Removing the battery for winter storage

[pschauss]

One of the options on the winter storage checklist for the yard that I am using is to remove and store the batteries. I assume that the rationale for this is so that they will be fully changed in the spring. Is this really necessary. When I put my 1963 Austin Healey away for the winter in October or November I do not do anything special with the battery and she starts right up when I take her out in late March or April. I have been doing this with the car for more than 20 years. The car is stored in an unheated garage.

If it make a difference, I live on Long Island.

Thanks,
Peter Schauss
Water-Lou - B31 SF

[Tony Meola]

Peter

You will get all types of answers on this one. I remove mine and put them on a float charge in my garage.

At a minimum, you need to disconnect them. In fact that is in my contract with the marina. They must be disconnected.

I would charge them and then charge them again in the spring. If they are in good shape you should be good to go.

I had interstate group 31's and got 8 years out of them by pulling them every year, float charging all winter then I desulfate them in the spring. Will the new Deka's last 8 years , ask n
Me in 7 years.

So either way works as long as they are fully charged when put to bed.

[Yannis]

What is easier, disconnect, remove and carry the batteries each season, and reinstall them back again, or, install a small solar pannel that keeps them charged all year round? On the boat. I have the fridge setting left on 1 so that there is also some little constant consumption.

[Tooeez]

For years on Long Island I would pull all 4 batteries, store them at home on charge, and reinstall in the spring. The last 6 or 8 years I left them in the boat and just turned on the charger in the spring, and everything seemed to be just fine that way. I also would kick the engines over 1 revolution every 5 or 6 weeks during the winter, and having the batteries in the boat made that a lot easier.
By the way, if the yard is storing the batteries, odds are they are going to get tossed in the corner of a shed somewhere, and then given a quick charge when it is time to reinstall them--not a recipe for a long life!

[bob lico]

my batteries (4-AGM) are on a charger 24/7 for 11years. i have a pro-mariner- 40 computer led read out. works well

[Tony Meola]

my batteries (4-AGM) are on a charger 24/7 for 11years. i have a pro-mariner- 40 computer led read out. works well

Bob

The yard I keep the boat in for the winter will not allow that. To big of a potential fire hazard. It is in my yard contract I get each year when I lay her up.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

I keep my 25 in the driveway so no marina regs. The batteries are on a Pro-Mariner 40 amp 3 bank charger that is plugged in all winter. I also have a bilge/engine bay heater that kicks in at temps below 45. I check the level of fluid in the batteries monthly.

[Yannis]

Joe, how much do they last in this keeping manner? What are they? Thanks.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

Yannis,

They are regular lead acid batteries. 2 start batteries and a deep cycle for the house. I have had the charger for two years so not sure if this extends the life, but it saves me from hauling them out each year. I did lose a battery this summer but it was 5 years old so it was ready to die anyway.

[Charlie J]

I have never removed any of my batts from any of my boats
shut all switches off
check water in the spring
and give them a charge before splashing

[Bruce]

When I was a wee lad of questionable character in the boat biz up north for two winters we always made sure our storage boats had charged up batteries before putting up and disconnecting cables. Very rare did we see an issue. We stored over 100 boats.
Cold weather kills low and weak batteries.
Of course pulling them with a trickle charge in a warmer climate is not a bad idea either.
Trouble with many yards is on a low battery they like to put a fast charge into them for time sake. Fast heavy charges batteries no like.

[Carl]

Yard I used to be in would charge a tidy fee for checking and topping off fluid levels in the engines, remove store and charge batteries. For the time it took me to write a check I can check my own fluid levels and I am not sure what the purpose of removing a battery from a boat to store it inside an outdoor unheated container was. As to the charge...it was charged as they brought them out to the boats in the Spring.
Me...mine are charged before I come out. I winterize motors then turn B switch to off. Every spring, turn them back on, start boat. I'll let charger do its thing when I am working in the yard, or not and let it charge dockside when she's back in. Other then my killing batteries prematurely by overtaxing with inverter I have always had batteries last till the die date. Not saying what I do is right or wrong...just saying its alot of work yanking batteries around. Well...its alot more work then leaving them sit where they are in the boat.

[bob lico]

my answer is misleading because i work on the boat quite often during the winter months no more touching the boat in summer . so i put on stereo system and refrigerator,microwave for lunch so the batteries are being used and i keep them chargeing. winter is by far the best time to work (in a heated boat) cause nobody asking a thousand questions.

[Tony Meola]

. winter is by far the best time to work (in a heated boat) cause nobody asking a thousand questions.

Bob

Now that is funny. I just layed the boat up and put her to sleep for another winter. When I framed and covered it, we were done in about 4 hours. Two friends of mine in the yard were not around. My wife said, see how much work you can done when no one is around to bother you. LOL

In the spring my one friend with his 28 Bert is always yelling my name asking me to look at something. LOL.. I can relate.

[Tony Meola]

Joe, how much do they last in this keeping manner? What are they? Thanks.

Yannis

I have had great luck with lead acid batteries, storing them in the garage and trickle/float charging them all winter. Never less than 6 years and this last go around I got 8 years out of them.

I have a step charger which also can desulfate the batteries. When I pull them I use that to charge them to make sure they are up. This charger starts out at about 12.8 volts going into them then it slowly drops the voltage as they come up to charge. Then it shuts down until it senses a voltage drop and then starts up again to finish off the top up.

Then I put them a float charger that goes on and off as called for by the battery. In the spring I go back to the step charger and bring them up to full charge again, usually takes only about 10 minutes since they are already close to full charge. Then I run a desulfate cycle, and then in the boat they go.

[Yannis]

Joe, thank you.

Tony,

I too have 4 lead acid of 100 Ah each. I do not understand american battery types, as most of you describe them (D's, 31's etc).
Mine are lead acid, for marine use (or so they call them) that are sealed, so you cannot add water at all.
They have just completed their 4th year and I suspect that they might be able to do one more year; the reason being that this past summer I had water leaking in from both my steering packing glands, so the bilge pumps were working like crazy all summer long (two buckets of water every half hour, 24/7), to the point that at dusk I had to be careful with the loads; so I assumed that the batteries are getting tired.
I talked to my electrician and he will come to test them; they might be alright, so I'll skip the outlay.

What I would like to know is how long those normal lead acid batteries can last, given that they are kept always charged (from the panels) and that I keep them busy by having left the fridge on 1, even now that the boat is on the dry. People here are telling me that I should be happy that they lasted for 4 years, but is it so?
Anyway, I might be assuming things and the batteries might be ok for many more years, we'll see.

[Carl]

Yannis...you know for a few coins of packing material you should have been able to stop that leak...even in the water.
I have little issue with a drip...but a bucket every 15 minutes would scare me. An electric motor always works...till it don't.


I have found 36month batteries last 36 months, 60 month batteries last 60 months...sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less under normal conditions.

[Carl]

. winter is by far the best time to work (in a heated boat) cause nobody asking a thousand questions.

Bob

Now that is funny. I just layed the boat up and put her to sleep for another winter. When I framed and covered it, we were done in about 4 hours. Two friends of mine in the yard were not around. My wife said, see how much work you can done when no one is around to bother you. LOL

In the spring my one friend with his 28 Bert is always yelling my name asking me to look at something. LOL.. I can relate.

How true that is Tony...my last marina, sometimes I never even got to my boat before I had to head home.

Its the good and bad part of my new marina, few people around during the week...going to the boat to work on it now means I have to work on it. Sometimes that is a good thing as projects get done, but no more excuses as to why the work wasn't done.


For me...once that boat is winterized I consider it out of sight out of mind.
I'll go check the drains are draining, jack stands are standing...the inside is where I left it and the cover is covering...but little to no work till spring.

[Yannis]

Yes, Carl, youre right...for a few coins...
But then again, i liked it when that bilge was working, it seemed like I’m on top of it, that all systems work, it was also a constant reminder that I was on the boat and not at home...that I was on vacations...with bilges working here and there...well, if I was sane I wouldnt own a boat in the first place, right?


PS Today came my mechanic. We lifted the deck floor and he undid the double nuts to check on the packings. He said they were fine. Only that they each needed 5 turns to get tight! Holy guacamole!

[Carl]

But then again, i liked it when that bilge was working, it seemed like I’m on top of it, that all systems work, it was also a constant reminder that I was on the boat and not at home...that I was on vacations...with bilges working here and there...

I get your point of being on top of it...
But for me, I'd need to know why the glands were leaking so bad before doing anything. Is it the packing is just shot and needs replacing...won't get much worse...kinda ok with that for a short while. Is it the port itself is compromised...seen more then one crack, not leaving boat or going out in boat in that condition, Is it the port to hull bond compromised...silicone degrade or rudder got knock breaking seal...not happy about it, but most likely not getting worse fast so its a short time leave it and its okay.

well, if I was sane I wouldnt own a boat in the first place, right?

Kinda in the same boat (pun intended) so no comment.

Only that they each needed 5 turns to get tight! Holy guacamole!

Alrighty then...Kinda thought that aspect of the problem might have been checked way before now. LOL...5 turns, thats been leaking for quite some time then.
As I mentioned, a drip from packing doesn't bother me...just gotta know why a bucket every 15 minutes would drive me insane if I didn't know why such a leak.

To each his own...glad its taken care of.

5 turns...Holy Guacamole is right!

[Yannis]

Oh, I knew, or I suspected it was a tightness thing, only I wouldnt bother go find such a huge tool (a pair actually) and get under there to fix it myself.
It had started from the summer before, not as much though, but I had ...forgotten it altogether. I failed to note it on my to do list, so I forgot it.
Now I’ll go buy those tools and keep them handy onboard.

PS : Halfway through the summer I let a friend drive and I went down and removed the floor hatch and looked at the rudders while underway. I saw it was a gland issue, it was plain visible, that it was no crack or hull to rudder bond issue, so thats why I relaxed a bit. Or a lot...depending how one sees it!
Thanx.

[Amberjack]

I'm with Bob Lico--do the boat work in the winter when its raining in order to have have maximum use in the limited Seattle summer. Besides, where else does a guy go for an afternoon nap while the wife is bustling around the house?

Amberjack's batteries are lead acid deep cycle batteries built by Dyno Battery near Fisherman's Terminal in Seattle. I put the first pair in a commercial salmon troller 45 years ago, stayed with them for the Bertram and get at least 10 years per set. We switch to one bank at anchor for up to 3 days at a time and they never failed to start the original Crusaders and later on the Yanmars--but we also don't need A/C up here. Heck, I have a diesel range in the galley!

I replaced the last set at age 10 years just because, even though they still tested out strong. It could be the Dynos are built a little better since so many of them go into the commercial fleet but I suspect that being connected year round, kept in a heated engine compartment, charged and topped off periodically have a lot to do with the long battery life.

[Tony Meola]

Yannis

Most lead Acid Batteries are toast by 5 years. If you care for them you can go longer. With my set up, at worst case, I can bring all the batteries on line to start an engine. So the thought of all of them being dead at the same time are slim to none. But just in case, if I am going off shore or going to be too far out off the beach that I dont want to call for a tow, I carry a NOCO G70 which will jump start a 6 liter diesel.

Now as far as your batteries being sealed, almost all the new ones say they are sealed, and unless they are gel/AGM they probably really not sealed. Lead Acid are normally vented and at some point will probably need water. My new DEKA's say Sealed, and have white label over the top of the battery.

Looking it over it looks like I can slice the label around the actual cap to the cells. That would mean I can open it and check and add water. Not sure how they build them in Europe but look at them closely if they are lead acid batteries.

Now if you can not sleep tonight take a look at this link about battery size's. Hopefully this will help you understand what all of us "Angry Americans" are talking about.

http://newboatbuilders.com/docs/Battery_Size.pdf

[Yannis]

Thank you Tony, very informative.

One other thing too.
Irrespective of what type of battery size, as well as what construction method (lead, deep cycle, gel etc), one may also have to consider costs.
For example, what is really better, to install expensive batteries that probably last longer, or, cheaper batteries that probably last less? It all boils down to the cost per year. I know someone who had boats ALL his life. He claims that it's not worth it buying expensive batteries, he rather prefers to buy the cheapest available ones and toss them every 3-4 years, instead of getting expensive ones that may last longer. We have to assume here that the primary use of batteries on boats IS cranking the engines. Whatever other loads are of minor importance.
I will go down today, will take pics of my battery banks.

[Carl]

Oh, I knew, or I suspected it was a tightness thing, only I wouldnt bother go find such a huge tool (a pair actually) and get under there to fix it myself.
It had started from the summer before, not as much though, but I had ...forgotten it altogether. I failed to note it on my to do list, so I forgot it.
Now I’ll go buy those tools and keep them handy onboard.

PS : Halfway through the summer I let a friend drive and I went down and removed the floor hatch and looked at the rudders while underway. I saw it was a gland issue, it was plain visible, that it was no crack or hull to rudder bond issue, so thats why I relaxed a bit. Or a lot...depending how one sees it!
Thanx.

Gotcha...I too would feel somewhat comfy as well knowing it was just an adjustment needed. I may have misunderstood your original post.
FYI- yes the glands do require large wrenches...but I always carry a pipe wrench along with a strap wrench in my bag of tools...not the perfect tools for adjusting packing nuts, but it works and the tools can be used for lots of other problems that can pop up.

[bob lico]

giving people advise come with responsibility! fortunately i take my boat out of water dec.15 last day of bass season so i am not in the huge (60 acres ) of boats on the hard. during winter. i cover my boat and use a heater in cabin to warm boat up. i make coffee on board and hide from the rest by parking truck near water. sometimes you just cannot answer questions like how do i winterize fresh water system (cold water two minutes and hot water two hours! ) you just cannot explain removing water from overhead cooling coils in A/C system so you end up going over and doing it never accomplish anything on your boat so you hide quite often.

[Yannis]

Bob,

The ignorant rest of us, do not run such risks!
Nobody asks anything from us, rather, it's someones like us who would break your b&^%ls ! LOL

Carl,

My mechanic used just those two tools that you describe. If I understand correctly, the one is a large wrench with an adjusting nut that adjusts for the right aperture, the other is the one you remove the oil filter, the one with the bicycle chain that wraps around the filter to untighten it.
By the way, that's most probably the only way, since I doubt there is enough space under there for two wrenches that large.

[Carl]

Carl,
My mechanic used just those two tools that you describe. If I understand correctly, the one is a large wrench with an adjusting nut that adjusts for the right aperture, the other is the one you remove the oil filter, the one with the bicycle chain that wraps around the filter to untighten it.
By the way, that's most probably the only way, since I doubt there is enough space under there for two wrenches that large.

There are wrenches just for packing glands, some adjustable, all are slim to get in tight spaces. Nice, but specific to that task as they can't really handle heavy duty use for other jobs and they are pricey.

[bob lico]

packing nut has no room to swing a large wrench so you use a plumber`s basin wrench. inexpensive does the job.

[Tony Meola]

Yannis

Your question in regard to cheap vs expensive batteries. Since I never built a battery it does raise the question of how do we know there really is a difference other than what we are told.

But , I go with buy the best you can even if it costs more. Why you ask. Because when we are 100 miles offshore knowing you did not scrimp on a battery is comforting whey you turn the key and here them crank over vs, I hope these cheap batteries work.

[Yannis]

And also because we are never 100 miles offshore, it cannot be done!