Battery Maintenance

[Cardinals]

It is that time of year here in upstate NY to winterize the trailer. Had a great season if you don't count the two hurricanes which led to early departures from our campsites.

Here is my question. Each year I remove the battery and store it in the basement. In May I will bring it up and start using a trickle charger to get it ready. I was told that I should also check the water level each month (over the winter) and add water as needed. I have only added water once to the battery but now I am wondering if I need to do more, and how often and how much distilled water. Any information or advice is appreciated.

[Boon_Docker]

My batteries (GC-2) get charged fully in November and disconnected. Left outside and ignored until May. They lose about 10% of their charge through the winter. They are 7 years old and still going strong.

[aftermath]

Cardinals,

I live in Eastern Washington and it gets pretty cold as it does in New York. I bring my batteries into the basement each fall. I store my trailer about 14 miles away.

I check them when I bring them in. This year they were at 12.8 volts. I do not ignore them until May. I will check them something like every other month. Usually I will have to hook them up to a trickle charge when they are down a bit. I will check the water level once or twice each winter. As spring gets close, I will make sure the water level is up and then charge them up.

I don't think it is a good idea to ignore these the entire winter.

[K-9_HANDLER]

I pull them and store in garage, hook them to charger overnight about every 8 weeks. Rarely need much water. Get 6-8 seasons out of them depending on brand.

[deltabravo]

Lwiddis wrote:
I’d suggest REreading the battery manufacturer’s instructions.

I've never seen a battery come with an instruction manual to read (or re-read)

[rickhise]

wanderingbob wrote:
I live in Florida , but I am curious , will a battery freeze ?

pom

Provided u are using a trickle chg

If u use anything larger that isn’t auto u boil water out

Losing water during charging is why your checking the water level
Or store it in extreme heat that would cause evaporations

[mike-s]

wanderingbob wrote:
I live in Florida , but I am curious , will a battery freeze ?

Not if it's charged and you're not in Antarctica, not that Florida ever has a real freeze.

A fully charged battery is good to ~-80F, a 50% charged battery is good to ~-30F. You're in Florida, so no worries.

[Boon_Docker]

A fully charged (100%) flooded lead acid battery will not freeze until the temp reaches -75 F.

[wanderingbob]

I live in Florida , but I am curious , will a battery freeze ?

[prichardson]

Charge the battery then check the water level as downtheroad shows then store. There is no need to periodically check fluid level unless it is on a charger.

[Sandia_Man]

I have been using this battery filler for over a decade and it does a great job of watering our pair of golfcart batteries to the proper levels, really reduces overall corrosion as I tended to over water our batteries during maintenance intervals.

[SidecarFlip]

Distilled water, not tap water. Tap water contains minerals that shorten battery life.

[Lwiddis]

“How do you know how much water to add?”

I’d suggest REreading the battery manufacturer’s instructions.

[downtheroad]

Cardinals wrote:
How do you know how much water to add?

Fill to just below the bottom of the vent tube...

[Cardinals]

How do you know how much water to add?