Winterizing - Battery or no battery?

[benjilafouine]

Yep, my Sea-Doo will be winterized on Thursday (I will have to break my Sea-Doo dependence for more than seven months...). Maybe I will be able to go for an ultimate small ride tomorrow because after that, temps are due to go down in the upper 40's.

As you know, it is very cold here for four month from the 20's to the 30 below. The guy who sold me the Sea-Doo was always removing the battery after winterizing it and keeping it in his garage (since the ski was staying outside). Same here: ski outside. I mentioned the battery removal to the local mechanics and he told me that he never removes batteries on skis and boats because in his opinion, the battery is better sitting in the cold rather than at warm temperature.

He said to give it a good charge prior winterizing and a good charge next spring before riding and that would do it. So the question is: should I leave the battery inside the ski or remove it? By the way, I do not care too much for this battery since it is already a few years old and that in my experience, these batteries don't last very long.

Note: on my ATV, and since I use it in the winter, I keep it plugged to a battery tender in the coldest winter months or otherwise, it will not start. But obviously, I will not crank the Sea-Doo for all winter...

Any advice?

Benji.

 

[howie099]

Pull the battery. You can't change a seadoo battery while it is connected to your electrical system unless you want to buy a new MPEM.

 

[nckb]

Your local mechanic is in the business of selling batteries. Just sayin' . . .

 

[jts32]

Your local mechanic is in the business of selling batteries. Just sayin' . . .

And is probably the same mechanic that screwed him on all his other issues this summer. I have always removed mine, placed on a 2x6 on the garage floor, and charged in the summer.

 

[benjilafouine]

Well... yes and no... He's the one who sold me this carb cleaner bottle (this was questionable) but he's the one who found the ground issue (bad contact) and who fixed it. The rest was on the dealer...

I wanted to winterize it myself but he's doing them by the dozen so in this field, he will be better than me... He also puts a sealed wrap around the ski and I like this because the ski will stay outside all winter (less worries). I will still tarp it but with the plastic wrap, the risk on getting water inside is minimized.

To [MENTION=50113]howie099[/MENTION]. What do you mean exactly by saying "You can't change a seadoo battery while it is connected to your electrical system unless you want to buy a new MPEM"?

Benji.

 

[lamajama]

Well... yes and no... He's the one who sold me this carb cleaner bottle (this was questionable) but he's the one who found the ground issue (bad contact) and who fixed it. The rest was on the dealer...

I wanted to winterize it myself but he's doing them by the dozen so in this field, he will be better than me... He also puts a sealed wrap around the ski and I like this because the ski will stay outside all winter (less worries). I will still tarp it but with the plastic wrap, the risk on getting water inside is minimized.

To [MENTION=50113]howie099[/MENTION]. What do you mean exactly by saying "You can't change a seadoo battery while it is connected to your electrical system unless you want to buy a new MPEM"?

Benji.

He meant charge the battery. Maintaining it is ok.

 

[benjilafouine]

I did connect a charger this summer when all my problems started without disconnecting the battery. I could have fried my MPEM?

Benji

 

[lamajama]

Yes you could have if you had the charger in a full charging mode. That's too much power. Same reason as you can't "jump" a seadoo from a vehicle.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Pull it and place it somewhere cool and dry. I usually start to use my battery tender about two-weeks before the season. 2 am max. Nice and slow to wake it up.

 

[WhiskeyD]

I always store mine indoors and fully charged. Usually get 2-3 season per battery.

 

[69boss]

Remove the battery and place in a cool [not freezing] area. Actually Oddyssey says to store them like that. Same for a wet battery. Check the voltage once a month and trickle charge if needed. You should be good to go next spring. My 2 cents I don't like battery float or tender chargers, some can overcharge the battery. Also had a tender short out in the garage. I was real lucky it didn't burn the garage down.

 

[benjilafouine]

OK, will remove it even if it is pretty worn out.

Benji.

 

[Mickirig1]

Never charge them with a battery charger set at more then 2 amps. Most chargers don't have a 2 amp setting. Buy good batteries and they will last. I disconnect them if the Ski's will not be out for at least a week.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I leave mine in, disconnected. But it's not 20 below for months, around here. I connect a maintainer DC cord to the battery and run the cord to my wall mounted battery maintainer. About once a month, I plug the maintainer into AC power to check how long it takes for the battery to stop charging. Usually within less than a minute the light turns from orange (charging) to green (charged), then I disconnect the maintainer from AC power.

By doing that, it helps me to understand the condition of my starting battery and avoids any chance of boiling the battery in case the maintainer is a little hot (for whatever reason).

Moisture inside the engine compartment can condense on top of the battery and cause a small current path between the two terminals, causing it to lose charge. if the battery is out in the weather under a snow drift, distant from power, you might find it difficult to maintain it occasionally (once every couple months is normal).

If the battery springs an acid leak (for whatever reason, freeze cracking maybe?), the acid may corrode something.

I think it's better in your case for you to remove the battery and take it indoors. That way next spring or during winter you'll have it in hand while the ski is outdoors stuck in a glacier you can exchange on a new one, assuming you decide it's necessary.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

I always remove the battery from my Michigan ski and boat and store it on plywood stand in the basement and charge them a couple times during the winter. I've had good luck with a maintainer in Florida so I'm buy one that can do 2 batteries at once......unless the price is far more than buying 2 cheaper ones.

 

[benjilafouine]

I have three chargers: one that can be set at 2 amps or 6 amps (I usually never use the 6 amp), the second one that is more like a "tender" (maintainer) charger at 1 amp and the third one is definitely a tender (maintainer) charger at 1.25 amps (with red and green lights).
[MENTION=69623]Mickirig1[/MENTION]. Are your saying that if I leave my battery connected inside the Sea-Doo that I could use the 1 amp for one whole evening without risks? I happened to have done this twice this summer when I was trying to crank my toast engine endlessly... before it got replaced...

On my 2011 ATV, I have never been able to keep a battery for more than two years. I have my third new one ready to be installed this week because if I try to use my winch, the low battery warning appears immediately on the console (a new battery doesn't cause this problem). In the first two years I had my ATV, I think I experienced battery freezing once (but not cracking) when temperature dropped at 30 below for 3-4 days in a row without any charger hooked to it (usually, that kills a battery for good). When I tried to recharge it (the ATV wouldn't even crank anymore), it simply never recovered. It would keep its charge for no more than one day after that event even at more normal temperatures, leading to a battery replacement. Since then, my ATV is usually hooked up on the 1.25 amp charger from end December to end February because at 5 below and colder (about -25 Celsius and colder), the battery is systematically to weak to start/crank the engine.

Benji.

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

My suggestion. Keep the battery inside definitely. Also, move somewhere warmer.

 

[benjilafouine]

Actually, I like the cold. It keeps the crowds away... When comes November, we are only a small bunch living by the lake (but all services are within 3 miles so it's not like we're isolated). Take your ATV straight north for a couple of hours and then it becomes really unforgiving in winter.

Benji

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

Actually, I like the cold. It keeps the crowds away... When comes November, we are only a small bunch living by the lake (but all services are within 3 miles so it's not like we're isolated). Take your ATV straight north for a couple of hours and then it becomes really unforgiving in winter.

Benji

Canada would be awesome atv riding. I have an 09 Brute Force 750i and absolutely love it. Going riding this weekend actually

 

[jammin777]

i would definitely pull the battery as batteries don't like sitting in freezing weather for long periods of time and will surely be ruined come spring.

 

[benjilafouine]

And Quebec is the most awesome province in Canada to ride and ATV because we have a complete organised trail system that spans the whole province. See this:

http://www.fqcq.qc.ca/en/

Benji.

 

[benjilafouine]

Sniff Sniff. Sea-Doo winterized (anti-freeze, fogging, remove battery, etc.) for seven long months... The mechanics did an inspection and a compression test before winterizing and both my cylinders were at 145 PSI exactly. On a motor with 30 hours on it, shouldn't it be 150 PSI ? Since both cylinder are exactly the same, I think the engine came like this.

After winterizing, he applied a sealed shrink wrap around it. All I have to do it to store it outside and put a tarp on it for extra ski and trailer protection (I have several trees on my land and sometimes, small branches fly off even if the ski will no be under a tree).



Like Bugs Bunny says, "That's all folks!" (for 2015). I hope my ski will work well all summer 2016. In the meantime, I will enjoy winter with ATV rides in the trails.

Benji.

 

[howie099]

I meant you can't charge your batter while it still hooked up.

 

[benjilafouine]

I've done it on at least three occasions without knowing it this summer because of all my engine/solenoid troubles. Didn't blow any fuses or MPEM. Maybe I was just lucky! But as I said, it was a mini charger with less than 2 amps.

Benji.

 

[Mickirig1]

How about a battery warmer jacket? Plug it in and keep the battery warm. I don't know if they make them that small.