chuckgo6

Just had boat winterized a while back and batteries were disconnected but never pulled from boat.The boat is shrink wraped and don't really want to disturb the cover.I have 2 new deep cell batteries in it(sealed) and wonder if batteries will be ok with the harsh winters here in Upstate New York.I will charge batteries in the the Spring,I know you should charge them a couple times in the off season but it is well covered will they be ok or will I have to get them out to save them they were a $100.00 a piece ? any information would be helpful.
Thank You Chuck..................

David Stotz

Good question. I would think you can charge them in the spring and they will be OK but their life span will be shortened. I also ride motorcycles and my mechanic told me you can leave a battery in the cold like that as long as you connect to a trickle charger like a Battery Tender.
Good Luck, Where in upstate NY are you from ? I live in Lancaster outside of Buffalo.

Mike Paula

As long as they are charged and disconnected, They are in the best place they can be. If there state of charge is down you may have some water in there that will freeze.

stevesxm

disagree with the above. for sure if bats charged , they won't freeze and MAYBE will comback in the spring but am willing to bet cash yankee dollars that w/ out a trickle charge on them over the winter, they will dischage sufficiently to freeze into little battery ice cubes and be junk in the spring. in my opinion your decision is simply economic.... how much to retrieve them, put them someplace warm w/ a trickle charger vs how much to buy new batts in the spring. best professional opion is that as is they have little or no chance of survival as is

jpclear

A good quality battery left disconnected and fully charged should not be a problem in the Spring. I count on about 5 years life doing that and our Winter temps. go sub-zero. And although they are not at full up, I can usually fire the engine in the Spring without even charging. Maybe I have just been lucky all these years but experience tells me that they have an excellent chance of survival as is, although removal and storage as steve... suggests IS the TRULY PROPER way.

Mike Paula

The cold will slow down the chemical process inside that battery. I have spent many hours at the ACDelco plant talking to engineers about what kills battery and how to make them live. Also after talking to both ACDelco engineers and Interstate rep.’s both saying the same thing. Make sure they are charge disconnect them, and leave them where that are. Never had a frozen battery ever here the frigid cold of Chicago.

Also IMO pitch ANY low amp trickle charger away. If you want that route get a battery tender that can over come the high internal resistance of the newer style batteries all a trickle charger is doing is sulfating your battery by not fully charging them

chuckgo6

Thank You for all the input! Chuck...

Big Block Billy

If you want to take them out, get a shrink wrap door installed. Buy it once, basically a zippered section, and reuse the door next season. Depending on your boat this might help.

Iggy

At the end of the season I purchased a new cranking batt for the boat. Shortly after, the battery in my truck suddenly went out. I took the battery from the boat and dropped in the truck. I think I'll leave it there till srping and buy one then. This way the batt will get used and charged regularly.

jpclear

Now THATS what I call smart recyceling! --- Jer