longer term storage - battery care

[macmac]

For the first time since 2004,  next year I'll be staying at home during the summer.  Our truck and trailer will likely be off the road for 9 months, stored in Arizona. 

During that time I feel sure the two truck batteries will die unless I use a suitable charger.  The Battery Tender charger unit claims to be able to maintain batteries almost indefinitely -  I use a similar unit in the UK for the battery on our small car when we're RVing here.

Does anyone have any experience of longer-term use?  During the storage period the the batteries will receive absolutely no attention.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Most any battery charger that has a "Float" or "Trickle" charge mode will work fine. I routinely leave my boat batteries charging with my regular 10A portable charger for several months at  a time, though I usually plug the charger into a time so it only runs  a couple hours a day.

The Battery Tender should do a fine job for you. Make sure the water in the cell s is topped up before storing (unless it is a maintenance-free type)

 

[Rancher Will]

We use our Montana 5th Wheel often enough year-around that we do have a problem with keeping the batteries charged in it. When it is parked for a week or so, (or longer) I just use the Battery switch provided by Montana to switch disconnect the battery from use. Without the switch I could just disconnect a battery terminal.

However, for some of our other ranch equipment, when we know that the item will not be used for some time we just remove the battery(s) and place them on a trickle charger and leave them on the charger at 2-amps charging rate until the battery is next needed.

Our battery charger in our shop happens to be designed to charge at both 6 and 12 volts, at 2 amps, 10 amps, etc. so we set it as we need it.

I am sure a battery from an RV can be charged the same as any other battery of it's type.

 

[macmac]

We use our Montana 5th Wheel often enough year-around that we do have a problem with keeping the batteries charged in it. When it is parked for a week or so, (or longer) I just use the Battery switch provided by Montana to switch disconnect the battery from use. Without the switch I could just disconnect a battery terminal.

However, for some of our other ranch equipment, when we know that the item will not be used for some time we just remove the battery(s) and place them on a trickle charger and leave them on the charger at 2-amps charging rate until the battery is next needed.

Our battery charger in our shop happens to be designed to charge at both 6 and 12 volts, at 2 amps, 10 amps, etc. so we set it as we need it.

I am sure a battery from an RV can be charged the same as any other battery of it's type.

It's not a leisure battery as fitted to an RV and it's not short-term storage. 

There are two large-capacity batteries for our Duramax engine truck; the truck will be parked up in southern Arizona (self-discharge is higher in hot climates)  for at least 9 months; the batteries will not have even a scrap of attention during the time we leave 'til the time we get back. 

Regular chargers are not designed or intended for such float conditions, hence my consideration of the special units (as I use at home) to avoid over-charging yet to keep the battery fully-charged without risk of plate damage. 

Even at home, though, I haven't left a battery on charge for the prolonged time needed next year, hence my query.....

 

[Jeff]

I leave an electric golf cart in AZ for the summer with 6 8 volt Trojans and the problem we have is that the 110-115 degree temperatures will evaporate the water out of a fully charged battery. The guy who looks after our lot refills the batteries twice in the six months we are gone.

I have tried keeping the battery charger on and having him plug it in twice a month with no change in the water usage.

 

[macmac]

I leave an electric golf cart in AZ for the summer with 6 8 volt Trojans and the problem we have is that the 110-115 degree temperatures will evaporate the water out of a fully charged battery. The guy who looks after our lot refills the batteries twice in the six months we are gone.

I have tried keeping the battery charger on and having him plug it in twice a month with no change in the water usage.

Not comparable to my future situation.  Deep-discharge 6 Volt batteries, top-up maintenance with occasional charging, 6 months storage...... 

Even evaporation should be less of an issue than self-discharge, even with 'Valley of the Sun' summer temperatures our RV combo endures each year.

 

[PHS79]

I have used my Battery Tender on various batterys in "long term" storage situations.  My 04 F150 goes into storage in late October and doesn't come out until late March or April when all the snow is gone.  I just put the Battery Tender on, put the mouse bait around the truck, put the cover on and walk away for up to 6.5 months.  Another example is the ATV battery that I just installed into one of my 4 wheelers this past weekend, it had been on the Battery Tender for the last 11 months.  I put it in the 4 wheeler on Sunday and the battery all kinds of power just like when I took it out.

My father also has a couple Battery Tenders that he puts onto the tractor batterys since all but 1 of the tractors will sit and not get started for 6 months or so.  No issues their either!

I highly recommend the Battery Tender!!

 

[Mavarick]

I also like the battery tender but I don't think anything will keep the battery charged 24/7 without loosing the water over a 9 month period.
First I would remove the batteries from the coach to prevent any phantom loads from drawing the battery down.
Then, if giving the batteries to someone local to monitor for you is not an option I would purchase an AC timer like others have mentioned. I would use the programmable similar to this one: http://www.amazon.com/Digital-15-Amp-Outlet-All-Purpose-Timer/dp/B000Y1HSXW
and I would have it come on for app. 6hrs or so about 1 day per week. This will allow the battery to drain somewhat but would also limit the charge time to conserve water. Before you put it in storage you might want to experiment with it a bit to find an optimal charge rate vs sitting time to see what works best. Good luck.

 

[macmac]

I have used my Battery Tender on various batterys in "long term" storage situations.  My 04 F150 goes into storage in late October and doesn't come out until late March or April when all the snow is gone.  I just put the Battery Tender on, put the mouse bait around the truck, put the cover on and walk away for up to 6.5 months.  Another example is the ATV battery that I just installed into one of my 4 wheelers this past weekend, it had been on the Battery Tender for the last 11 months.  I put it in the 4 wheeler on Sunday and the battery all kinds of power just like when I took it out.

My father also has a couple Battery Tenders that he puts onto the tractor batterys since all but 1 of the tractors will sit and not get started for 6 months or so.  No issues their either!

I highly recommend the Battery Tender!!

thanks for that - really useful, comparable experience - the only  difference would be my needing the twin-channel output model to maintain each battery separately - easy enough to find, even ACE in town has them in stock.....

 

[macmac]

I also like the battery tender but I don't think anything will keep the battery charged 24/7 without loosing the water over a 9 month period.
First I would remove the batteries from the coach to prevent any phantom loads from drawing the battery down.
Then, if giving the batteries to someone local to monitor for you is not an option I would purchase an AC timer like others have mentioned. I would use the programmable similar to this one: http://www.amazon.com/Digital-15-Amp-Outlet-All-Purpose-Timer/dp/B000Y1HSXW
and I would have it come on for app. 6hrs or so about 1 day per week. This will allow the battery to drain somewhat but would also limit the charge time to conserve water. Before you put it in storage you might want to experiment with it a bit to find an optimal charge rate vs sitting time to see what works best. Good luck.

Removing batteries from my Chevvy truck is a heavy and awkward job but disconnecting either of the poles prevents external current flow anyway - no external electrical loads, phantom or regular, can then occur.  It's what I routinely do for short-term storage.  Using a timer would be a possibility but I don't have either the timer or a regular battery charger - I'd have to buy both.  Testing "an optimal charge rate......etc" isn't an option as the truck's in daily use when we're in the USA so it wouldn't get me any further forward.

The purpose-designed Battery Tender still looks the way-to-go.....