battery storage

[Boba911]

I know this has been covered before somewhere on this sight but i will ask again for my location. I live in Rhode Island where the winters are cold, but I am near the ocean, so it is not all that bad. I have factory solar on a 2018 Tommy Bahama and i do not want to take out my AMG batteries for storage this winter. The Airstream in stored in my driveway and get late morning and afternoon sun on the solar panel. Can I just disconnect the negative terminals of the batteries for winter storage or is there something else I must do for the solar connection? I will make sure that the batteries are fully charged to start with, and I can hook up a charger once in a while just to make sure the batteries are good.

[Ndcctrucks]

If you have the manuals grit the batteries and chargers, do what’s suggested.

If you can’t find manufacturers’ recommendations, then if I was in your situation I would turn off the solar charger, disconnect the negative terminals (as you said), and wipe off the tops of the batteries to help eliminate slow drain via damp dust.

[Dan and Liz]

I just leave ours in and connected, make sure everything is turned off including LP detector, and charge for a day or so once a month. Still strong after 4 winters.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The unfortunate "unmentioned" part of this is that it snows in RI. I have data on this .... When you have a pile of snow on the solar panels their output goes to zip. If it sits that way for a while, the solar will not be able to keep the batteries happy. Thus you *do* need to disconnect the batteries in the winter. Unless you live somewhere that gets below -45F in the winter, there is no need to pull the batteries out of the trailer. ( Yes, there are places that get that cold in the winter .... just not anywhere in New England )

The "easy" way to disconnect is to spend $30 on a switch and install it in the negative leads running to the battery. If you have an inverter, there will be at least two fairly fat wires to deal with.

Bob

[Wayne&Sam]

Just leave your solar connected and all will be fine- unless the panels get covered with snow for an extended period of time. Monitor the batteries with your phone app and add a smart charger if need. But that's unlikely.