Battery storage

[greendrake]

My wife brought home Styrofoam box with a lid to store my boat batteries in. I know you want circulation while charging but can you safely store them in a sealed box outside?

[Selkirk]

The sealed box will slowly fill with hydrogen gas, given off by the batteries.
Hydrogen gas, in high concentration, is a bomb waiting to go off.

Why store your batteries in a sealed container?!

Selkirk

[Ken07AOVette]

IF they are charged to the max they may make it through a winter but if at all possible get them inside somewhere somewhat warm and definately off a concrete floor. Discharging batteries do not like cold. At the very least trickle charge them once a month or so if you cant get them a warm bed.

[Selkirk]

.
This is what Trojan has to say about Deep-Cycle Battery Storage ... http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/WP_...orage_0512.pdf

Govern yourself accordingly,

Selkirk

[greendrake]

Thanks fellas lid removed

[lannie]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

IF they are charged to the max they may make it through a winter but if at all possible get them inside somewhere somewhat warm and definately off a concrete floor. Discharging batteries do not like cold. At the very least trickle charge them once a month or so if you cant get them a warm bed.

Urban legend
Batteries on a concrete floor is not true with any modern plastic case batteries. https://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp

[Ken07AOVette]

Originally Posted by lannie

Urban legend
Batteries on a concrete floor is not true with any modern plastic case batteries. https://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp

Good to know, I stand corrected.
I was always real careful of that

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by lannie

Urban legend
Batteries on a concrete floor is not true with any modern plastic case batteries. https://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp

I left a battery on the garage floor one winter. Never charged it and it didn't freeze/crack but for some reason it spilled electrolyte on the floor and ate the cement. Now I've got a smooth cement floor with a 8x12" rough, concrete/gravel stain in the corner. For my money I'll keep my batteries stored on substances they can't destroy.

[catnthehat]

My boat batteries get stored in a heated garage on a piece of plywood under a storage rack.
The plywood has a roped tied to it so it is easy to pull the batteries out- I have always stored batteries onnplywood because I was told I needed to!
The rope huwever is great , less hassle .
I pull them out halfway through the winter and check the votage and charge accordingly
Cat

[BUSHRVN]

One major thing I haven't seen mentioned here yet is to clean the batteries, especially the tops. The thin (or thick) layer of dust and dirt will carry a micro current across the top of the battery between the post thus shorting it out and draining it. It's good to rinse them off once in a while through out there usage and definetly for storage.

[4K3OGH]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

IF they are charged to the max they may make it through a winter but if at all possible get them inside somewhere somewhat warm and definately off a concrete floor. Discharging batteries do not like cold. At the very least trickle charge them once a month or so if you cant get them a warm bed.

Agree with keeping warm... however to my understanding new batteries are totally fine left on concrete...

[stuckincity]

Not tryin to get off-topic, but I always liked those "battery savers" ever since they hit the market.
You hook it to the battery, plug it in, and forget about it. They have a solid state chip that won't let the battery over-charge and the battery doesn't need to be 'monitored' like with a trickle charger.

Their for hooking to the battery under the hood and running with your block heater in the winter, but you can use them separately with the battery out of the vehicle when its just sitting on your tool bench or wherever.
Hope this helps.

[bat119]

I store my batteries in a heated garage trickle charge every couple months, be sure to check the water levels and top up with distilled water. we have our trailer on a seasonal site with power connected full time most trailer batteries will lose some water.

[The Spank]

Originally Posted by stuckincity

Not tryin to get off-topic, but I always liked those "battery savers" ever since they hit the market.
You hook it to the battery, plug it in, and forget about it. They have a solid state chip that won't let the battery over-charge and the battery doesn't need to be 'monitored' like with a trickle charger.

Their for hooking to the battery under the hood and running with your block heater in the winter, but you can use them separately with the battery out of the vehicle when its just sitting on your tool bench or wherever.
Hope this helps.

Where do you buy them?

[stuckincity]

Originally Posted by The Spank

Where do you buy them?

Most automotive stores have them, NAPA, AutoValue, etc, or at least they used to.
Buy a high-quality one, some aren't so good from what I heard. Last time I looked a good one was around 40 bucks.
Not sure, but Amazon might have them too.

I had 2 good ones for the last 3 years, no problems so far.
Its nice to be able to not worry about over-charging.

EDIT: Sorry, I got the name wrong.
Its called a "battery maintainer" or "battery tender".

http://automotivethinker.com/general/batterytenders/

[warriorboy10]

Originally Posted by stuckincity

Most automotive stores have them, NAPA, AutoValue, etc, or at least they used to.
Buy a high-quality one, some aren't so good from what I heard. Last time I looked a good one was around 40 bucks.
Not sure, but Amazon might have them too.

I had 2 good ones for the last 3 years, no problems so far.
Its nice to be able to not worry about over-charging.

EDIT: Sorry, I got the name wrong.
Its called a "battery maintainer" or "battery tender".

http://automotivethinker.com/general/batterytenders/

$49 Costco