Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

[jslu]

Happy New Year All!

I received an on board battery charger as a gift this Christmas which has an independent 2 battery capabililty.

It seems to work very well as has charged my engine starting battery & trolling motor battery to full charge.

It has the ability to remain connected to the batteries and monitor and recharge as necessary when voltage decreases

I was thinking of a 24/7 monitoring plan as stated above, but I thought this may be overkill.

According the the power input consumption data of the charger, (115V X 2.5A) this would be the equivalent of a 287 watt bulb being left 24/7. KWH are expensive here in Maine, so I'm shying away from the 24/7 routine.

Any comments as to alternate routines to maintain healthy battery life during storage ????

Thanks,

John

 

[Bondo]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

Ayuh,.... My batteries sit in the boat, All winter, Unmolested,....

In the Spring, I give 'em a charge,...
If they hold that charge, they run another season,...
If they Don't,...
It's time for a New battery, or batteries,....

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

I also leave my batteries in the boat all winter.
But I do leave my on-board charger plugged in all winter also.
I believe that your power consumption calculations are for when it is running putting in a full charge. Not just sitting there and monitoring the volts.
Mine is built to be a maintenance charger also and I suspect your is too. If so you will not see any significant change in your power bill by leaving it plugged in.

Remember, a fully charged battery will not freeze, but a low or dead one will.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

It does depend on the charger of course but most new on board's are designed to maintain your batteries with very little power usage after they are charged up. I leave my pro-mariner plugged in all the time, year round when not using my boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

I have a small battery maintainer (Solergizer brand) that I use if the boat sits for more than a month.

I have a solar version as well, however that is now on my ice shanty sitting in Wisconsin at a friends

 

[robert graham]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

I keep my boat battery in my garage during the off-season....put it on a 2amp charge overnight about every 4 to 6 weeks just to keep it topped off.....Having the boat battery in my garage makes it handy for a spare or emergency cranking for other equipment/machinery....

 

[riptide09]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

I keep my batteries in the garage on the bench. It is kind of heated and never gets colder than say 40 or 45. I toss a charger on them when I pull them to make sure they are fully charged. Maybe 2 or 3 times during the winter I will throw a charger on them to top them off. Last battery I replaced was 5 years old and it was still good. I gave it to my son in law for his camper and got a new one for the boat.

 

[m_steiger]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

I have mine covered in a single car garage for the winter. It has only one battery and Ive got it hooked to a 1.5amp Schumacher trickle charger/battery maintainer. Its been plugged in 24/7 since September with zero issues. It will automatically kick on if the battery starts to discharge below a certain value. Draws almost zero electricity, except to keep the led monitor light on.

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

I've always left em in the boat,charged in the fall,topped off in spring. Usually get 5 years or so out of them. We get -30 deg in the winter als. Never a problem...unless they are getting bad to begin with. Never had one crack or burst,but if they did they are in a battery box to contain any spills.
Grub

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Charging Batteries During Off Boat Winter Storage

...According the the power input consumption data of the charger, (115V X 2.5A) this would be the equivalent of a 287 watt bulb being left 24/7. KWH are expensive here in Maine, so I'm shying away from the 24/7 routine.

115v at 2.5 amps would be your 287 watts.
Convert that down to 14.25 volts peak charging yields 20amps. Or ~10 amps per Bank.
If the specs are realistic, assuming typical losses, I will guess that the charger is rated for ~6 amps per bank.

My maintenance charger cycles at 2 amps for about 1 second every 2 minutes.
That amounts to 12 minutes a day.
Without going through all the math, that would be equivalent to less than 1/2 watt continuously.
Even in Maine, 0.006 kWh per day, 0.18 kWh per month, can't amount to all that much.