2013 R27 batter charger use while winterized

[AustinK]

We just put our 2013 R27 to bed for the winter. I have it in an indoor heated facility. Power to run a charger is included in the deal. Is it safe to use the boats own charger and just leave the battery switches on, or should I disconnect all the batteries and get a separate battery tender?

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

My only concern with leaving the charger hooked up and having power to the boat would be if your power source goes out or someone unplugs your power cord (it happened to me once). With inside heated storage I'm sure power would be back up and running soon however if the power is off your batteries will be draining ever so slightly, until if not caught would go dead. In my case, so I'm not concerned or if I'm not in a position to check on our boat in storage I've made it a practice to disconnect all cables to all battery terminals, making sure the batteries are fully charged before doing so. I zip tie each set of cables from each terminal as I take them off and number them to match there respective post/connector. In the spring I reconnect and have never had a problem, after a proper charging.

Jim F

 

[AustinK]

My only concern with leaving the charger hooked up and having power to the boat would be if your power source goes out or someone unplugs your power cord (it happened to me once). With inside heated storage I'm sure power would be back up and running soon however if the power is off your batteries will be draining ever so slightly, until if not caught would go dead. In my case, so I'm not concerned or if I'm not in a position to check on our boat in storage I've made it a practice to disconnect all cables to all battery terminals, making sure the batteries are fully charged before doing so. I zip tie each set of cables from each terminal as I take them off and number them to match there respective post/connector. In the spring I reconnect and have never had a problem, after a proper charging.

Jim F

Jim. Thanks for the reply. It's actually your zip tie recommendation, that I read in a previous post, that has me up in the air. Not to get to deep into it, but I live where temps routinely drop to -35F and below (I guess you may experience these temps also) and I have had numerous small engines/tractors to winterize over the years. I usually pull the batteries and put them in the basement on a shelf with the battery tender. But those are smaller batteries or single car batteries. The boat is by far the most valuable thing I've winterized. And even though I've paid for heated winter storage I still did a full winterization. The ice storm of '94 that had us with out power for a month surely ruined many things that were in heated storage, seemingly safe. So I guess it comes down to what is better for the batteries...trickle/smart charge except if the power goes out or disconnect/label and know they are isolated. I can't imagine a power outage lasting more than a month. And I will check on the boat periodically over the winter to see that she's ok.

 

[Red Raven]

We keep our boat plugged in all winter in the garage with the battery charger on and usually with the house battery switched on. I'm in there all the time to work on stuff so I want the power on for the lights, water etc. If the the power goes out I switch the house off and have a Honda 2000 watt to charge things up if needed. Not sure how this would be any different than when the boat is at the marina.

Full disclosure. I did have a house battery failure last summer. Batteries went high impedance after only three seasons (voltage good open circuit, 12.8V but dropped to 11V when the fridge turned on). Not sure why they failed and can't imagine how keeping the batteries charged in the winter with the boats battery charger could be an issue, but I have no clue why the batteries failed. We always try to keep them above 50% when on the hook but do not know the conditions under the previous owner (1 season only but the boat was on the water and don't know if it had power other than solar). If anyone thinks this is related to leaving the batts under charge over the winter let me know. I just don't know but can't see how there would be a problem to use the boats charger over the winter.

 

[stwendl]

Leaving the battery to itself will cause discharging and sulfation

A friend of mine once said "batteries don't die, they usually get murdered"

 

[knotflying]

We just put our 2013 R27 to bed for the winter. I have it in an indoor heated facility. Power to run a charger is included in the deal. Is it safe to use the boats own charger and just leave the battery switches on, or should I disconnect all the batteries and get a separate battery tender?

If you have access to the boat on a regular basis to check to see if things are okay every few weeks then I would say you are good to go. In the event that you lose power you should be fine over a period of a few weeks. Keep in mind that there are items that have a small draw that are working in the background and if left without charging, the batteries will soon discharge if left connected and there is a long period without power. When I winterized my boat I usually took this
time period to remove the batteries and clean everything up and then I put them on the bench in the garage and paralleled all of them. Once a month I connected a battery tender and made sure they were topped off. I did what Jim does, I would zip tie and label each group of wires for each terminal. I also took a picture before dismantling.

 

[AustinK]

We keep our boat plugged in all winter in the garage with the battery charger on and usually with the house battery switched on. I'm in there all the time to work on stuff so I want the power on for the lights, water etc. If the the power goes out I switch the house off and have a Honda 2000 watt to charge things up if needed. Not sure how this would be any different than when the boat is at the marina.

Full disclosure. I did have a house battery failure last summer. Batteries went high impedance after only three seasons (voltage good open circuit, 12.8V but dropped to 11V when the fridge turned on). Not sure why they failed and can't imagine how keeping the batteries charged in the winter with the boats battery charger could be an issue, but I have no clue why the batteries failed. We always try to keep them above 50% when on the hook but do not know the conditions under the previous owner (1 season only but the boat was on the water and don't know if it had power other than solar). If anyone thinks this is related to leaving the batts under charge over the winter let me know. I just don't know but can't see how there would be a problem to use the boats charger over the winter.

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[AustinK]

We just put our 2013 R27 to bed for the winter. I have it in an indoor heated facility. Power to run a charger is included in the deal. Is it safe to use the boats own charger and just leave the battery switches on, or should I disconnect all the batteries and get a separate battery tender?

If you have access to the boat on a regular basis to check to see if things are okay every few weeks then I would say you are good to go. In the event that you lose power you should be fine over a period of a few weeks. Keep in mind that there are items that have a small draw that are working in the background and if left without charging, the batteries will soon discharge if left connected and there is a long period without power. When I winterized my boat I usually took this
time period to remove the batteries and clean everything up and then I put them on the bench in the garage and paralleled all of them. Once a month I connected a battery tender and made sure they were topped off. I did what Jim does, I would zip tie and label each group of wires for each terminal. I also took a picture before dismantling.

I agree. I think I'll go with the charger and check frequently, initially, then go check things out occasionally the rest of the winter if things look good.

 

[Scuffy]

We always have the boat plugged into shore power while it sits winterized and covered up in the driveway. House batteries on, battery charger on. That way we can turn on lights in the cabin without having to throw battery switches when checking things once a month or so. A small electric heater runs inside the cabin to keep any moisture at bay. We use a small LED night light in a side window that we can still see while the boat is covered when looking out our back door. It shows up as a small glow under the cover. That way we can see if shore power is on without having to climb on the boat. Happy Winter. Our trip to Florida keys in February can't come soon enough.