Battery - R-pod Owners Forum

If you're not going to leave it on a trickle charger, yes. It would be a good idea to put it on a trickle charger in the garage anyway.

Alan
2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod"
2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4
Three cats

At a minimum, I would not store Pod with battery connected and no charge capability. You have several options, trickle charge battery, disconnect battery, or remove battery and trickle charge elsewhere. Not charging battery will negatively effect the battery life. So unless you want to buy battery yearly it is best to care for it.

Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

+1, we bring ours in for the winter and put it on a trickle charger. Had one in my snow machine freeze and crack once, makes a heck of a mess!

Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150
2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk
Previously owned
2015 Rpod 179
2010 Rpod 171

Jato, its gotta be c-c-c-cold in your garage Cry

jato and Leo B are both right.

Contrary to urban legend, cold storage is good for lead acid batteries because it slows down chemical reactions so it reduces battery self discharge and corrosion rates. Cold storage is bad if the battery is or becomes discharged because that consumes the sulfuric acid leaving water which is of course subject to freezing. jato's initial trickle charge takes care of that. A fully charged battery won't freeze until -70F or so.

But if jato moved to say Phoenix or Miami and tried the same approach he would probably have dead batteries from self discharge by spring. So bottom line is, if you don't live in a cold place and/or are unsure, leave the charger on or run it every few weeks and check the water level occasionally. Leaving it on won't hurt anything.

The main reason ppl think cold is bad for batteries is because their internal resistance goes up when its cold (same deal with slower chemical reactions), so they can't put out as much current as they do when they're warm. A tired battery that was holding its own in summer will tend to fail at the first cold weather. Cold is bad for battery performance, but good for battery longevity.

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
Rod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Oct 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Topic: Battery Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 4:39pm
	Do I need to pull battery and store in garage during winter

TheBum Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 1407	Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 4:51pm
	If you're not going to leave it on a trickle charger, yes. It would be a good idea to put it on a trickle charger in the garage anyway.
	Alan 2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod" 2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4 Three cats

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 5:27pm
	+1. OIr, if you have ac power to the pod over the winter the pod charger can do the job for you.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 5:31pm
	At a minimum, I would not store Pod with battery connected and no charge capability. You have several options, trickle charge battery, disconnect battery, or remove battery and trickle charge elsewhere. Not charging battery will negatively effect the battery life. So unless you want to buy battery yearly it is best to care for it.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 5:41pm
	One additional option if you have no ac power but its sunny where you store your pod is to disconnect the battery from the pod and get a small solar module to put on the pod roof to trickle charge the battery. A small 5 or 10 watt module if OK without a charge controller if you have flooded type batteries.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Leo B Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Lyndonville, VT Online Status: Offline Posts: 4508	Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 5:41pm
	+1, we bring ours in for the winter and put it on a trickle charger. Had one in my snow machine freeze and crack once, makes a heck of a mess!
	Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171

jato Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3221	Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 9:19pm
	Our batteries (12 v deep cycle group 24) are nearly 8 years old and going strong. We pull them out and place on a concrete floor in an unheated garage. First thing is to check water level in cells and fill accordingly if necessary. Next is a 2 amp trickle charge that takes about 24 hours to bring to full charge. This was done just last week. Now they will sit with nothing done to them until next April when I will repeat the above process. Has worked well for us.
	God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 25 Oct 2018 at 4:07am
	Jato, its gotta be c-c-c-cold in your garage jato and Leo B are both right. Contrary to urban legend, cold storage is good for lead acid batteries because it slows down chemical reactions so it reduces battery self discharge and corrosion rates. Cold storage is bad if the battery is or becomes discharged because that consumes the sulfuric acid leaving water which is of course subject to freezing. jato's initial trickle charge takes care of that. A fully charged battery won't freeze until -70F or so. But if jato moved to say Phoenix or Miami and tried the same approach he would probably have dead batteries from self discharge by spring. So bottom line is, if you don't live in a cold place and/or are unsure, leave the charger on or run it every few weeks and check the water level occasionally. Leaving it on won't hurt anything. The main reason ppl think cold is bad for batteries is because their internal resistance goes up when its cold (same deal with slower chemical reactions), so they can't put out as much current as they do when they're warm. A tired battery that was holding its own in summer will tend to fail at the first cold weather. Cold is bad for battery performance, but good for battery longevity.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

crw8sr Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 12 Oct 2017 Location: Omaha Nebraska Online Status: Offline Posts: 328	Posted: 25 Oct 2018 at 2:21pm
	Ours is in the garage for the winter on a trickle charger.
	Chuck & Lyn Izzy, Morkie. RIP Zoe Joy & Gracie, Yorkie 2018 R Pod 190 2019 Traverse In moments of adversity;when life's a total wreck, I think of those worse off than me and really feel like heck.