you put a big flat screwdriver on just the right part of the screw head, so it spins the head in the correct direction to loosen, and hit the end of the screwdriver with a hammer ( not like a maniac though, just a solid hit), it’ll knock the screw loose. Imagine the screwdriver is like a chisel, and your hitting the end of the handle with the hammer. I had to do this with one of my older boats every fall, it seemed to self tighten over the summer to the point where I couldn’t budge it, but this way always got it loose. 

[Brett's_daddy]

On 11/22/2019 at 6:40 PM, Way north bass guy said:

If you put a big flat screwdriver on just the right part of the screw head, so it spins the head in the correct direction to loosen, and hit the end of the screwdriver with a hammer ( not like a maniac though, just a solid hit), it’ll knock the screw loose. Imagine the screwdriver is like a chisel, and your hitting the end of the handle with the hammer. I had to do this with one of my older boats every fall, it seemed to self tighten over the summer to the point where I couldn’t budge it, but this way always got it loose. 

Just got me one of these .

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-Automotive-Tool-Set/1000594839

[OnthePotomac]

I have found the key to my LU drain plug screw is a really big flat blade (I use a 14 in)and a leather glove.  

ultimately put your LU oil into a glass, or clear plastic jar and hold it up the light.  If you have water in the oil it will be milky in appearance.  BTW, I have a plastic shoe box I place under the LU and it is a no mess way to drain it and you can let it drip for a awhile with no worry.  Then it goes in to the jar.

I have to store the boat at the state park yard, so my batteries come home with me for winter storage and spend the next four months on a battery tender with a pulsing desulfinater.  It keeps them in really good shape.

I don't use  fuel stabilizer in my E10 gas, just top it off to the top of the tank and no condensation.  Never a water problem for the last several years.