Wintertime Battery Warning

[Photoman]

Sent: 11/13/2003

A year and a half ago I purchased a 72 D22 Indian that had sat for several years & needed a new coach battery.  As part of the purchase agreement, the PO agreed to knock off the cost of a new replacement battery which I purchased at Sam's Club.  I was surprised at the size, (takes up 1/2 of the battery compartment), the weight (I could barely lift it alone), and the cost ($100).  The size surprised me because I also own a 72 C20 Brave that my dad purchased new and it never had anywhere near that big of a battery.  It doesn't have a generator, however, so maybe it takes the bigger battery to run the generator? 

Anyway, to make a long story short, I put the new battery in and never did take the D22 on any trips because of a problem with rust in the gas tanks.  I'm a bit of a procrastinator, and besides, we used our C20 for our summer outings, so the D22 just sat parked while I put off dropping the tanks & coating the insides with POR-15.  Well, I finally got the tanks done and re-installed, and yesterday when I poured in 5 gal of gas to see if she'd start, it cranked pretty slow.  So I pulled out the battery tray to hook up a charger, and when I checked the water level in the automotive battery, it was a little low, so I thought I should check the coach battery, and it was completely dry! 

So started adding water, and discovered it was leaking out from a hairline crack on the side.  So I took it out and back to Sam's (even tho it was 2 months past the one year warranty).  The automotive mgr. told me it wouldn't have been covered under warranty anyway for a crack in the side.  He said if it just sat for a long period, chances are the acid settled to the bottom, and the water at the top probably froze and cracked the side. 

I've never taken the batteries out of my C20 through the winters and never had a problem.  But I think from now on, I will, just to be safe.  I usually try to remember to go out and fire up my C20 at least once a month through winter  This spring I will buy a new coach battery for the D22 with a generator.  I dread the thought of having to take it inside through the winter, not to mention finding a place to store it.
   
P.S.  I did get the D22 started & running after charging the auto battery, although it was running a little rough.    Photoman

[HAL]

Sent: 11/14/2003

you are right. I left mine plugged in 2 years ago and when i opened the battery compartment the next spring. I found a mess. the acid from the batteries had ran all over the place.
I had to pull all 3 batteries and clean and repaint. I had to replace the battery cables also.
what I do now is disconnect the batteries and cover the cables so they can not make a ground when I plug into 110v power.

HAL

[Derrek]

Sent: 11/14/2003

Instead of removing the batteries each winter my suggestion would be to purchase "Battery Tender" brand float charger. This is a charger that will keep the batteries fully charged but will not overcharge them. It reads the voltage of the batteries and shuts off when batteries are fully charged and will begin charging if battery voltage drops again. It has a built in light that is red when charging and green when in standby, so at a glance you can see what the charger is doing.

  The wife and I both ride motorcycles and I have used battery tenders on both bikes with great results and purchased another one to be used on the motorhome. Battery Tenders can be purchased at a local motorcycle shop for around $30 or maybe at some retail outlets, but I'm not certain which ones.

[Sea Hag]

Sent: 11/14/2003

For winter storage if your not intending to run the engine once a month or use the coach . I would remove the batteries and store them where the won't freeze . set them on a board , not directly on concrete or steel shelves .--- Sea Hag

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Sent: 11/14/2003

Battery tender devices typically put out less than 1 amps for the float maintenance mode being refereed to here.  They can either be constant voltage (millivolts above a fully charged no load setting) or cycle based triggered by battery voltage.  Most are constant voltage style.  This maintains the battery voltage level without gassing (little or no water loss).  To work properly in the multiple battery setup you desire, it would have to be initially setup in the all batteries connected scenario to establish the voltage of the battery bank.  Lots of good info on them at:
http://www.batterytender.com/

Dave

[denisondc]

Sent: 11/16/2003

I must be the cheapest guy on the site - I mean the thriftiest. I use a car battery for the winny engine. That battery spends its life in one of the family cars except when the winny is going on a trip. Usually its the minivan battery, $40 at the discount places. I take another battery from another of the family cars for the coach battery, since we don't dry-camp to speak of. Its purpose is only to power the interior lights when we aren't yet plugged in, or are parked in the walmart lot. Clearly this would not work for keeping a furnace running, but it works for us.

If the winny sits with a battery in it, I put a charger on it about once a month, overnight. denison

[Photoman]

Sent: 11/17/2003

I don't think you're "cheap" Denison.  I wish it had been a $40 battery that froze & cracked the side out instead of a $100 one.    Photoman