Winter battery storage

[flatheadsteve]

Same brand? It can make a HUGE difference. As long as they don't go flat and freeze if anything the cold should slow down chemical breakdown. If you really want those batteries to last get the crap out of them. I suspect all the crud floating around inside may be most of the reason batteries get weak with age. No expert really, just reporting the results off my experimentation. I could well have some of this wrong!

I agree I think most batteries go bad from not being used. Proper cycling of the battery keeps things healthy inside.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Yep, and that's how I revive them too. After a thorough cleaning I cycle them every which way I can and surprisingly they end up loading like new again. Who'da thunk it?

If you think about it though do any of us REALLY cycle them properly? When's the last time you ran yours flat? We all strive to keep em topped off I think. I know I tend to do this.

 

[flatheadsteve]

Yep, and that's how I revive them too. After a thorough cleaning I cycle them every which way I can and surprisingly they end up loading like new again. Who'da thunk it?

If you think about it though do any of us REALLY cycle them properly? When's the last time you ran yours flat? We all strive to keep em topped off I think. I know I tend to do this.

My single house/starting battery got quite the workout last season. She dipped down to 11.9v on several times and once got down to 11.6....still managed to fire off the 150hp yamaha at that reading. I figure with both livewells running , graph, lights, and radio I pull about 25amps. Now that's if the radio is on max which it never is and the livewells are set to run constant which they never are but the possibility is there. It's also why I'm adding a 2nd group 27 house battery . The 3 batteries for the trolling motor I don't think ever went below 60% and that was a full day of bass fishing. Most trips it didn't get below 80% and your right I come home and plug it in the next day to top them off to be ready for the next trip. Most my trips are planned I'm definitely going to try to only top off the 36v lifepo4 I just got like 12hrs before trips. The smart charger actually keeps it at 80% unless full charge is selected so it won't be stored at 100% which is good.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Probably a smart idea would be when our batts are getting low would be to hookup a headlight or two and let them go flat before recharging. That's what I do to revive them. I have an old fashioned charger with a manual setting. I sometimes charge 'em back up way over 13V, then, of course, discharge them all the way again. I'll also trickle them for a week, then discharge. An epsom salts solution is employed for most of this. Once I like where the battery is, I strain and replace the original electrolyte, which oddly is gray, not clear, but works just fine. Some like to replace with fresh electrolyte, which I'm sure wouldn't hurt.

 

[airshot]

Probably a smart idea would be when our batts are getting low would be to hookup a headlight or two and let them go flat before recharging. That's what I do to revive them. I have an old fashioned charger with a manual setting. I sometimes charge 'em back up way over 13V, then, of course, discharge them all the way again. I'll also trickle them for a week, then discharge. An epsom salts solution is employed for most of this. Once I like where the battery is, I strain and replace the original electrolyte, which oddly is gray, not clear, but works just fine. Some like to replace with fresh electrolyte, which I'm sure wouldn't hurt.

Over the years, every thing I have read, heard and been told says to never run a battery flat...on the few that I have had go flat, they never cane back no matter how many times I cycled them. What kind of batteries are you using ??

 

[LaqueRatt]

Mostly the same brand. Clarios, formerly Johnson Controls, formerly Globe Union. They build Walmart, Die-Hard, and Interstate......plus at least 100 other labels!

You may want to rethink that statement. People accidentally run their batteries flat all the time and they always charge back up, right? All it takes is a glove box light sticking on or leaving the headlights on on a day that started out rainy, but later the sun was shining. I used to think if they sat flat they were toast too. I also used to think if they froze solid they were done. I've recently disproved those errant ideas. Live and learn as they say.

You don't have to take my word for it. Go run a battery dead and put it on the charger. Load test it before and after. There is a good chance it'll pop back stronger than ever!

 

[InSaneFisherMan]

Storage and Restoration of batteries are 2 different process.

I have attached the Dept of Energy handbook on lead acid storage batteries.

My maintenance/storage pretty much follows their guidance and I get 3-5 years out of an $85 DC-24 battery.

 

[LaqueRatt]

I should add that a lot of us are mostly concerned with trolling batteries. I'm messing around with automobile cranking batteries. They are both wet cell design, but I don't know what the difference is or whether these techniques work on them as well as car batteries. Didn't mean to side-track the thread, my main point is it's damned hard to kill a battery and a good battery should be just fine sitting for a few cold months. Again though I'm talking about high output JC products. Maybe cheap batteries die easier? That could explain why your mileage may vary.

 

[LaqueRatt]

For the heck of it, just checked my 27 series trolling battery: 12.7V. Older battery that's sat on the garage floor for 3 mos in temps between 32-60F. I'm topping off the charge, but pretty sure it could have sat another 2 or 3 mos without hurting it any. Conclusion: 6 mos in the cold should not hurt any battery. Just be sure to disconnect the cables to eliminate the possibility of parasitic draw. Probably more common in cars than boats.