Winter Battery Storage

[rfloyd99]

I read somewhere that batteries should not be allowed to freeze. The first time my RV spent the winter here I had a heated place to store them, this time I don't. Temperatures here are frequently near zero.

I use two golf cart batteries, will they be damaged this winter?

Anyone have any experience with this issue?

[Cummins12V98]

Same arguments about covering tires. I have never done so and never had a crack. Same with using 303, never have.

No matter the subject you can get all twisted around!

[Boon_Docker]

My batteries (disconnected) sit outside all winter in -20C temp and they are going into their 10th year.

[Goostoff]

I just leave my trailer plugged in year round. Last battery survived 10 years. It is quite common to see -30F here in the winter

[PA12DRVR]

FWIW...

....my power toys primarily live in Los Anchorage. Typical winter sees regular below 0 (F) temps, frequent below -10, and often quite a few days of -20.
....For the boat and the OR Jeep and the summer ATV, I pull the batteries and put them inside; fully charged in circa October / November; trickle charged to full charge about 1x per month after that until "spring" which realistically means mid-May.
....For the spare road vehicles, I typically end up moving them around the driveway at least 1 x per month, so nothing special is done to the batteries, although I make sure the engine runs at least 45 mins during that 1x per month.
....For the PA-12 and the sno-go; trickle charge about 1x per month if not otherwise used; on the infrequent trip to cold country (where -30 is common, -50 is not unheard of), I pull the batteries every night and bring them in the tent/cabin, etc. Particularly when flying the PA-12 somewhere cold, if it doesn't start one is either faced with a very serious situation or faced with the need to hand prop...a very serious PITA.

My batteries typically last at least 8-10 years, but they're all automotive, not golf cart.

[Cummins12V98]

Three seasons on the boat batteries with just disconnecting the grounds and winder temp into the single digits. Same goes for my 01 RAM. They both fire off the engines with reconnecting the grounds.

[pianotuna]

dedmiston only once have I had to clear the panels since 2009.

Even then, there were 17 amp-hours going into the battery bank on Dec 21.

[JKJavelin]

dedmiston wrote:

dapperdan wrote:
I had 300 watts on our previous trailer and now 660 watts of solar on our current trailer, haven’t taken the batteries out since the solar went in! I haven’t had a battery issue yet, the solar keeps the batteries “full”, no freezing. Here in WI it can get below zero, maybe not as cold as Minnesota but cold none the less. :B

Dan

Hey Dan - Question about your solar. We store our rig in the southwest where I worry about dust and crud covering up our panels (700W), but we get enough rain in the cooler months to hose them off.

What do you do in Wisconsin with the snow? Does the snow accumulate and cover your panels?

We sure love having the batteries charged and ready to go 24/7/365.

I also am in southeastern Wisconsin. Where I store mine, the wind blows most of the snow off of the roof. Then, if you get a sunny day, the black solar panels warm up a little and the snow will melt off of them.
I've had the solar for 2 winters so far, (we don't head south until late January) and it's been fine.
JK

[pianotuna]

The colder it is the less the self discharge. So bringing it inside creates the need to recharge.

Personally the solar charger works well for me.

[ktmrfs]

One thing batteries do not like is being left in a partial state of charge for extended periods of time. So while the battery may not freeze, and it may stay partially charged, it won't remain at 100% SOC, It will slowly discharge. Maybe not a lot, but in any event it's better to make sure it periodically get's fully charged (every few weeks or every month) rather than leave it in a partially charged state. While in an extended partial charge state some of lead sulfate as the battery discharges will become crystals that don't go back to lead when recharged, leaving you with less battery capacity.

[ktmrfs]

bikendan wrote:

rfloyd99 wrote:
I read somewhere that batteries should not be allowed to freeze.

You need to find better resources to read. As was said, fully charged batteries are fine to at least 0°F.

More like fine to below -40F. Many a time I've had a vehicle outside with temps at -40F/C and a reasonably charge battery won't freeze. In fact I've even started my duramax diesel w/o the block heater at -40F after the truck had stat several days/nights with temps at night below -40F. Temp was up to about -35F when I went to start it. Took a while for the glow plug light to go out, cranked slow for a few seconds then started.

don't let the battery get near discharged at low temps.

[Caveman_Charlie]

Flapper wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

nickthehunter wrote:
If they are fully charged they won’t freeze at zero. As they self discharge over time while sitting there they could. A discharged battery will freeze at 20* F. A trickle charger or something similar (solar?j will help to keep the batteries fully charged.

^^^^THIS^^^^

Folks don't take batteries out of their cars for winter when not using that car for several months in the winter, why should one drag the batteries out of their RV for winter?

Fully charged batteries will not freeze even in sub freezing temps for weeks at a time.

Simply put, no need to go to the work and hassle of removing and storing the batteries inside your home, garage or basement as long as you have fully charged the battery and have disconnected the battery from the RV electrical system for the winter provided you do not have access to power while in storage.

If you have a RV with a modern multistage converter and you have power available, you can even just plug the RV in and let the converter take care of the batteries.

What you don't want to do is leave the batteries connected to your RVs electrical system without having some means of charging. The RV electrical system has 12V devices like the stereo, water heater, fridge, furnace which all draw a small amount of power even when they are turned off.. Those small draws will flatten your battery in a matter of a week or two.. Hence the need to plug RV into power or disconnect the batteries for storage.

x2 on this! If batteries routinely froze at 0, none of us in Minnesota would ever be able to drive our cars!

Fully charged batteries won't freeze until -73F. For 20 yrs, I have just fully charged the 6 various RV and boat batteries I own, completely disconnected, and left outside in their respective boats/RV's. Ditto on the vast majority of boat owners in our region. Nov-April, and in the spring mine have never been at less than 85% of charge, and usually above 90%. Batteries do self discharge over time, but cold slows them way, way down. In Minn, even with the summer, the average temps mean over a year before they get to 50% self discharge. MUCH faster in Texas or Arizona in the summer - then it may be 3 months. For places that get snow, just fully charge, disconnect and forget until spring.

Yup, I charge the battery on my boat as I winterize it. Then I unhook it and leave it in the boat. The last battery lasted 10 years this way. It wasn't bad when I replaced it I just thought that was enough.

On my TT I have 2- 6 volt batteries. I store it at home, in a shed, and have a voltage meter inside so I can watch it. I make sure the voltage is up to snuff. If it drops a little low I flip on the power converter for a few ours and top them off. The last batteries I had in there lasted 10 years too and I still have them. But, they were getting to the point where they wouldn't hold there charge for as long so I installed new ones.

[Fisherman]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
My 2¢ !

I do NOT believe in leaving a battery on a tender for days on end. If you are using a tender, connect it to an old fashioned lamp timer. Only charge for about 4 hours a day.

I'll see your 2cents and up you a nickle. If they weren't made to be left on for extended periods of time, I'm sure the world of nay sayer's would have taken them to court and won lots of money. I haven't and likely won't see it. I've had batteries last for up to 12 years doing it and I'll leave it at that.

[theoldwizard1]

My 2¢ !

I do NOT believe in leaving a battery on a tender for days on end. If you are using a tender, connect it to an old fashioned lamp timer. Only charge for about 4 hours a day.

[BarabooBob]

I would not want to rely on solar unless you are able to keep the snow from covering the solar panels. I don't have solar panels but if I did I would have to go our frequently and clean them off. I have to snow blow my driveway every couple of days so I would have to clean off the panels at the same frequency.

i prefer to leave my TT in its nice cozy carport plugged into shore power. I replaced my WFCO with a Progressive Industries converter two weeks after I bought the TT because the WFCO would not change output, it was always at 13.6.