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Author Topic:   Battery Charging During Lay-Up

limbowhale posted 10-16-2006 11:05 AM ET (US)
This season I am thinking about leaving the two batteries installed under the console of my Montauk in the boat over the winter.
Normally I pull them out and put them in the garage and charge them periodically over the winter, but it is such a hassle disconnecting them and horsing them out of the tight space that I thought I'd try leaving them in this year.
I was going to put my battery charger inside the boat which is alongside my house and under a cover and plug it in on slow charge. Do I need to disconnect the cables that connect the two batteries together so that I charge one at a time?
jimh posted 10-16-2006 12:27 PM ET (US)
Whenever two batteries are connected in parallel, they tend to operate more like the weaker battery of the pair than the stronger. It is better to both charge and discharge them individually rather than in parallel.
pglein posted 10-16-2006 05:03 PM ET (US)
Do you need to? No. Would it be better if you did? Yes.
Probably not worth the hassle, though.
jimh posted 10-17-2006 12:38 AM ET (US)
Curiously, I also decided to leave my boat batteries aboard for winter lay-up. However, I have an on-board charger connected to them. I plan to visit the boat periodically during the lay-up and run the battery charger for an hour or two. The charger can deliver up to 8-amperes of charge. I feel it can keep up with the battery self-discharge rate as long as I do not go more than about 90 days between charges.
The boat will be stored in an unheated shed, so the lower temperature should also help with the self-discharge. When the weather gets really cold in January, I will keep the charge topped off more often so the battery will not freeze.
The onboard charger has individual charging outputs for each battery. They are charged separately, not in parallel.

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Author	Topic: Battery Charging During Lay-Up
limbowhale	posted 10-16-2006 11:05 AM ET (US) This season I am thinking about leaving the two batteries installed under the console of my Montauk in the boat over the winter. Normally I pull them out and put them in the garage and charge them periodically over the winter, but it is such a hassle disconnecting them and horsing them out of the tight space that I thought I'd try leaving them in this year. I was going to put my battery charger inside the boat which is alongside my house and under a cover and plug it in on slow charge. Do I need to disconnect the cables that connect the two batteries together so that I charge one at a time?
jimh	posted 10-16-2006 12:27 PM ET (US) Whenever two batteries are connected in parallel, they tend to operate more like the weaker battery of the pair than the stronger. It is better to both charge and discharge them individually rather than in parallel.
pglein	posted 10-16-2006 05:03 PM ET (US) Do you need to? No. Would it be better if you did? Yes. Probably not worth the hassle, though.
jimh	posted 10-17-2006 12:38 AM ET (US) Curiously, I also decided to leave my boat batteries aboard for winter lay-up. However, I have an on-board charger connected to them. I plan to visit the boat periodically during the lay-up and run the battery charger for an hour or two. The charger can deliver up to 8-amperes of charge. I feel it can keep up with the battery self-discharge rate as long as I do not go more than about 90 days between charges. The boat will be stored in an unheated shed, so the lower temperature should also help with the self-discharge. When the weather gets really cold in January, I will keep the charge topped off more often so the battery will not freeze. The onboard charger has individual charging outputs for each battery. They are charged separately, not in parallel.