Where do you store your trailer battery?

DI

Diverlady

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Joined
Oct 1, 2014
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11
Location
Canada
I'm a bit torn over where to store my trailer battery over the winter. Do I store it in the garage where it will be very cold for several months or do I keep it warm by storing it in my basement?

What do you suggest?
 
Personally I would store it in the garage which is better ventilated than a basement. That way no fumes build up near ignition sources like water heaters or furnaces.
I'm assuming you have it on trickle charger to keep it charged.
 
Keep them charged

No matter where you keep them, be sure to keep them on a battery tender -- I use the batteryminder plus and it really works. If you let them discharge, they won't last nearly as long. Please don't ask how I discovered this fact -- an expensive lesson.
 
If you are going to store it in the garage just ensure it is not on the floor and the cold from the cement or concrete will definitely be the demise of the battery.
 
I store my Interstate camper battery in an unheated garage on a wooden bench with a Harley Davidson battery tender connected to it part of the time. Maybe on for a week and then off for two weeks as I don't believe it needs to be on all the time.
 
Unlikely to discharge over the winter just sitting there with no load. maybe trickle charge once over the winter is all you need.
 
Storing on concrete doesn't do anything to modern batteries, that's a tail from when batteries where made of wood and leather. People tend to store batteries on concrete for months on end and then comeback and find them dead from normal self-discharge and confirm a myth. Ignoring batteries is the real killer.

A battery will lose charge slower if it's kept colder, however in the case of lead-acid, if allowed to discharge the electrolyte can freeze and destroy the battery. Charge the battery up really well, and it will keep nicely for three months. Charge it periodically. I've had problems with those trickle chargers coming unplugged or dying and then actually being a load on the battery, which destroys it. Keep the battery in a cool, non-freezing location. If you're not charging the battery it will not produce any gases.
 
axv129 said:
Storing on concrete doesn't do anything to modern batteries, that's a tail from when batteries where made of wood and leather. People tend to store batteries on concrete for months on end and then comeback and find them dead from normal self-discharge and confirm a myth. Ignoring batteries is the real killer.

A battery will lose charge slower if it's kept colder, however in the case of lead-acid, if allowed to discharge the electrolyte can freeze and destroy the battery. Charge the battery up really well, and it will keep nicely for three months. Charge it periodically. I've had problems with those trickle chargers coming unplugged or dying and then actually being a load on the battery, which destroys it. Keep the battery in a cool, non-freezing location. If you're not charging the battery it will not produce any gases.
Click to expand...

^^This. Well Written.
 
Diverlady said:
I'm a bit torn over where to store my trailer battery over the winter. Do I store it in the garage where it will be very cold for several months or do I keep it warm by storing it in my basement?

What do you suggest?
Click to expand...

Hi Diverlady,
I live in North-Central Minnesota and can tell (from experience), if a battery is allowed to discharge and is stored where temps drop below freezing, it will freeze; then, the only thing it is good for is a core for a new battery... :(

I run two, Grp 31 Batteries and at around $150+ ea., I store them in a "Heated to about mid-40 degree" garage. I plug them into a Battery tender and let them run all winter... as long as I'm not taking the trailer camping... ;)

Probably more a carry-over from the old batteries, but I never store my batteries on a concrete floor... 1st because of old habits, and 2nd because my garage floor gets cold enough to freeze the water that drips off the cars. I made a low shelf and store them up off the floor against the house wall... :cool:

According to the folks that make the Battery Tender, if left connected, it will not harm the battery, but will extend the battery's life... I have another battery for a trailer I rarely use that is in great shape and been on a Tender for more than a year...

Good luck to you and hope to meet up with you some time... :D:D
 
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Also most of the newer made batteries are sealed ~ ie no way to add water or fumes to 'escape' the battery case.

AGM batteries like the Optima and the gel cell batteries are sealed and tend to outlast and outperform the old lead-acid type from my experience.
 
axv129 said:
Storing on concrete doesn't do anything to modern batteries, that's a tail from when batteries where made of wood and leather. People tend to store batteries on concrete for months on end and then comeback and find them dead from normal self-discharge and confirm a myth. Ignoring batteries is the real killer.

A battery will lose charge slower if it's kept colder, however in the case of lead-acid, if allowed to discharge the electrolyte can freeze and destroy the battery. Charge the battery up really well, and it will keep nicely for three months. Charge it periodically. I've had problems with those trickle chargers coming unplugged or dying and then actually being a load on the battery, which destroys it. Keep the battery in a cool, non-freezing location. If you're not charging the battery it will not produce any gases.
Click to expand...

Very interesting post. We never used to use a trickle charger when storing our motorcycles in our unheated garage. Two years ago we did. In the spring I had a dead battery. Your explanation about a defective charger just might explain what happened. Now we're back to just charging them up in the Spring. No trickle charger. We do start the bikes up a few times over the winter. My battery is really hard to get to because of my custom bags.
 
Michigantraveler said:
Too many people (Florida), or too brown, dusty and dry (southwest). We like snow!!
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Shhhhh....(((((South Georgia (and southern Alabama) are well guarded secrets, not crowded and it's inexpensive.))))

BTW...Snow...that's the white stuff on the TV when you need to go out and turn the antenna right? :D
 
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Turn the antenna? Do you still do that in South Georgia and southern Alabama?

Up here in the north country, when folks had antennas they were electric motorized so could be turned from inside the house. However, seldom see tv antennas anymore ~ everyone has cable TV or Satellite TV now!

:)

and just got my notice, the camper goes in the fairgrounds October 12/13 for winter storage.
 
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A lot of people are telling the cable tv companies to shove it and just subscribe to internet. Depending on where you are you can get signals fine with just a tv antennae. We don't have cable tv. Dont need to pay for a hundred channels we don't want to watch. We use Apple TV and Roku boxes with our internet and tv.
 
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