Winter Battery Tips/Tricks?????

[rokyrd]

Getting ready to put our '97 Tropi-Cal away for the winter here in Denver, CO.

I am looking for some advice/tips on what to do with the coach batteries during the winter.

I have 2 Trojan T-105 6v batteries for the coach. I was contemplating removing the batteries and putting them in my basement (as opposed to the garage where it will get below freezing), hook them up in series, and use a 12v battery maintainer to keep them charged.

Is this acceptable or overkill? What about just leaving them in the coach (unit is covered completely from weather, but not heated) and making sure the batteries are disconnected?

If I do the "maintainer" thing, are these thing OK to leave hooked up and plugged in for months at a time (obviously doing a periodic visual inspection)?

I am planning to leave the chassis battery in the coach and making periodic visits to start and run the MH. I don't have access to 110v where the coach is stored, or I would put a "maintainer" there as well. Chassis battery is old and all but spent and will need to be replaced next spring anyway.

I am more concerned with the coach batteries as they are much more expensive than a chassis battery, and only 4 months old.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated!!

[The Danes Are Coming]

Hi rokyard

Let me first say that I am no expert on this subject but........

I live in a cold environment like you do and if I had the option to disconnect my chassis batteries and take them indoor for the winter, this is what I would definitely do.

At home I have different 6v and 12V batteries (for a motorcycle and a grass tractor etc.) that I will trickle charge with a small charger that goes directly into an electrical socket. I do this about once a month while storing my batteries in my heated garage. I disconnect them and recharge them as needed and they do last a long time. I am sure that this is the best way to look after your expensive chassis batteries.

[autofish]

Could you put a solar charger on the unit? If not I would take the bats in and leave them on a charger to keep up with internal drain. Bats will not freeze if keep charged. Good luck

[BryanL]

First and most important is to provide active battery maintenance to your batteries when not in use. This will keep them in a charged state and provide sulfation inhibiting techniques.

Note that simple float or trickle chargers may misjudge the proper full charge voltage, may overcharge the batteries causing plate corrosion, and don't do anything to inhibit sulfation other than keep up the charge. The electrolyte needs to be kept mixed in wet cell batteries or some effective alternative needs to be applied to prevent lead sulfate crystal growth.

If your batteries are fully charged, they should have no problems in most winter temperatures. Do an I'net search for lead acid battery freezing to get an idea of how cold is too cold.