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Gringo · 09-10-2012, 01:24 PM

Just getting ready to head up to the Rockies and dust off the Airstream. We left it in outside storage for the past 11 months. I turned off the dc to the coach, as I remember, but I did not have a way to trickle the batteries. Should I assume that they are toast after sitting for 11 months through a northern Colorado winter?

RUMSHIP · 09-10-2012, 01:59 PM

I would think if they are 3 years or older they my done. Only way to know for sure is charge them up and see if they hold a charge. If money is not an issue, then replace and be on the safe side.

AldeanFan · 09-10-2012, 02:23 PM

I would put them on a charger and see what happens, if they are toast, batteries are readily available almost anywhere and quick to change if necessary. If they do recover you've saved the cost of replacement at least temporarily. Check you water levels first.

I seem to have good luck reviving batteries, one of my classic cars just sat for the last 11 months in a friend's garage (unheated in the Great White North). I had hooked up a battery maintainer but the power was shut off at some point during the winter. A battery charger can actually drain a battery if not pluged in. We push started the car, and I drove home (10 miles) then put the charger on it for 3 days. The battery seems to have totally recovered and I drove the car all weekend with no problems. This is a mid grade battery from the local parts store, about 5 years old now.

idroba · 09-10-2012, 02:24 PM

They might be better than you think, if, in fact, they were disconnected from all loads. But, the slightest load over that time period has killed them, and they probably will not come back. By slight load, I mean even a few miliamps.

AldeanFan · 09-10-2012, 02:25 PM

Also, I use a solar charger for the Airstream, pluged in to the 12v outlet in the bathroom with the panel hanging in the window facing south. It won't charge but will maintain my battery when not in use. This winter I plan on setting something similar up in the window of the garage I rent for the old car.

Wazbro · 09-10-2012, 06:11 PM

I bought a car that had been sitting for 3-4 years, I charged the battery for 2 days and then used it in the car for a year and a half before it died.

Phoenix · 09-10-2012, 08:01 PM

Depends on the type of battery and whether they were fully charged when you stored your RV. We had two Optima Blue Tops in our boat that would hold a full charge from early fall to late spring when completely disconnected from the boat and each other, using a marine battery isolator switch. While this was only 7-9 months, the Blue Tops were supposed to last 12 months or more in dead storage.

purman · 09-10-2012, 08:34 PM

I left mine in all winter(forgot to take them out ). 8 months hooked up and they are still fine. One battery is the original so 5 years at least. The other is 3 years old. I have no drain on them if they are left hooked up. Give them a try.

Protagonist · 09-11-2012, 06:27 AM

Actually, the issue will not be so much whether they discharged, but whether they froze. If they froze, they're toast. You should be able to tell just by looking; the caseing probably would have bulged, if not cracked.

If they didn't freeze, they proably just need to be recharged and they'll be fine.

Gringo · 09-12-2012, 12:17 PM

Well, it's good news that they're not necessarily a foregone conclusion. I am going to have to come up with some solution long term, as this trailer is going to be sitting in storage in the Rockies every winter for some years to come. Do you guys use the little solar panels to trickle charge? or remove the batteries and try to find someplace warm to keep them?

Phoenix · 09-12-2012, 01:32 PM

If they are in unattended storage in subfreezing weather, I would recommend storing them inside (where it's above freezing) on a trickle charger.

purman · 09-12-2012, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gringo

Well, it's good news that they're not necessarily a foregone conclusion. I am going to have to come up with some solution long term, as this trailer is going to be sitting in storage in the Rockies every winter for some years to come. Do you guys use the little solar panels to trickle charge? or remove the batteries and try to find someplace warm to keep them?

we also live at 7000 ft on the westside of the Rockies. Until this year(when I forgot) I pulled them out, and placed them on my WOOD "not concrete" bench in my garage, I put a trickle charger on them every month to keep them topped off.

Gringo · 09-12-2012, 02:08 PM

I know that storing them inside is the ideal solution. however, I sincerely doubt that the airlines would let me bring them home with me as baggage. It has never gotten below 65 degrees at my house...

CanoeStream · 09-12-2012, 03:00 PM

Cold is a preservative. A charged battery will not freeze. Is the worst winter test is to park your Airstream in Death Valley? We all used to laugh at this non-gotcha endurance test...

DieHard "Starts on Frozen Lake" Commercial - YouTube

You probably had a fairly good charge present through the coldest months last winter. But plan on disconnecting the cables when you are away for months and months. A disconnected battery will drop charge slowly. That is accelerated by parasitic draw when it is hooked up -- odd little things like the LP detector are still functioning.

I bring my batteries inside in the winter so I can put them on a trickle charger for a couple days once a month. I don't store my 'Stream at home, so doing that while they're still in the Safari is not easy. Storing batteries on a concrete floor does not cause them to discharge or get damaged.

Check the electrolyte levels, plug it in and see what ya got.

idroba · 09-12-2012, 03:09 PM

I am a contrarian on this issue. Batteries, charged, to not freeze down to about -40 or below. If they did those in Alaska and the Yukon would never be able to have a car which sat outside at all. There is less self discharge (chemical action) at lower temps. They do not need to be kept warm.

There is no real reason to remove your trailer batteries from your trailer in the winter. They will be just as happy there as in your basement, or garage. There is no need to store them specially, and yes, Virginia, they can be left on a concrete floor.

If they are fully charged they will survive a winter just fine, but only if there is no drain on them at all. By no drain, I mean that they have clean tops (current flows through the grime and acid film on the battery tops) and have either a total electrical disconnect switch or one terminal of the battery wire is completely removed.

If you can, a very small solar charger is a good addition, especially for 6 months or more of storage to make up for the internal self discharge, but not absolutely necessary.

And yes, I expect I will hear from those who disagree with me. (but they are wrong.... big grin).

purman · 09-12-2012, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by idroba

I am a contrarian on this issue. Batteries, charged, to not freeze down to about -40 or below. If they did those in Alaska and the Yukon would never be able to have a car which sat outside at all. There is less self discharge (chemical action) at lower temps. They do not need to be kept warm.

There is no real reason to remove your trailer batteries from your trailer in the winter. They will be just as happy there as in your basement, or garage. There is no need to store them specially, and yes, Virginia, they can be left on a concrete floor.
.

Really?? I was always told not to put batteries on concrete. Guess I never questioned why. But now I think about it, why would concrete discharge a battery?? It's no like it is drawing anything form the battery..

CanoeStream · 09-12-2012, 03:21 PM

idroba -- I'm astounded you would say that! I agree with you fully.

Jason, yep -- an old hubby's tale I guess. lewster will back us up on this point.

I bring my batteries inside only for convenience.

Skater · 09-12-2012, 06:25 PM

Fortunately, the guys at Car Talk have the answer on the battery vs. concrete floor issue.

Goal15 · 09-16-2012, 10:36 AM

So, Gringo, how were the batteries? Enjoy Fall in Colorado.

Gringo · 09-19-2012, 10:32 AM

well, they did not freeze and split, at least. We were surprised at how well the trailer did stored outside in the Rockies over the winter. The batteries were dead and one tire was flat. I checked the level in all the cells and they were all slightly low. I just topped them off with distilled water yesterday after moving the trailer from the storage place to a KOA. We finally got plugged in yesterday and they've been on charge overnight. I really don't yet have a way to test them, guess I need a hydrometer. I'll pick one up at next opportunity.

Thinking ahead to next season, any recommendations on a small solar trickle charger? Something I could put in one of the sun roofs and keep inside the trailer would be good. I don't want to leave any external solar stuff on it, as we literally won't see this trailer again from october until probably next August. Another rocky mountain winter coming up.