I’ve always heard that seasick had it right. You seem to be saying that a discharged battery is more cold resistant? I don’t know for sure, but I had always heard that a discharged battery would freeze at temperatures higher than one fully charged. Do not have the problem in Florida, but up north I kept a maintenance charger on my batteries throughout the winter.Yup, that's info from the "olden days" due to the case design. Problem is, because of the internet and forums (not THIS one!), misinformation gets passed along since someone will "hear" that concrete will discharge a battery and passes it along as fact and then it just keeps getting worse and worse. Lot's of self-proclaimed internet experts out there.
One correction to what Seasick wrote - and this was just due to mistyping, I'm sure... "discharged batteries (lead acid) freeze at LOWER temps than fully charged ones. "
No, but I see where the confusion is, now. I misread what Seasick wrote and the way I responded made it confusing. I think I was just reading and responding too quickly. Yes, a discharged battery will freeze before a fully charged one.I’ve always heard that seasick had it right. You seem to be saying that a discharged battery is more cold resistant? I don’t know for sure, but I had always heard that a discharged battery would freeze at temperatures higher than one fully charged. Do not have the problem in Florida, but up north I kept a maintenance charger on my batteries throughout the winter.
Leaving them in the boat as opposed to taking them out does make a difference though. Removing them can greatly affect your back and spine!Temperature aside, you can keep your batteries on concrete or timber it will not make any difference . We don't have cold temperatures here so I don't know what effect very low temps will have on battery life.
I'm storing the batteries in my garage for now, boat is 200 miles away in MD. Sam's Club has too good of a deal to pass up. Basically I'm getting two batteries for the price of one because they are also offering incentives on membership fees. I probably won't be putting them in the boat until mid-April. Thanks for the information. Hot AjaxIn the old days of lead acid batteries, the case was made form different material than today's batteries. Although some may have a different opinion, todays batteries are fine sitting on concrete. That said, are you pulling out your batteries during off season storage. I haven't done that in many years. It's too mush work and unless they would be subjected to hot temps during storage, they will hold up fine. If your batteries will be subjected to freezing temps, either in your boat or your garage, they must be fully charged since discharged batteries (lead acid) freeze at higher temps than fully charged ones.
That's an interesting comment. It made me think about salt air and mist that settles on the battery. When damp, that could act as a conductor.Sitting on concrete does not drain them. It is a dirty top that leads to self draining batteries.