Remove battery or not?

Photomom

A question for those of you who store your T@Bs away from home over the winter: Do you leave the battery in your trailer or remove it?

Feel free to comment.

Raschko

Plug the trailer into shore power and forget about it.

Photomom

Raschko said:

Plug the trailer into shore power and forget about it.

Sadly, I lack a fourth garage bay for the T@B.

JohnDanielsCPA

I remove the battery, store it in a protected area, and put it on a trickle charger.

If you can leave it plugged in, your converter should be all you need to keep the battery from freezing and keep it charged.  If you can't keep it plugged in, it's best to remove the battery and, minimally, ensure it's fully charged and store it in an inside location well above freezing.  A fully charged battery will, generally, not freeze.  A battery can hold its charge for quite awhile if stored inside.  I store my batteries inside and throw a trickle charger on it once a month to bring the battery back up to full charge.

ScottG

I remove the battery, store it in a protected area, and put it on a trickle charger.

Same here. I store my batteries inside and check them periodically. I only charge when needed.

Be aware that a trickle charger is not the same as a smart charger. A garden variety trickle charger should not be left hooked up any longer than it takes to top up the battery. True smart chargers adjust their output as needed to prevent battery damage. You can leave these hooked up full time, but I've never found a compelling reason to do so.

Michigan_Mike

I charge the battery fully, leave it in the T@B, and check the charge level periodically.

Here in Michigan where it gets and stays at below freezing temperatures for many months and below zero I've always left my batteries onboard both my trailer units owned and on my pontoon boats and lawn tractor without issue.   The key for the success of it all is to fully charge the battery up and eliminate any parasitic drain from the battery by either unhooking the positive battery lead or via flipping the battery switch to the "off" position when not in use.  I do not check, nor monitor the battery voltage of either my lawn tractor or pontoon boat as they sit down along the lake shore and inside the shed, but I have and do periodically look at the trailer battery voltage from time to time and have never noticed any fluctuations after fully charging the battery in the fall.  

Certainly you can store your battery in the warmth of your home or in your basement as others do, but IMHO this isn't necessary if the battery is in good health and has been fully charged up in late fall, prior to the onset of cold weather and winter conditions.  I wouldn't leave the trailer plugged into shore power full time either (as there is wear & tear on the electric converter) and if I felt the need I would buy a battery tender and use that rather than risking the electric converter.  

Also, the old wives tale of placing a battery on top of a piece of wood is just that - an old wives tale!  There is no discharge or issue with placing a battery on a concrete surface as the exterior of batteries are plastic, which insulates it from earth or concrete and concrete does not impact the rate of electrical discharge in a battery as the plastic insulates and eliminates the problem as you probably already know.  

Photomom

ScottG said:

Same here. I store my batteries inside and check them periodically. I only charge when needed.

Be aware that a trickle charger is not the same as a smart charger. A garden variety trickle charger should not be left hooked up any longer than it takes to top up the battery. True smart chargers adjust their output as needed to prevent battery damage. You can leave these hooked up full time, but I've never found a compelling reason to do so.

Is this a "smart" charger that we could just leave hooked up?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EKY1EM

Verna

@Photomom, http://https//www.amazon.com/dp/B000CITKCE?psc=1. This is the less expensive version that I have been using for over 3 years. Knock on wood, it's been doing just fine, even with the dual golf cart battery setup. 

Photomom

Verna said:

@Photomom, http://https//www.amazon.com/dp/B000CITKCE?psc=1. This is the less expensive version that I have been using for over 3 years. Knock on wood, it's been doing just fine, even with the dual golf cart battery setup. 

But the other one has graphs and LEDs and stuff!

Ratkity

Something else (explain in comments.)

Leave it in, set it on solar trickle charge, check status on monitor every now and then - plug into shore power when winter sun is lacking. Check distilled water periodically.

ScottG

I remove the battery, store it in a protected area, and put it on a trickle charger.

Photomom said:

ScottG said:

Same here. I store my batteries inside and check them periodically. I only charge when needed.

Be aware that a trickle charger is not the same as a smart charger. A garden variety trickle charger should not be left hooked up any longer than it takes to top up the battery. True smart chargers adjust their output as needed to prevent battery damage. You can leave these hooked up full time, but I've never found a compelling reason to do so.

Is this a "smart" charger that we could just leave hooked up?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EKY1EM

Should be. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure garden variety trickle chargers even exist any more, since basic smart chargers (aka battery maintainers or float chargers) can be had so cheaply.

I'm not familiar with that particular brand. If you are looking to drop that kind of coin, I hear Ctek makes a top notch unit. I have one, but I also have a $15 bargain basement charger that seems to do the job just as well.

Estancio

I charge the battery fully, leave it in the T@B, and check the charge level periodically.

But I live in midland NC which has a mild winter. No problems so far after 5 years. Knock on wood!

wizard1880

I charge the battery fully, leave it in the T@B, and check the charge level periodically.

I check them monthly.  But replace "check" with "charge".  I'd love to leave it connected to the converter 24x7 but it keeps voltage at 13.7 and boils my batteries down.  I keep the batteries disconnected and use a CTEK 7002 charger to top them up.

JandJ92010

Something else (explain in comments.)

I use two 12 volt batteries in parallel, here in N.E. Ohio, I take them out of the T@B, put them in the garage and put a volt meter on them to monitor them. Usually don't have to charge them until spring.

RollingLagrima

I take out the battery fuse and hook up a 5W solar charger (Coleman/Sunforce) plugged into the Zamp port (plug and play) that keeps it topped off. I have sun year round and no freezing temps to worry about. There is no indication of over-charging or any issues over the last year and a half using this method. I did the same with my previous silver shadow battery, again with no issues. I keep wondering when my little panel will wander off from the lot where I store my T@B, but it hasn't yet...I bought it from Home Depot (online only) three years ago for about $45-50 as I recall. Sorry, I forgot to hit "OTHER" on the poll and now I can't edit to fix that. Again, sorry.

https://www.google.com/search?q=coleman+sunforce&client=safari&sa=X&hl=en-us&biw=414&bih=628&tbs=vw:l,ss:9&tbm=shop&prmd=svin&srpd=12390493673330904494&prds=epd:7628613294366301988,paur:ClkAsKraX4E9m2Z9XU6_sxOr40xDMdUN60D2y41PWXg8F6ZIEuBf-aYochwaAXAZEuumJprd_uWLpJWsGLHab1wsS-ZEW1UtRGxMclIEubIcN5Rv17ZzBayp7xIZAFPVH707BlZ1Mw-Ez4HpAbZKX6aVzIJUog,cdl:1,cid:13267627646549843388&ved=0ahUKEwib0fqajNTPAhVLrlQKHYToAzIQgTYIngMwAA

rfuss928

Something else (explain in comments.)

I leave the battery in the T@B and connect a BatteryMINDer maintainer.  This unit and the CTEK brand have an electronic pulse that cleans sulfur deposits off the plates extending useful life and maintaining original battery capacity for many years.  The BatteryMINDer brand units are Mil-spec and can be found in every military livery and on-board many deployed vehicles.  My two Optima batteries are over 5 years old and continue to preform as new. 

irvingj

Something else (explain in comments.)

I remove mine, bring it home & keep in basement (along with boat, plane & motorcycle batteries), checking charge state about once a month. Since switching to a honkin' Optima AGM battery for the T@B, however, the charge has never dropped below 12.5V over the entire winter. I put it on a slow (2-amp) charge in the spring. New owners of my T@B should be good in the battery dept. for several years!

Kiddydoc

I remove the battery, store it in a protected area, and put it on a trickle charger.

I remove mine, store it on my basement workbench, check the voltage periodically and put it on a trickle charger as needed.