corvette dave

Other than having to reset the radio presets and resetting the window indexing are there any other issues with disconnecting the battery for winter?

1bdvet

Get a battery tender for your car. Do a search on battery tenders, there are lot of them.

PAVette

It will keep your battery in great shape and you're always ready to go!

zare191

Yes----makes it very difficult to take the Vette out every day and enjoy the great weather.

mwct

None that I can think of.

shopdog

At least 2 of the 3 radio HUs retain presets when power is removed.

foremaw

FortMorganAl

Any battery will self discharge over time. If you don't put a tender (not just a charger) on it while it is in storage, it will discharge over the winter and you might as well not bother.

It is the discharging and recharging of a lead acid battery that causes them to fail. The difference between a tender and a charger is that you can leave a tender connected 24/7 for years and the battery will be in better shape than if you drive the car every day. A charger applies too much voltage and will "boil" the electrolyte out of the battery.

Get a tender and leave the battery in the car for the best result.

easyrider13

I have several Battery Butlers that have worked well for me for years. They are relatively inexpensive.

Sammgb

[QUOTE=FortMorganAl;1562906173]...If you don't put a tender (not just a charger) on it while it is in storage, it will discharge over the winter and you might as well not bother. ...[QUOTE]

While I agree with MOST of what you say, this particular phrase I have to disagree with. I've been collecting and storing cars now for the better part of the past 11 years and I have to say, that disconnecting the battery will keep it from discharging in any appreciable amount. If I leave the battery connected, then yes, they will discharge over time. If the battery is disconnected and there is nothing to draw current from the battery, when they are reconnected, they behave as they did prior to the disconnecting. I have NEVER had to charge a battery that I disconnected over the winter when it was reinstalled the following spring in any of my MGBs, MGA, (my father's) Corvette or 32ft. motorhome.

6spdC6

[QUOTE=Sammgb;1562907281][QUOTE=FortMorganAl;1562906173]...If you don't put a tender (not just a charger) on it while it is in storage, it will discharge over the winter and you might as well not bother. ...
My experiences differ from yours. That’s over 20 years storing boat batteries and car batteries over the winter.
Batteries are removed from vehicle and go in basement which averages 60 degrees (they are set on wooden shelves off the floor.)
They always discharged heavily over the approximately 6 month time. Years ago I changed my storage methods
Now I use a tender on BOTH. The Vette battery is in the car; only the boat battery is pulled and brought into house.

ronsc1985

Lead acid batteries lose about 3% per month of their charge when new. If older it gets worse. Numerous people who leave their lawn mower batteries in the lawn mower over the winter stored in the cold can attest to this as they purchase a new battery in the spring. If it gets discharged enough the electrolyte will freeze if left in sub freezing temperatures.

If you want to disconnect the battery, remove it and put it inside or somewhere else where it is warm. If you don't want to do this then get a battery tender as described in previous posts. Actually a lot of modern battery chargers have this feature built in. I have a 40 amp automatic charger in my race trailer that has this function. It cost something like 90 bucks. It also has an over 100 amp start setting if your battery is dead and you need to go immediately.

Seeker135

[QUOTE=6spdC6;1562907378][QUOTE=Sammgb;1562907281] I've been storing boat, lawnmower, and car batteries over 50 years and those that were not on some kind of tender discharged considerably. Something the guys in Fla and Az, etc don't have to worry about.

PAmotorman

any time you let a battery go dead you shorten its life. i remove the batteries from my quads and lawn tractor which are stored in a unheated building and i take them into the garage. i trickle charge at 2 amps all my batteries once a month and the batteries in the quads are 9 and 10 years old. i do the same with the vette.

MNVette

I use a Wally World battery tender - it has a set of eyelet cables that you put under the screws on the top of the battery posts. The cable then plugs into the tender, and it charges the battery whenever necessary. I simply unplug the tender, close the hood, and drive away. The eyelet cables are permanently bolted to the battery, so no issues there.

corvette dave

So far there are 14 responses to my original post.
3 answered the question. 11 talked about battery tenders, etc.
Not upset about that because I've learned some things about battery technology and storage.

Just wanted to add something to the conversation about batteries.
In my limited reading about batteries it seems that very hot weather has a huge affect on batteries while cold weather does not have as much affect as long as the battery does not freeze.
My garage stays at least 45 degrees all winter. So while I used to take my motorcycle battery in the house for the winter I don't anymore. Haven't for 10 years. I leave it on the bike without charging. Sometimes I'll charge it in the spring when I get it out and it starts fine after 4 months sitting.
The corvette sat last winter for 8 weeks without starting or external charge. It was slow but did start.

Some articles say that it's just a myth that storing a battery on concrete is bad for it.
Here are 2 articles:

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/winter-storage.html

http://www.harley-performance.com/winter-storage.html

codename Bil Doe

Car doesn't run.

Victoryred 08

I used to take all six of my batteries down in the basement to store on 2x6's on the floor. I'd then slow charge every 60 days at 2 amps on an auto charger to keep them at full charge. This worked good. Now, I keep all outside in my pole barn. I check charge every 60 days, but now there always at full charge. There's hardly any discharge when left outside. It also beats carrying those things up and down the stairs come fall ans spring. Cold storage is always better the warm. It gets to at least 30 below here and never had a battery freeze. Check there charges and all will be fine.

ronsc1985

It is an old wives tale. Anyone who thinks a concrete floor makes any difference should get a Ohm meter and set it on the highest scale (megohms). Measure between either terminal (+ or -) to the concrete. You will notice the reading for resistance is over range high on a digital readout or not moving at all on a analog readout. This means that about zero current can flow out of either terminal to the concrete.

Probably this myth got started because someone stored a battery which had a lot of crud between the terminals. What it was set on was happenstance and had nothing to do with the discharge rate.

carpe dm