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Left my battery in!! is it a problem over the winter

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speedy steve

speedy steve

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hey just a quick question i was away and had a friend do winterization and shrink-wrap on my boat but he forgot the battery inside :facepalm: wanna know if thats a prob will it leak, what should i expect come spring?? i heard a theory that the cold is ok for a battery now days the way they make them not sure if thats true thanx in advance!!!!
 
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Well......It depends a lot on your location. If you're in a location where it freezes it's a lot harder on the battery. If possible it's best to remove it store in a cool place (not freezing) and insulated from the ground or concrete. BTW questions like this is why we ask to put your location in your profile.

Lou
 
I think he's in New York Lou. I never leave a battery in over winter. What's cheaper, a new wrap or a new battery?

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk
 
ya im in ny sorry but now thats in there ur saying its toast??? I'm also concerned if it will leak all over the place or it won't do that or corrode the connections?? thnx
(ps. 2 loodoo ill edit that:hat:)
 
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It's not toast, but it might, might not be healthy come spring.

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As long as the battery remains charged, it will survive. But if the battery power is depleted, the battery will freeze.
The first indication of a battery that froze will have significant bulging on the case sides. Extreme is battery walls that actually split, where the acid spills in the bilge. Now that's going to be a huge mess with damage.
 
Being the battery is relatively new and you say it was charged before sealing the boat, I believe you will be ok. Just as long as the battery switch is turned off to disconnect any devices that may slowly drain the battery.
We have a power supply line belonging to the FM radio only to maintain the clock and station memory settings but even that will take months to even just weaken a battery.
How cold are your winters anyways?
I have 3 large group 29 house batteries wintering in our sailboat. Started that idea about 3 years ago and still they are alive and well in the spring. But I wouldn't try that if they were 4 or 5 years old. That's getting close to the end of their lifespan anyways.
 
i installed a kill switch for everything radio,clock,lights etc....im in ny the winters can go as low as 5 degrees farinhiet
 
I'm going to say you will be fine, Steve. But, you can bet that battery will be quite thirsty for a charge when you finally have a chance to look at it. You may need to remove it and give it an external "deep equalization" charge.
The batteries I have on board our sailboat is located in Georgian Bay, Ontario. It's gets nasty cold and for long periods of time. Luckily, our on-board battery charger has a self equalization setting to polish the plates for another season.
 
There is a boat yard here with hundreds of shrink boats and all the batteries are inside. I wouldn't worry. Have you disconnected the battery? That would definitely help. I am North of Montreal in the mountains and I see extreme cold temperatures all the time and I finally left the battery inside the boat (but disconnected and fully charged) and I am not worried. Mine is wrapped too.

Suffice to say that I also have an ATV since 2011 and that the battery is of a similar model as of my ski and it went through 35 below temperatures and it was still OK, but somewhat discharged at these extreme temperatures. And since the engine is hard to turn at these temps, I took the habit lately of connecting the battery to a tender because I was tired of boosting! But I have never seen a frozen battery, nor cracked in three years before I started doing that. Good care, bad care, I think these batteries rarely last more than three years.

Benji.
 
Same thing here in Michigan. I have thousands of boats on the deck within a mile of me all winter long with batts in them till spring. I quit taking all mine out in the fall about ten years ago on the advice of the guys at a huge boatyard. In spring, uncover it..turn the key. I think you'll be fine.One caveat. As was stated in an earlier post, do what you can to insure the battery has a good charge before you store it. Also NEVER leave a battery on a charger all winter. Totally unnecessary and can cause damage.


benjilafouine said:
There is a boat yard here with hundreds of shrink boats and all the batteries are inside. I wouldn't worry. Have you disconnected the battery? That would definitely help. I am North of Montreal in the mountains and I see extreme cold temperatures all the time and I finally left the battery inside the boat (but disconnected and fully charged) and I am not worried. Mine is wrapped too.

Suffice to say that I also have an ATV since 2011 and that the battery is of a similar model as of my ski and it went through 35 below temperatures and it was still OK, but somewhat discharged at these extreme temperatures. And since the engine is hard to turn at these temps, I took the habit lately of connecting the battery to a tender because I was tired of boosting! But I have never seen a frozen battery, nor cracked in three years before I started doing that. Good care, bad care, I think these batteries rarely last more than three years.

Benji.
Click to expand...
 
I live in pa so we get very sim weather and I would deff pull it it gets way too cold around here to leave it all winter esp it stored outside. I forgot mine in my ski last winter and it spit the casing. there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here and this is just my 2 cents plus my experience.
 
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