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Location: Illinois-Indiana | I have to keep my boat outside (won't fit in the garage).
When it's cold out, I like to keep it pluged in to the on board charger, how long can I keep it pluged in without causing damage to the batteries. |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Ralph I plug my boat in at least once a week when it gets real cold, once the batterys are charged I unplug it. Don't forget the starter battery, on my rig I have 4 batterys, the tripple charger only charges my accessory and two trolling motor batterys. I run a charger on the starter separate. I don't know if you can over charge by keeping it pluged in, I would not think so but I like to unplug it when its fully charged. |
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Location: Illinois-Indiana | I was wondering if the batteries are "FULLY CHARGED", does it hurt them to keep the boat plugged in for long periods of time. |
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Posts: 585
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland | Here's a site that will help you; http://www.usbattery.com/care.htm
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| If you have a charger, you can bring them inside...it usually doesn't get that cold here, and I only have 2,so it might be easier for me. I do like the site MK provided, and charge them every 2 months on an automatic charger. I never felt comfortable leaving them out, although they were under the carport and under a cover. I just make sure to unhook everything once they have reached full charge. |
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Posts: 2752
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Ralph- It's a good idea to unplug the charger after they are up to full charge. Battery chargers are like all other pieces of electronic gear- they will eventually fail! Generally speaking you could see two potential failures of a charger relative to the battery, 1.) The charger control fails and over-charge's the battery or 2.) the charger fails and isn't charging or under-charge's the battery. Either failure mode can kill your batteries. A battery "state of charge meter" or a digital volt/multimeter is a good investment. By being aware of the state of charge, the functionality of the charger and in control of the charging cycle/time you have a better chance of preventing severe damage to your batteries. A typical refresh charge of your batteries shouldn't take more than 8 hours. Talk to your battery supplier or charger supplier & see what they recommend. Any one who recommends "plug it in and forget it" is a playing the odds and has been very lucky. It's a nice concept- but not practical from a protect your investment perspective. Here's one little factoid most folks don't even know about. Over-charging lead-acid batteries can cause fires, i.e., the battery actually can self ignite from excessive internal heat buildup!!! This is especially true of VRL:A (sealed no maintenance). However, the same can happen to wet-cells once the electrolyte has boiled away from overcharging. Al Warner http://www.thenethouse.biz www.welcometothechumbucket.com |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | ....and, don't forget to check the water levels before and after charging; re-fill with distilled water when low. I use a clean Gatorade squirt bottle, since the nozzle aims the water right into the hole. I would recommend checking the battery before plugging in the charger to be sure it is not frozen; trying to charge frozen batteries is just asking for a problem. I've heard they don't freeze until minus 60, but I wouldn't bet on it. m |
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Posts: 1243
Location: Musky Tackle Online, MN | I'm in the same situation of having my batteries stored outside in my boat. I've got it in the garage. But here in northern MN, the temps are pretty cold. With temps sometimes being well under freezing for weeks in a row, is this a risk to the batteries?
AWH |
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Posts: 5874
| If your batteries are at full charge before you store your boat, the cold temps will not hurt your batteries. If fact, they will self discharge at a slower rate due to the cold temps. Keeping them plugged in to your charger depends on the kind of charger. If you have a "fully" automatic charger, such as the Guest, Dual-Pro, or Minn Kota onboards, it is ok to leave them plugged in. They will not overcharge. Some automatic chargers only switch from rapid to trickle charge. They do not have a "Maintain" mode, and therefore can overcharge if left on.
I have never had to charge a battery during storage, if it was good, and fully charged, before I stored it. Get the boat out in the spring, throw a quick charge on, and I'm ready to go. |
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| And you my friend will be the one trashing his garage on opening day when the lids blow off the top them BATREES!;) |
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Charging batteries when it's cold outside