Trojan Boat Forum

Big D wrote:So, I may get some resistance here but I say bring it on! First, I'll ask why you're removing them? Then I'll assume you're removing them during the winter and taking them home. If not, then no need to read on. If that's the reason why, stop taking them out! That is old school. If treated right and put to bed properly on board before winter, they will be fine come spring time. In fact, you do more damage by moving them. If the battery is in good shape, top up fluids, make sure they are fully charged, check specific gravity if you must, disconnect them, then walk away. If you did it right, you'll be surprised to find how little they have discharged since they discharge very little in cold weather. If they don't make it to launch, you didn't put them to bed properly or they were bad to begin with and should be replaced anyway or they'll let you down. I'm sure those that disagree with this also believe that you should still keep batteries off concrete

Exactly what i do, charge, disconnect, make sure they are full. No issues all winter in Ohio.

Big D is 100 percent correct on everything he said, when I toured Deka battery plant I questioned the tech on were the board thing came from as I was taught from my dad that you could only set battery's on a wood block to store and charge them and my dad was adamant about it. They said that when the plastic was not as good if you set a battery on concrete litle stones would pierce the bottom, drain the acid and then you would have a dead battery. I am with Big D on leaving the battery's in, I use to take them home keep them in the warm, charge them ocasionally. Now I leave them in, charge them before I lay up shut of the mains and leave them till spring and my battery's last the same amount of time. So with that said if it makes you feal good to take them out Okay, set them on a block of wood Okay, disconnect them Okay. Maybe I am just lazy but thats Okay too.

OK.... can we turn this into a survey (or should I start a new thread for that?)

Questions :

• How many years do you get from your starting batteries?
  How many years do you get from your deep cycle / house batteries?
  Do you have an 'off season'?
  What do you do with your batteries in the off season?

aweimer wrote: Exactly what i do, charge, disconnect, make sure they are full. No issues all winter in Ohio.

Same here, except not Ohio, but Toronto LOL

My house battery 4D AGM is going into it's second Summer of sitting in the boat, so it has done two winter's and still shows full charge after yearly boost. New in 2006 April.
I will be back to check it again end of Summer and will report on condition. I expect it may need a short charge.
I expect 6-8 yrs of life, so in Canada that equates to 12 yrs based on half year usage

Mike Kulp wrote:....They said that when the plastic was not as good if you set a battery on concrete litle stones would pierce the bottom, drain the acid and then you would have a dead battery....

Forgot about that one Mike, absolutely true. I got the same info from two manufacturers now. Was fortunate enough to sit in on two manufacturer presentations about batteries from a manufacturer's perspective, really dispelled a lot of myths that surprised even me. Gave me a whole new perspective on things, and let me tell you, there were a lot of guys attending that just found it very difficult to put their existing beliefs aside. The positive thing here about the concrete issue anyway, is that it doesn't do any harm putting them on wood. The biggest issue about removing them from the boat according to manufacturer's findings, assuming care is taken during removal, If you must take them out of the boat for peace of mind, don't be too attentive. The biggest problem it seems is that folks bring them home then overcharge or trickle charge the sh$t out of them. Bring them to charge, then leave them alone. Having said that, since they will be in a warmer environment, they should at least be checked periodically since they will discharge a little faster in warmer temps.

I have not purchased a crank or DC battery in 10 years, but I'm not talking big box store batteries here! I can also speak for countless others that I've serviced over the years. Like any other piece of hardware, sure there is the odd failure for one reason or another, but not because of winter.

just had a bad contact lense sold to me for my eyes, wanna talk about hell from manufature deffect!!?? anyway thanks guys, good topic. I have 6 batteries in the garage now and just put wood under them for the first time ever, i am young kinda, but i get the pebble topic, safe is safe, but I wont charge them just for fun, never do. I check.. then charge when ready. my lil ski boat is 6 yrs old and just this winter got her first new battery. I used to race RC cars, darn batteries are funny. over charging closes your window of life. I wont get into the different types of batteries but they really dont require the over kill of respect us humans think they need IMO

Anybody looked into the "Hybrid" batteries? Not hybrid car batteries, but lead acid flooded. I have to do more research to make up my mind but so far just sounds like a bunch of fluff; seems like different materials for the plates, then adding the new buzz word of the century "Hybrid". No question battery technology is making some advances (I said some) but you gotta watch out for that marketing!

if they are anything like the car system it will be bad. Look up the Icar specs for automotive hybrids. these cars are scary, i work on quiet a bit of them for enterprize rental. I would think the battery system would be close to similiar. maybe not. just IMO. to many worries for the average go to guy, you really can get killed if you grab the wrong wire in a car. why would i want it on my boat! not alot of sober people around here IMO