Battery Storage

[Brandon]

As I am sitting here reading through the post I realize I forgot to unplug and remove my batteries before I stored the boat this winter. I did everything else and totally forgot about the batteries are they still going to be any good? They were bran new man I hope so.

I guess maybe just put them on the charger and hope for the best? I dont think it would ruin them I take good care of everything I just completely forgot

[Bamaman]

I'm too left my battery in my boat. But we only have 3-4 down months in the Mid South.

I'll leave a Battery Tender on my battery for a week or so, and the battery will be fine. It's also new.

[badmoonrising]

If the batteries drained and the electrolyte froze, they are shot. If they were charged they won't freeze...just charge them and cross your fingers.

[kryptonite]

You'll be fine as long as you don't have something drawing on the battery while everything is off, just charge slowly.

[ROLAND]

As I am sitting here reading through the post I realize I forgot to unplug and remove my batteries before I stored the boat this winter. I did everything else and totally forgot about the batteries are they still going to be any good? They were bran new man I hope so.

I guess maybe just put them on the charger and hope for the best? I dont think it would ruin them I take good care of everything I just completely forgot

Brandon... did the same thing this past season... just forgot about it and put the boat into storage... about a month ago I had the boat serviced and afterwards took it to launch, backed it down into the water but never took it off the trailer... fired her up and let her run for awhile to help recharge the battery and to run a fuel treatment thru the motor... I would think you should be fine...

[Bryden24shp]

Yep, as long as they remain charged, you will be fine. My battery froze in my Manny when I first stored the boat, I hit the accesory switch on the dash when I was cleaning the boat. Just that one little light in the switch, killed the battery. I caught it a few weeks later, took the battery out and let it thaw out for a few days. Then put it on the charger on trickle. It lasted another 3 years. Since then, I hook up a battery tender and leave it on all the time. For $35.00, its a great investment.

[tms0425]

Yep, as long as they remain charged, you will be fine. My battery froze in my Manny when I first stored the boat, I hit the accesory switch on the dash when I was cleaning the boat. Just that one little light in the switch, killed the battery. I caught it a few weeks later, took the battery out and let it thaw out for a few days. Then put it on the charger on trickle. It lasted another 3 years. Since then, I hook up a battery tender and leave it on all the time. For $35.00, its a great investment.

Just curious what size and type of batteries you use with the Verado, since Merc specs almost 1000 CCA AGM's now?

[Bryden24shp]

I put in 28 series. Went with the Die Hards. Ya, 2 of them mama's ran me $550.00 with new boxes, cables and dual battery switch. It only had a single 24 series in it when I bought the boat last summer. The power steering almost killed it the first time I took the boat out. Can't believe the original owners of the boat didn't complain about it.

[Brandon]

Good to know I do have an onboard charger hooked to them and I know nothing was draining them because I turned the battery switch to off. Plus I live in North Carolina although it does freeze at times we had no snow or no really super cold nights so its probably fine.

[tms0425]

I put in 28 series. Went with the Die Hards. Ya, 2 of them mama's ran me $550.00 with new boxes, cables and dual battery switch. It only had a single 24 series in it when I bought the boat last summer. The power steering almost killed it the first time I took the boat out. Can't believe the original owners of the boat didn't complain about it.

Yeah, Merc issued bulletin 2008-04R1 that says Verados require a Group 31 AGM (big!) for engines with power steering. Many boat builders and dealers totally ignore it when rigging them. I'm working with my dealer on it, but of course he hasn't figured that much $$$ in to his rigging charge. Sears Platinum and the recommended Odyssey are apparently the same thing, but Sears is a lot cheaper (still $500+ for 2!).

[Bamby]

I put in 28 series. Went with the Die Hards. Ya, 2 of them mama's ran me $550.00 with new boxes, cables and dual battery switch. It only had a single 24 series in it when I bought the boat last summer. The power steering almost killed it the first time I took the boat out. Can't believe the original owners of the boat didn't complain about it.

Yeah, Merc issued bulletin 2008-04R1 that says Verados require a Group 31 AGM (big!) for engines with power steering. Many boat builders and dealers totally ignore it when rigging them. I'm working with my dealer on it, but of course he hasn't figured that much $$$ in to his rigging charge. Sears Platinum and the recommended Odyssey are apparently the same thing, but Sears is a lot cheaper (still $500+ for 2!).

I've used the Sears for the last few years and all I can say is they've done their job well and haven't let me down. As far as cost yea they're a bit pricy but if you watch you can grab them on sale. As far as that goes they are actually on sale at the moment. DieHard Platinum Marine Battery Group Size 31M

[tms0425]

I put in 28 series. Went with the Die Hards. Ya, 2 of them mama's ran me $550.00 with new boxes, cables and dual battery switch. It only had a single 24 series in it when I bought the boat last summer. The power steering almost killed it the first time I took the boat out. Can't believe the original owners of the boat didn't complain about it.

Yeah, Merc issued bulletin 2008-04R1 that says Verados require a Group 31 AGM (big!) for engines with power steering. Many boat builders and dealers totally ignore it when rigging them. I'm working with my dealer on it, but of course he hasn't figured that much $$$ in to his rigging charge. Sears Platinum and the recommended Odyssey are apparently the same thing, but Sears is a lot cheaper (still $500+ for 2!).

I've used the Sears for the last few years and all I can say is they've done their job well and haven't let me down. As far as cost yea they're a bit pricy but if you watch you can grab them on sale. As far as that goes they are actually on sale at the moment. DieHard Platinum Marine Battery Group Size 31M

Yes, I saw that and just snagged 2 of the Platinum Group 31 AGM's for $450 total. Woot!

[Mosnowman]

[quote=[/quote]

I've used the Sears for the last few years and all I can say is they've done their job well and haven't let me down. As far as cost yea they're a bit pricy but if you watch you can grab them on sale. As far as that goes they are actually on sale at the moment. DieHard Platinum Marine Battery Group Size 31M[/quote]



Hey thanks or posting! I grabbed two at my local Sears this evening....$240 a piece is hard to beat! I did blow out my back lifting those rocks!!!!!

[chill'nthemost]

I'll tell you guy's from what I've learned from a customer with 40 years experience is Deka/ East Penn makes the best battery on the market. He also toured giving battery seminars to major tire stores for years along with running his businesses. He buys Deka's without labels and put's his own company name on them. Along with having thicker pleats, plates and grids with almost twice as much area as most, they're calcium alloy which don't build gases like conventional lead battery's which means clean battery terminals Oh, and they're made in The USA

[Nusse]

Some tips for the winter battery storage....

1. Clean the battery after taking it out.
2. Inspect the battery for cracks/damages.
3. Fill water (distilled) as needed.
4. If you have more then 1 battery you can connect them in parallel. Connect + to + and - to - this means that if you have 80 Amp batteries them 2 together will be 12V 160Amps. If you do the mistake to connect them in serial you will have 24Volt and still 80 Ampere. The charger does not care of your Amps but things will go wrong if you connect a 12V charger to 24 Volts.
5. Place the battery/ies for example in you garage with good ventilation.
6. Place them on a wooden board, foam or similar to insulate it from the floor. Never ever place the battery directly on a cement floor. This will prevent self-sulfering.
7. Open the caps but don't remove them.
8. Charge with a CTec charger or similar. It will charge when needed.
9. Let it stay over winter.

I read some other tips and that I have not tried. So do it at own risk....

- Charge the battery full and put it in the freezer and let it stay till you need it. It will still be full.
- another tip is that a battery with a level at 40% will keep the longest lifetime.