So getting old and dragging those those batteries in the basement is getting old. So what do you do with your batteries ? Have charger in boat so could leave them in shed plugged in or somehow get them out and in basement. Thanks for your input.
If I had a choice between leaving them plugged in outside in a shed or stored in the temperature-controlled basement, I’d put them in the basement. They’re heavy, cumbersome, and probably a bitch to take in and out of the boat, but they’ll last longer if you can keep them away from extended period of cold temperature.
Mine go from the boat to the fishhouse.
They store batteries refrigerated according to a friend that works in the industry. Keep hydrated and trickle charged. I usually get 6 full seasons then change them weather they need it or not. The biggest enemy to batteries is heat and vibration and not recharging every use. Trickle charge leave in boat unhook all power vampires or have cut off switch installed.
Mwal
Mine stay in the boat and the boat stays plugged in all winter. going on the 3rd winter now with no ill effects.
I’m with you JohnE, I not feeling like lugging 3 batteries anywhere either. I’ve always had lead acid, topped up as needed and made sure they went to bed fully charged. Disconnect everything and let er buck! Haven’t had issues yet, but that’s not to say I never will either. 
Mine stay in boat in shed. On charger. Shed is only heated when I’m working in it. I buy fleet farm interstates group 29s and the last ones lasted 7 years. The ones now are new last spring
Are they AGM? AGM batteries will be fine all winter if left in the cold. MN winters are not harsh enough to damage them. Actually, it’s the warm weather that causes battery issues. You should be taking them out of hot sheds during the extreme warm months.
Fully charge the batteries, disconnect, and clean up the terminals and you’ll be good!
A fully charged battery doesn’t freeze till -75F. Mine never come out of the boat.
Many years ago a co-worker did his own battery storage test. When he bought a new set of batteries for his 24v trolling motor he labeled the batteries and stored battery A in the boat in my unheated pole shed. This is MN so it saw sub-zero temp regularly. Battery B was stored in the utility room of his town home. He prepared them for storage by removing all wires, topping off fluids and charging them then forget about them for the winter. Every spring he tested the batteries and the cold storage battery was always a few tenths of a volt higher than the warm storage battery. Both of them still had 85-90% of their charge.
He was a retired electrician and believed anyone who charged a battery inside of their house was a prime candidate for a Darwin award because of the explosive gasses that can result from charging the battery.
Battery B that was stored inside failed midway through its 6th season. Wynn worked part time and fished most of the rest of his time so they had heavy use. Battery A was moved to his ice house and lasted a couple more years.
Not a big enough sample to prove anything but I still find it interesting.
A fully charged battery doesn’t freeze till -75F. Mine never come out of the boat.
Many years ago a co-worker did his own battery storage test. When he bought a new set of batteries for his 24v trolling motor he labeled the batteries and stored battery A in the boat in my unheated pole shed. This is MN so it saw sub-zero temp regularly. Battery B was stored in the utility room of his town home. He prepared them for storage by removing all wires, topping off fluids and charging them then forget about them for the winter. Every spring he tested the batteries and the cold storage battery was always a few tenths of a volt higher than the warm storage battery. Both of them still had 85-90% of their charge.
My experience as well. My batteries stay in my boat, unhooked, fluids topped off and charged before storage in cold storage every winter. My last set of deep cycle batteries lasted 10 years.
I’d rather replace a battery than unhook and move. I’m not even that old but batteries are a pain to unhook, move, reinstall, etc.
Top off, leave on charger all winter. Open the boat up a few days before you wanna fish and check everything. Chances are it’s all good unless your batteries were old or under maintained to begin with.
allways had best luck with them being fully charged and left in the cold
I’ve had good luck storing them in my unheated shop and plugging the onboard charger in once a month.
I’ve had good luck storing them in my unheated shop and plugging the onboard charger in once a month.
Same.
My batteries never leave my boat, are never unhooked, and I only charge them once, maybe twice in a year. I bought two of the cheaper lead acid marine batteries at Fleet farm, wired them parallel, have everything 12v including my trolling motor wired to them, and they always work. I’m on my third maybe fourth year with them. I have a 2015 four stroke engine and my understanding is that all the newer boat engines have alternators on them, so I’ve never understood why guys are constantly pulling and charging batteries. My boat is just like a car—you shouldn’t ever have to charge the battery, the engine running does that for you. I use my boat year round and I’ll usually charge in November just so it’s at full power going into the coldest part of the year when I’m using it the least, and then I usually charge it in the spring right before fishing opener.
I have a pull cord on my motor. I used to fish MPLS lakes that are trolling motor only and between running the trolling motor 4-6 hours with the graph going and usually the radio plus some lights, it’d wear down the batteries. I’d just pull start the motor once it died and everything would fire right right back up. The four stroke is so quiet that no one noticed if it was running in neutral. It works pretty slick and dealing with batteries is now one less chore when I get home after fishing.
Looks like the batteries are staying out in the shed fully charged, topped off and left hook up to the trickle charger. Thanks for the great input everyone and stay safe.
If you disconnect your wires keep them together with a zip tie, the spring you will love the fall you.
they’ll last longer if you can keep them away from extended period of cold temperature.
Just curious why you came to this conclusion? Can you provide some additional info which supports this?
Thats just my experience using/storing them in warm temps vs cold. Cell phone batteries, auto batteries, etc are the same way. Now, given that he can plug them in periodically, that’s another story.
I don’t store my boat at home in the winter. It’s kept at a storage facility for about 6 months (indoors, not heated) so I’m not able to plug them in which is why I remove them.
Thats just my experience using/storing them in warm temps vs cold. Cell phone batteries, auto batteries, etc are the same way. Now, given that he can plug them in periodically, that’s another story.
I don’t store my boat at home in the winter. It’s kept at a storage facility for about 6 months (indoors, not heated) so I’m not able to plug them in which is why I remove them.
Cold temps slow down the chemical reaction and discharge rate of all stored batteries.
Growing up on a farm where there were about a dozen batteries in seasonal equipment. I was taught young that for storage as long as the battery has a full charge, cold temps are its best friend and temps above 90 are its worst enemy. Our combine didn’t move for 9 months and we never charged the batteries during storage, just made sure they had the proper fluid level and a full charge and the ground disconnected from them when we parked it in the shed.
When in use batteries need to be around 70 degrees for maximum output.
What I’ve learned from many good people on this website is keeping them charged usually works regardless of the environment. That being said I still bring mine into the house out of habit and its the only way I have access to them all winter so I can keep them fully charged.
I troll with mine. They still work fantastic in cold weather. Battery tender for charging.
A fully charged battery doesn’t freeze till -75F. Mine never come out of the boat.
Many years ago a co-worker did his own battery storage test. When he bought a new set of batteries for his 24v trolling motor he labeled the batteries and stored battery A in the boat in my unheated pole shed. This is MN so it saw sub-zero temp regularly. Battery B was stored in the utility room of his town home. He prepared them for storage by removing all wires, topping off fluids and charging them then forget about them for the winter. Every spring he tested the batteries and the cold storage battery was always a few tenths of a volt higher than the warm storage battery. Both of them still had 85-90% of their charge.
He was a retired electrician and believed anyone who charged a battery inside of their house was a prime candidate for a Darwin award because of the explosive gasses that can result from charging the battery.
Battery B that was stored inside failed midway through its 6th season. Wynn worked part time and fished most of the rest of his time so they had heavy use. Battery A was moved to his ice house and lasted a couple more years.
Not a big enough sample to prove anything but I still find it interesting.
I’m with Pat on this one. Over the last decade, I’ve done my own little battery storage and longevity tests.
Boat-stored outside with occasional charges, basement stored with either continuous trickle or occasional charges, or lately, boat-stored in a local farmers barn with no charge from Nov to April. I cannot tell any difference in longevity. If there is, it’s minor.
Another thing to consider is the health of your back. You’re gonna need that! It’s very dangerous for your spine to be hauling heavy batteries in and out of a boat from awkward lifting positions and angles. That’s how you end up blowing a disc, getting 6 months of PT, 2 spinal steroid injections, and then going under the knife for a discectomy when all that stuff doesn’t work. Don’t forget the 6 week activity restriction following surgery. I think I’ll take my chances that I may be losing $20 of battery lifespan here and there.
So getting old and dragging those those batteries in the basement is getting old. So what do you do with your batteries ? Have charger in boat so could leave them in shed plugged in or somehow get them out and in basement. Thanks for your input.
I run 24v AGMs Trolling and a AGM starting battery. My first set was in 2006. I have a heated garage set at 40 degrees and warmed to 50’s when I occasionally work in there. They are plugged in all winter to the chargers that came with the boat. One went bad last year in 2019!!!!!
I replaced them all and hope to get that many years out of them. Expensive but with that life span, cheap. Maybe I’m lucky…
Good luck.
DTW
good thread! I have always taken my batteries out thinking the sub zero temps would be as bad as the extreme heat. I guess I will leave mine in and on the onboard charger.
Question…..
better to leave on the trickle all winter or plug in time to time? probably no data either way but just a thought?
same argument can be made on whether to store a boat with a full tank or empty tank.
I use them 
If no onboard charger,charge them up full and remove anything with a load.Done this for years with outdoor storage with no problems.But best to leave them on a maintainer.
Trickle charger all season long.
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