battery storage for the winter

[darren]

what is the best way to help the life of your battery in the winter... i have a 3 bank on board charger. should i just leave it on float over the winter months, or charge them up disconnect and bring them inside to keep warm? thanks.......darren

[Team_Dougherty]

Leave them on the charger.

[Jig Man]

If you leave them plugged in 24/7 then you better check the water every few weeks.

[Ann-Marie]

If you leave them plugged in 24/7 then you better check the water every few weeks.

While that used to be true, with the advent of modern smart chargers in the last 20 years, if they have a maintenance float stage the batteries will not lose water.

[t bend tex]

What is "winter"?

Larry G

[Jig Man]

If you leave them plugged in 24/7 then you better check the water every few weeks.

While that used to be true, with the advent of modern smart chargers in the last 20 years, if they have a maintenance float stage the batteries will not lose water.

Not with my Dual Pro. I fish a few times a year for 3-5 weeks every day. I put the charger on every time I return to camp. In a couple of weeks my cells are low and I have to add water.

Winter before last I contacted the MFG and talked to them about leaving the charger on for a couple of months while I was gone.  They said under no circumstance should I do this.  They said take the batteries to some one who will maintain them or get someone to come by and charge them every couple of weeks.

[Team_Dougherty]

Not with my Dual Pro. I fish a few times a year for 3-5 weeks every day. I put the charger on every time I return to camp. In a couple of weeks my cells are low and I have to add water.

Maybe your dual pro is over charging. I leave my battery on the charger 24/7/365 when not on the water and never had an issue with low water. But then again it is maintenance free and there are no caps to take off.

[aceman387]

i leave my marine battery on my work bench in a cold garage all winter every couple weeks or so i hook it up to my 2amp trickle charger for a few hours i always pop the caps off and check the water level because the water does go down once in awhile.

[The Rooster]

Is there a certain type of water you must add?? Sink tap water OK or do I need distilled water?? I once added just spring water from a bottle to a battery and I never even got one more trip from it, it just died. No idea why either, but it did though and I always thought that was the reason.  The water wasn't cold either, just room temperature only added to a battery that was warm from being outside during warm weather.

[Jig Man]

Is there a certain type of water you must add?? Sink tap water OK or do I need distilled water?? I once added just spring water from a bottle to a battery and I never even got one more trip from it, it just died. No idea why either, but it did though and I always thought that was the reason. The water wasn't cold either, just room temperature only added to a battery that was warm from being outside during warm weather.

Distilled water.

[Team_Dougherty]

Is there a certain type of water you must add?? Sink tap water OK or do I need distilled water?? I once added just spring water from a bottle to a battery and I never even got one more trip from it, it just died. No idea why either, but it did though and I always thought that was the reason. The water wasn't cold either, just room temperature only added to a battery that was warm from being outside during warm weather.

Spring water is very bad. It has a lot of minerals in it that will damage a battery. Distilled water is the only thing to add.

[bilgerat]

Yup, what they said ^. Distilled water in a battery is a MUST. I'll give ya another tip - use distilled water in your vehicle's cooling system (of course mixed with the proper amount of coolant). Tap water has minerals that will leave deposits on the inner surfaces of your engine's cooling system. Not a big deal if you drive something that's 20+ years old, but on newer vehicles it's critical.

[The Rooster]

Yup, what they said ^. Distilled water in a battery is a MUST. I'll give ya another tip - use distilled water in your vehicle's cooling system (of course mixed with the proper amount of coolant). Tap water has minerals that will leave deposits on the inner surfaces of your engine's cooling system. Not a big deal if you drive something that's 20+ years old, but on newer vehicles it's critical.

And would that be because newer vehicles have aluminum engine blocks and deposits on them would cut the efficiency of the cooling system and risk an overheat situation, maybe even engine failure from a cracked block??  

[bilgerat]

It is more for cooling system efficiency - heat transfers more quickly through clean surfaces. Mineral deposits act as an insulator. Cracking usually occurs from two things:

1) severe overheating caused by EXTENDED running of a hot engine, especially when coolant loss has occured.

2) adding coolant to a hot engine before allowing it to cool down first.

You're right about the aluminum in modern engines - it's not forgiving at all when it comes to overheating. Actually it's the cylinder heads that get the worst of it. They run hotter than any other component on your engine because:

1) They absorb the heat of combustion and

2) they are generally the last thing on the engine to be cooled as coolant flows from the block first then upward to the head(s).

One last thought on cooling systems: Always mix coolant and water in the proper ratios. Too much coolant will actually cause the engine to run hotter. And NEVER add "stop leak" or any other crap of that nature to your engine. I know there are guys who swear by that stuff and the labels claim it's harmless, just don't do it.