R. J. Kovacs

Me too. I don't have a boat, but I am using a large bank of group 27 Trojans to power up my cottage with a solar power system. I am running a fairly large load on them, 24 hours per day. The solar panels charge them up easily on a sunny day, and the genset picks up any slack. I always leave the batteries fully charged when I am not there, they are always recharged immediately after the night time use. I have just completed my 8th season with them, they are not as good as day one, but still do the job. They were about $120 each. The trick to a long life is to not leave them discharged for any length of time.

Good idea, but the charging circuits on the smaller outboard engines will not be designed to run at full load for any great length of time. They are designed to replenish a relatively small starting battery quickly, and then just maintain it. Attempting to charge a larger, deeply discharged trolling motor battery would require in my opinion, several hours of engine run time and would likely very quickly damage the generator on the engine due to it running at full load longer than it was designed to. It may work for a while. You would have to consult with the engine manufacturer and see what the maximum rated output and duty cycle of the charging ciruit would be. You may be able to do this with the larger engines, but the smaller ones I doublt would be suitable. A good rule of thumb to start with would be how many hours of trolling motor use each day versus hours of engine run time?

You would be draining one battery in order to recharge another. You will loose a lot of energy in the process, DC to AC then back to DC. The voltage of the donor battery may drop below the cut off point of the inerter long before any significant charging can be accomplished.

The engineer speaks the truth. While possible to recharge a boat battery from the electrical system of the towing vehcle it will take quite a long period of time. If driving for several hours, then maybe. Seems foolish to attempt to do this with a staionary vehicle idling for hours.

What you are doing is fine. There is no reason why you can not leave the batteries on board. Cold temperatures do not harm batteries, heat is the enemy. As long as the batteries and charger are protected from the elements, and the battery compartment is ventilated, you can keep them on board with a maintenance charger. Any acid that accumulates on the top of the battery should be cleaned off and the batteries should be disconnected from the boat electrical system to eliminate any parasitic draw from electronics. Even if equipped with a battery switch, the keep alive memory ciruits may be wired directly to the battery. I would recommend the fully automatic chargers that can be connected directly to the batteries, plugged in and forgotten. You may also use the less sophisticated chargers but they need to be monitored and used periodically. I would also disconnect this type of charger from the battery when not plugged in. Be sure nothing will fall onto the batteries, especially anything metal that could contact the terminals. Be sure your charger is sized large enough according to the battery capacity.

I know of no reason why the batteries should be removed from the boat while being stored, but I would like to add, unless the battery or charger would be exposed to the elements. The most important thing to do is keep the battery fully charged during storage, disconnected from the boat electrical system with the charger connected directly to the battery. It is also a good idea to clean all corrosion and acid that accumulates on the battery case as this can actually create an electrical path between the posts. Cold will ot damage a battery that is fully charged. If leaving onboard, be sure the batteries are protected from the elements and ventilated.

There is no absolute rule as to how to handle your batteries for storage. As long as a battery in storage is fully charged and maintained with a charger, not much else matters. The cold will not harm a battery. A battery can freeze, but the freezing point of the electrolyte is very low. The lower the state of charge, the higher the freezing point of the electyrolyte. For safety, if your boat has a battery switch it should be turned off, if not then the battery disconnected and your battery charger should be separately connected to the battery(s). The modern battery chargers, which are microporcessor controlled will look after the battery. Read the instructions that come with the battery charger to be sure you can plug it in and forget it. If you are using a simpler, manual battery charger do not leave it powered up nor continuously connected to the battery. Use it periodically, every two to four weeks and you should be okay. The battery should be clean and dry. Corrosion on the top can actally create an electrical path between the terminals and slowly discharge the battery. Storing a discharged battery will shorten its life, or kill it permanently. Leaving the battery on board should not make much difference, just be sure your charger will remain safe from the elements, and the battery is also not exposed. Make sure nothing can accidentally fall onto the battery. You may if you wish, remove the battery(s) from the boat completely, but I really do not know what benefit that has, unless they are not in an enclosed compartment. Just do not neglect the battery during storage.

Oh, man...that just burns me up, excellent CBC reception no matter where you are. I suspect the CBC North is actually produced in Toronto. CBC is just no fun unless you are sucking down a half-caff, double skinny non-lactose tripple law-tay at a Yonge/Lawrence coffe bar!! Go with satellite radio. Great reception and can stay on the same channel no matter where you are.

You might be a citiot.... BTW does Manitoulin Island count as "North"? If you can not find your car on the Chi-Cheemaun, you might be a citiot If you are travelling North in a minivan with child seats and stuffed with toys, you might be a citiot If you think an all wheel drive minivan is a rugged back road vehicle......"..........." If you think sandals are suitable Northern footwear "....." If you vacation at a place with cable television "......" If your cottage is on a paved road, "....." If your cottage has servant quarters, "...." If you shop at an outlet mall made to look like a log cabin, "........" If you are not going to ask me what "....." means, "........"

The battery charger should be matched to the size of the battery, measured in ampere hour capacity. A general rule of thumb is to size the charger capacity at 25 percent of the total amp. hour capacity of the battery (s). Choose a micro processor controlled unit that will provide all 4 charging modes, bulk, absorption, float and equalization. You want to be able to plug it in and forget it, the charger will neither undercharge or over charge the batteries. The small maintenance chargers are not intended for completely recharging large batteries that have been deeply discharged, they are really intended for automobiles that sit for long periods of time. The idea is that after the car has been driven the battery should be at or near full charge, the small charger will take care of the battery self discharge and any key off electrical loads in the car. The simple battery chargers are also suitable, only they need to be monitored. They typically have an ammeter on them, and once the ammeter stops dropping charging should be discontinued. They can also be used to maintain a battery while not being used, but again only periodically and they must be monitored. Almost all chargers now have settings for flooded or gel cells. If using a manual or simple battery charger, connect a volt meter to the battery terminals and monitor the voltage.

A float plane landed on the bay our cottage is located along last week. It circled overhead a few times then touched the water. It reminded me of the opening credits fof the Red Fisher Show. It docked a few lots down. Brought back memories of the show, and really gave our place a remote feeling.