Removal of heavy batteries

[Vasco]

Pete,

I was going to say that I have seen more batteries damaged from being dropped coming down the ladder than being frozen. It's way too much work to take them out.

[cruiser_pete]

So, just some follow-up.

I think I am comfortable leaving the batteries in the boat for the winter, but, out of curiosity, I got out my copy of Calder's "Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual." He clearly belives in removing the batteries. In the Winterizing checklist, he says:

"Unless the batteries are being properly float-charged (via solar panel or battery charger with float regulation), remove them from the boat and store in a cool, dry place. Bring wet-cell batteries to a full charge once a month."

In the section on battery maintenance, there are numerous charts that depict discharge rates at different temperatures for batteries left standing as well as freezing point charts. These charts would lead me to believe that it is ok to leave the batteries in the boat so long as the temperatures are reasonably low. Even at 68 deg F/20 deg C, the battery only loses about 20% of its charge in 6 months.

I guess the ideal solution is to leave the batteries in the boat and purchase a small solar panel to keep them topped up.

Pete

[knottybuoyz]

We've always pulled ours out every winter Pete and based on this thread I've decided to leave them in and hooked to the solar panel. Everything else will be disconnected. Good question and good thread! Thnx.

[Ex-Calif]

Wouldn't leaving them on a trickle charger generate enough heat to avoid freezing?

Spoken from the land of no winters and 12 months of sailing season ;-)

[cruiser_pete]

If the batteries could be left on a trickle charger, this would do the trick. The problem is that even if there was power available, I think that the marina would frown on a permanently plugged-in extension cord that would get rained on, buried in snow, etc.

Pete