leave battery in boat?

[KJM]

does anyone leave their battery(s) in their boat all winter while stored? i never have until now, i usually put them in my garage on a charger but i was just wondering if this was really necessary? the boat is usually stored on a trailer behind my house covered and winterized for about 7 months of the year.....

 

[alldodge]

Yes, always have

 

[82rude]

Yes I leave mine in and no charger.

 

[Grub54891]

Make sure it's fully charged, unhook and go to bed. No worries. If it fails in the spring, it was ready to be replaced anyway. I checked my battery a couple months ago, still good after 6 years. I'd imagine it should be replaced next spring. We will see.....

 

[89retta]

Leave mine in all winter all the time. Just unhooked them and never had a problem

 

[MTboatguy]

I take mine out and put in the shop which is heated, been doing that for 6 years now and it is still good to go.

 

[southkogs]

My boat is parked in the attached garage. Aside from draining the block, it's ready to go all winter (though we usually don't run it November through February ... the Admiral don't do "cold" ).

 

[KJM]

wasn't expecting that reply......i thought everyone would think it was a bad idea!

 

[JoLin]

Make sure it's fully charged, unhook and go to bed. No worries. If it fails in the spring, it was ready to be replaced anyway.

I do exactly the same.

My .02

 

[Bob_VT]

Depends on location.............. here in New England it is a necessary evil of the climate that visits us. I move my batteries indoors and trickle charge them.

 

[Silvertip]

Considering remova
l is a 5 minute operation why would you not give the battery a little help in surviving a cold winter..

 

[drrpm]

I just leave the battery in the boat and the last battery was good for 8 years. I bring a jump box in the spring when i take the boat out for the first run of the year.

 

[wahlejim]

It depends on the battery. Through trial and error, I discovered that I wasn't gaining much by spending over $100 on a battery. I now look for discounts at the end of the season at big box stores and haven't spent over $50 on a battery in a long time (this goes for everything I have with an engine). With that being said, batteries, like engines, like to be used. For the short amount of time it takes me to pull the battery and keep it out of sub zero temperatures and throw on a $7 float charger, it is a no brainer to pull it for me. Goes in the heated garage on a float charger and my $45 battery lasts me 5-7 years. As I got to know my boat and engine, I could tell when the battery started to lose its life and out it went.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I bring mine in over winter, too. Gets too cold here in the Midwest to leave them out.

 

[flat350]

Heats a bigger killer of batteries than the cold,a properly charged battery is in no danger if left in the cold as long as nothing is attached to it that would cause a discharge.

 

[jkust]

In my largest, unheated garage, I always use those smart chargers on each battery or bring batteries to the heated garage such as the riding lawnmower battery that is easy to move. I'm in MN and it gets to -40F where my stuff is as that is where ht lakes are. Last year, as usual, I put a smart charger on the boat battery and all was well and somehow on one of the waverunners, the extension cord I used for it was bad and so it sat all winter disconnected from the waverunner but with a useless smart charger connected to it. The battery was bad by the time I went to summarize it when spring came and I was lucky to get the last battery that the marina on my lake had in stock that fit. The extreme cold killed what was an otherwise good battery.

 

[jkust]

dupe

 

[82rude]

Gets down to minus 40 here too!Never an issue Last battery never left the boat for 96 months and was never disconnected either.The average lifespan of that battery was 48 months!Optima bluetop

 

[poconojoe]

I bring all 6 of my batteries into the basement. Boat batteries and tractor batteries. Each one has a smart Noco charger/maintainer connected throughout the winter.
I've owned my used boat for 5 years and don't know how old the 2 batteries are and they are strong as ever.
So, my thought is...why not give the batteries a better chance of survival by bringing them indoors?

As far as chargers/maintainers go, don't waist your money on those cheap brainless $10 trickle chargers. You don't want a constant voltage applied while stored. Smart chargers only apply a charge when it's circuits find its needed. They won't overheat or boil out the electrolyte. Some can even "condition" a battery back to life if it's not completely dead.

 

[jkust]

Gets down to minus 40 here too!Never an issue Last battery never left the boat for 96 months and was never disconnected either.The average lifespan of that battery was 48 months!Optima bluetop

The waverunner batteries are run of the mill nothing special. You could see the case was bowed out from freezing and expanding though it was fully charged when I put it to bed. I've noticed that the batteries in the snowmobile and also the four wheeler batteries seem to be more susceptible as well...again the basic style batteries. I guess same with the riding mower....lost one of those a couple years ago when I forgot to remove it and put it in the heated garage though it was fully charged.