Winter Battery Maintenance?

Niels Jensen

Advanced Member
Joined
May 30, 2020
Messages
55
Location
DePere, WI
Since i live in frigid Wisconsin, I will store my MotorHome inside over the winter. Is it a good idea to maintain my batteries by leaving the Shore Power connected, or are Battery Maintenance systems (such as a NOCO Genius system) a better approach? If I go the NOCO route, is a 1A system adequate, or should I get the 5A system, or the 10A system?

Thanks.
 
I connect a 120v 12g extension cord + adapter to my trailer

can run the converter to keep the batteries charged
and I can use the air conditioner to get rid of the Florida humidity

You could instead run something to minimize any cold problems you may experience way up there.
 
This is a bit like asking which beer is best, which motor oil, which brand of tires etc.
I recommend making sure they are topped up with distilled water (big assumption here that you have lead acid batteries???) I use battery tender Jr for my 2 golf cart batteries in my trailer. Also for my motorcycle.
 
If you have shore power the converter will do a great job of maintaining the batteries.

Just regularly check water.

When a modern (since ~2000) converter has fully charged the batteries it switches to a float voltage which is the same as a maintainer provides. You already have the converter so an added expense is unnecessary if leaving batteries installed for winter.

A maintainer is only necessary if you remove batteries and store in basement, etc.
 
Our TT sits outside year-round. Since it is next to my shop here on the property, I keep shore power connected, 24/7. I do check and top off the electrolyte using distilled water as part of my Winterization process. Next Spring it is ready to go camping.

I am a firm believer that the converter system is designed and configured to charge and maintain the batteries. Thus I let it do its job. I figured the engineers designing the system were way more knowledgeable about battery maintenance than any of us.

Bob
 
A maintainer is only necessary if you remove batteries and store in basement, etc.


We'll have to agree to disagree.
The onboard charger is a fairly expensive device that is really not needed for
maintaining a full charge.
IF the power from the pole is rock solid the onboard charger is fine but if
the power from the pole ever gets interrupted for any reason (weather, working on the lines etc) the onboard charger will go into full boost charge even if it's not needed.
Battery tender Jr's are electronic- no transformer- so they use almost ZERO electricity when on standby. And they're cheap. About $25 bucks.
 
We'll have to agree to disagree.
The onboard charger is a fairly expensive device that is really not needed for
maintaining a full charge.
IF the power from the pole is rock solid the onboard charger is fine but if
the power from the pole ever gets interrupted for any reason (weather, working on the lines etc) the onboard charger will go into full boost charge even if it's not needed.
Battery tender Jr's are electronic- no transformer- so they use almost ZERO electricity when on standby. And they're cheap. About $25 bucks.


As a retired electronics engineer, I'm not willing to trust a $25 charger of unknown quality on $400 worth of batteries.

Agreed if one removes the batteries and stores them in the basement or shop, then maybe, and only maybe a "battery maintainer" is suggested. At the same time, if the batteries are fully charged to start with, they will sit idle in storage for several months and lose only a very small percentage of their charge.

Suggestion: find something else to which one needs to be concerned.



Bob
 
We'll have to agree to disagree.
The onboard charger is a fairly expensive device that is really not needed for
maintaining a full charge.
IF the power from the pole is rock solid the onboard charger is fine but if
the power from the pole ever gets interrupted for any reason (weather, working on the lines etc) the onboard charger will go into full boost charge even if it's not needed.
Battery tender Jr's are electronic- no transformer- so they use almost ZERO electricity when on standby. And they're cheap. About $25 bucks.

Modern converters also have very little "overhead" and is already installed so no extra expense is required.

My converter is currently drawing a whole 0.090 amps and that's most likely because of my thermostat which is currently on.

As for going into full boost-, again a modern converter will rather quickly see the higher voltage and revert to lower float/maintain voltages. If one is using FLA batteries that can actually be a benefit as the short boost charge can also help prevent sulfation and stratification of the electrolyte.

For the record I got rid of my FLA batteries in 2019 and replaced with LiFePo4's. Also upgraded my converter to a Victron Phoenix IP-43 smart charger.
 
It depends.
For the old technology of lead acid batteries the above discussion is fine. A garage or bring the batteries in the garage and put them on a maintainer to keep them up.

Lithium batteries are different. They are temperature sensitive. They are happiest around half charge for storage. I am bringing mine in the house this winter. Do not use a maintainer on them. Just charge them up around every 3 months, ie after the winter is over.
 
I use CTEK battery maintainers vs the onboard converter primarily due the fact that we have power outages/spikes almost year round with storms and I prefer to lose a maintainer than a converter.
 
If your motorhome is stored in a heated area then use a maintainer.
If it is stored in a area where temps are below freezing all winter. Then fully charge the battery/s and disconnect a battery cable. Come back in the spring and bring the battery/s back up to full charge.
 

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