Battery Question during storage

[Johnny_Rock]

Pics show batteries after I returned from getting 2016 G23 winterized. Guy told me to leave negative cables disconnected and not hooked up to the onboard charger. (His advice: reconnect in Spring and charge for a few days. Good to go.) You can see in pic showing both batteries that they completely disconnected cables on left battery; on the right they disconnected two and left a third on the post with the nut just put back on loose.

I plan on reconnecting and once a month or so over the winter and charging with the onboard charger for about 48 hours; and then disconnecting again.

Want to know best way to proceed.

TIA

[charlesml3]

There are a couple of ways to go on this.

Best way:

- Label the cables and the batteries and take them out of the boat entirely.
- Store them in a reasonably warm location NOT sitting directly on a concrete floor.
- Monthly or so connect them to a trickle charger until fully charged.

When spring comes, you just put them back in and go.

Your way isn't bad, it's just a bit of a PITA to get in there and connect everything back up just to use the onboard charger.

-Charles

[jslipher]

I have one of those ProSport battery tender/charger. It has a maintenance feature on it. I thought I could leave everything hooked up to the batteries and leave the tender plugged in all winter, as long as the main perko battery switch is turned off. Is this correct?

*for what it's worth, the boat is stored in heated storage

[charlesml3]

Sure, that will be fine. Those battery tenders are pretty smart. They will only start charging when the voltage drops below a set value and then turn themselves back to standby when the voltage rises to the upper set point.

-Charles

[scottb7]

If it was me I would not leave the maintainer plugged in all winter. I would just plug it in once a month for a day or two...

Don't know if it matters but maybe the maintainer would last longer would be my thinking. But I would definitely not unhook any connections at the battery and would leave the battery switch turned off.

[Johnny_Rock]

What is the best order to connect/disconnect?

[charlesml3]

What is the best order to connect/disconnect?

It doesn't matter. Just be careful if you're using a wrench to loosen the nut. Don't let the wrench touch the other stud on the battery. It won't hurt you but it'll scare the crap out of you.

-Charles

[functionoverfashion]

It doesn't matter. Just be careful if you're using a wrench to loosen the nut. Don't let the wrench touch the other stud on the battery. It won't hurt you but it'll scare the crap out of you.

-Charles

I once dropped a leatherman tool across the terminals of a battery, and it most definitely scared me and also ruined the tool by essentially welding two pieces of it together. It was too hot to pick up after it fell off and it really only touched for a moment... Needless to say I am very careful now. Usually, I'll use a wrench with an insulated handle when dealing with batteries, if possible.

[charlesml3]

Yea, I think we've all ruined at least one tool that way....

-Charles

[DW SD]

Setting batteries on concrete is ok. This pre dates modern batteries. Read this recently in popular mechanics I think and was surprised but convinced.

Cover a terminal with a towel if you are worried about dropping a tool and releasing lots of energy real quick. Yes you can arc weld with 12V batteries.

If stored in temp maintained area....
I would be fine leaving everything hooked up with the trickle charger on. Perko off is as good as removing a terminal. I’d leave the trickle charger on and plugged in all the time but once a month too is fine. But leave for several days to be sure each time.

I leave my Solar charge controller plugged in year around. This supplies up to 6 amps which is about 4 to 8 times that of most smart trickle charger. But ongoing mine mostly serves as a trickle charger.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[Johnny_Rock]

More pics/questions/comments:

1./ What is "Perko?" (Google search tells me it's possibly the brand name of the switch in the pic; DW SD says above that turning this to off is the same as disconnecting from a terminal.)

2./ What is the type of the two batteries? How can I tell? (I have a NOCO 7200 charger with various 12V modes: 12V NORM, 12 COLD/AGM, and 12V AGM+)

3./ I'm assuming that I've got two 12V batteries. But when they're connected--do they become a 24V system?

With all due respect to Charles--and if all the information provided in this thread up to now is accurate--it seems to me that the easiest way [for me in my situation] to charge these batteries would be with the onboard charger. I would just need to reconnect the cables properly; and turn the "Perko" switch to the correct position to charge, plug an extension cord into the outlet for the onboard charger in the boat, and plug the other end in at the wall and let it do its thing for a few days. At that time--just unplug the extension cord again, and make sure the switch is set to off--if off is not the correct position for charging. (Charles wrote earlier that it'd be easiest to take them out of the boat and periodically charge each separately for a few days at a time. Normally I'd tend to agree with him but I see on the battery that the nuts on the posts need to be tightened to a certain torque; I don't have the tool for that. Plus the clearance and the weight of the batteries are issues.)

Then since all the cables all reconnected, I could just charge again (a few times?) before I hit the lake when the ice melts. I'll be all good to go.

Can anyone sort this out with step by step instructions for my situation? (And what is the best way to use that red switch throughout the season? I always turn it off when putting the boat away for the day--but what should it be set at when running the boat all season?)

Thanks!

[MLA]

Late to the party, but you need to find a new place to service your boat. Bad advice to disconnect the cables and not charge until spring.

1) with the main switch off, you achieve the same as disconnecting cable, but with a fraction of the work.

2) the charger is intended to be used during winter layup, even with the cables connected.

Yes, you have 12V batteries and lets hope the never become 24V. if so, you'll see some pretty smoke signals followed by an awful smell.

[Johnny_Rock]

1) with the main switch off, you achieve the same as disconnecting cable, but with a fraction of the work.

2) the charger is intended to be used during winter layup, even with the cables connected.

Thanks for the input. Can you (or anyone) lay out the full step by step process for me to maintain with the onboard charger? Starting at the point where I've reconnected the all the battery cables...

[MLA]

Sure, Check the battery water level, plug the charger in to the 110V AC wall outlet, have a pleasant winter.

At this present moment, id want to run the boat on a fake a lake and make sure all accessories work and the engine starts on both batteries. Not on BOTH, but on 1, then 2.

The only reason to leave the switch in any position other then OFF, is if you store on a lift, as the auto bilge is wired to the boat side of the switch. if it was my boat, thats the first thing im addressing. Moving the bilge to the battery side of the switch. That way, its truly automatic and nothing else is has voltage to it when the boat is stored.