Hey all, I know this has probably been asked and answered many times, but is it more advisable to store 2 T-105's inside on a trickle charger or leave them in the trailer which has solar charging over the winter? A few details...- solar charging is a 260watt panel with sunsaver MPPT 15 amp charge controller, setpoints tweaked to match the Trojan battery specsheet. I have a 3 way battery cutoff switch installed such that I can keep solar charging connected with all trailer circuits disconnected ie. no parasitic draws.- winter temps here can hit -40C.Is it best to pull the batteries and keep them inside? Or keep them connected to solar and just clean off the panel when the snow falls? Inconvenience isn't a worry, I'd just like to get the most life from these. Thx!

Winterize batteries Oct2009Stay plugged in in storage?Stay plugged in roast batteries?

If I were doing it, I would bring them inside and put a good maintainer on them instead of having to brush snow off the panel every time it snowed.If you have a good charge controller that will not over charge them then doing it either way is OK for the batterys.

With Alberta, winter temperatures, I would fully charge the batteries and let them sit totally disconnected from everything for as long as five months. -10c temps dramatically slows down self-discharge. That way you have *zero* chance of anything going wrong. Make certain a hydrometer reading confirms the battery electrolyte is temperature corrected to 1.275 specific gravity.

What could be better than inside on a good maintainer ? But for me, they are too heavy,....they'd stay outside,.....if you have charging that will not fail.I would never leave them outside w/o dependable maintainer charging.

Mine stay on the tongue of the trailer outside, connected to 150 watts of solar. My last set of generic 6v batteries lasted about 8 years. My current T105s are over 11 years old and winter over just fine.Why bother brushing off snow unless you expect it to stick around for an extended period? My panels still charge even with a couple inches of snow on them.

Winter storage or solar for 2 T-105's | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

TurnThePage
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
Mine stay on the tongue of the trailer outside, connected to 150 watts of solar. My last set of generic 6v batteries lasted about 8 years. My current T105s are over 11 years old and winter over just fine.

Why bother brushing off snow unless you expect it to stick around for an extended period? My panels still charge even with a couple inches of snow on them.
RJsfishin
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
What could be better than inside on a good maintainer ? But for me, they are too heavy,....they'd stay outside,.....if you have charging that will not fail.
I would never leave them outside w/o dependable maintainer charging.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 30, 2015
With Alberta, winter temperatures, I would fully charge the batteries and let them sit totally disconnected from everything for as long as five months. -10c temps dramatically slows down self-discharge. That way you have *zero* chance of anything going wrong. Make certain a hydrometer reading confirms the battery electrolyte is temperature corrected to 1.275 specific gravity.
Boon_Docker
Explorer III
Nov 30, 2015
If I were doing it, I would bring them inside and put a good maintainer on them instead of having to brush snow off the panel every time it snowed.

If you have a good charge controller that will not over charge them then doing it either way is OK for the batterys.
2oldman
Explorer II
Nov 30, 2015
Winterize batteries Oct2009
Stay plugged in in storage?
Stay plugged in roast batteries?

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Winter storage or solar for 2 T-105's

15 Replies

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