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LuckyCloud · 12-23-2018, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishbisquit

Hey Everyone,

I know there are a lot of threads about this already. I've been reading most of them the last 2 days. But I'm still a bit confused as there seems to be conflicting info. I'm wondering about the best battery procedure for cold weather storage? We live in MN, so Winters get cold. Our 2018 AS sport has been in the driveway, plugged into shore power for the last 2 months. I was planning on keeping it this way at least another 3 months. I was told and have read that people have been doing this for years with no problems and their batteries are fine. I've just recently been reading that that long term connection to shore power can hurt the batteries. There was one post here where someone mentions his battery exploded. Now I'm really freaked out and am confused about the best procedure. I just checked the batteries and they seem fine. Reading was 12.8 after disconnecting shore power. Any helpful comments would be greatly appreciated! Below are few of my questions.

Can I leave connect to shore power all Winter?

Could I leave batteries connected to trailer and plug into shore power once a week for a day? Will batteries discharge and freeze in less then a week?

If I decide to disconnect batteries and bring inside, is it safe after being connected for 2 months? (explosion post really scared me!)

Can I leave detached batteries in unheated garage connected to a battery tender?

Type of batteries matter. Lead-acid water filled batteries will freeze. If your AS has solar, then I believe it automatically comes with the upgraded AGM batteries that supposedly don’t have the same issues.

Additionally, apparently in 2018 AS upgraded the charge controller from a single to a multi stage (for solar applications).

Solar+multi-stage+AGM means the batteries should be “tended” without need to keep a really tight eye on them.

If you have the lead acid batteries, my primary concern would be freezing. If it doesn’t freeze but you’re connected to shore power, then I’m wondering how much juice the battery is *always* getting. Overcharging will shorten life.

So, being in MN where it’s bound to freeze, if lead acid, pull them. If AGM and connected to shore power, how much charge are they getting *all the time*? And I don’t even know if overcharging AGM batteries accelerates failures. If solar, then check to ensure you have the AGM batteries and a multi stage controller. And if solar... keep them free from snow if possible.

Bbelk · 12-24-2018, 07:51 AM

I live in Texas where temps rarely drop below freezing for more than a few hours, but it does get hot. Damn hot. I have three big deep cycles in my boat and two in the 2010 27 FB Classic. I used to change them out on a two year preventative maintenance schedule and I have bumped that to three years. I never check water and have not added water to a battery since the 1980s. Everything stays on shore power when not in use and there is parasitic loads on all five batteries. Clean living, smart chargers and Wal-Mart are the key.