Battery care

[mick]

I am a bit unsure what to do with the batteries either leave them on and charge them in the spring or keep them in garage and keep them topped up .

[treerat]

I leave mine in the boat but take the connections off - never yet neede a spring charge. I knwo others that leave trickle type charges on, I used to have a solar one but now the boat's in a container........

[willk]

If you're not using the RIB then I'd say remove them. I used to keep them in the house for 24hours, as I found they didn't take as big a charge when they were cold. Check the electrolyte levels and top up with deionised water to the mark. Charge them and put a touch of vaseline or whatever on the terminals and store them away somewhere dry until the season starts.

A lot of mechanics store batteries on timber. They say it stops them slowly discharging. I have no idea if this is true - it certainly sounds a bit off?

Trickle chargers are the work of the Devil!

[spartacus]

I disconnect the battery, then put it on a charge for a few days. Probably do the same again in a month or so. Works for me.

[bcervelo]

Give them a good charge and leave them disconnected in the boat, make sure that the tops are clean and terminals greased, should be good till the spring if they are healthy

[jyasaki]

If you're in a location where they can freeze, pull them. A cracked case spilling acid is a mess to come back to in the spring.

jky

[chewy]

Originally Posted by willk

A lot of mechanics store batteries on timber. They say it stops them slowly discharging. I have no idea if this is true - it certainly sounds a bit off?

Trickle chargers are the work of the Devil!

Not sure bout them slowly discharging but it would would on your theory of keeping em warm. If there sat on would they will be a bit warmer than sat on a cold floor.

Smart chargers are the way forward, like you get for bikes.

[mister p]

If you've got a Defender knocking about, leave your battery near that.....it should charge it with sheer corrosive electrolytic sympathy!

[willk]

Originally Posted by chewy

your theory of keeping em warm.

Oddly, more experience than theory. I was using smart chargers (well, the sort that stop charging when full) and found that when put on the cold batteries, they switched off in a short time (10 minutes?). I was suspicious as the batteries had been lingering about for a few months. The temp was in single figures, so I brought them in for a day and tried again - charged for a couple of hours before switching off. I had 2 x batteries and 2 x identical chargers and both pairs did the same thing. I've tried this since with other lead acid batteries and they've done the same. Charge 'em warm and then let them cool - I presume they don't loose the charge on cooling...

[SPR]

aldi was selling smart chargers at £12 ish , I bought 2!

S.