seahouse wrote:I should have mentioned that if my boat were not in a storage facility, I would leave the batteries in the boat as well.
Our boat is at a storage yard with no power to charge. I pulled those dang batteries for years and ripped my knuckles and shoulder getting them out.
I've come to leave the solar panel attached and let it keep them topped off all winter. It worked very well last year and I even had a small 12v fan on a timer come on each day for a bit to keep air moving in the cabin.
Battery Tender Plus has been successful for me over the past many years. Read the reviews on Amazon. It's microprocessor controlled and keeps the battery safely topped off. Once charged, the tender switches to a float mode. When the battery starts to drop in voltage, the charge begins and so it goes throughout winter, on off, on off. From what I've read, the slower the charge, the longer the battery will last. This slow-charging tender should not be confused with a trickle charger. You'll never have to remove your battery regardless how cold it is outside.
I always leave batteries installed in boat, quad, car....everything over the winter. Key is having fully charged batteries and no sources of discharge. I usually slow charge prior to parking, disconnect ground cables, and ensure surface of battery is clean to avoid discharge between the posts. Most battery issues are caused by being discharged as water in battery will freeze causing damage. Battery tenders do work as well just expensive if you have lots of toys. I will sneak a charger on and top up after 3 months if I get a chance but don't sweat it too much. Low water levels in battery is another killer as it exposes the plates.
BOAT wrote:Hey wait, when you guys say 15 below your talking about a number negative 15? That's ZERO and then fifteen degrees colder!!? Woaha! That's like, gnarly dudes! How can you go farther than ZERO? Wow, that's heavy. I don't think I have ever seen air go to ZERO, - (totally).
We occasionally hit -40 up here in the winter (Northern BC). Back in September it was two sleeping bags overnighting on the boat and sometimes have to avoid the deck until the sun burns the ice off in the morning to avoid sliding overboard.
Only sailboat in the town where I am but quite a following of Macs up North as I found out when I bought mine in August.
BOAT wrote:Hey wait, when you guys say 15 below your talking about a number negative 15? That's ZERO and then fifteen degrees colder!!? Woaha! That's like, gnarly dudes! How can you go farther than ZERO? Wow, that's heavy. I don't think I have ever seen air go to ZERO, - (totally).
We occasionally hit -40 up here in the winter (Northern BC). Back in September it was two sleeping bags overnighting on the boat and sometimes have to avoid the deck until the sun burns the ice off in the morning to avoid sliding overboard.
Only sailboat in the town where I am but quite a following of Macs up North as I found out when I bought mine in August.
I don't think I have ever seen air go to ZERO, - (totally).
