Is it worth using a Battery tender, or should I just let the battery drain and worry about it in the spring.

My 2001 Vert will be sitting for a couple months this winter and the battery is dead already.

I was going to start it today and let it run for awhile and then I thought it might be best to just let it sit until spring and worry about it then.

Will letting it sit with a dead battery hurt anything?????

 

It's never good to allow a battery to completely "drain" unless you're planning to buy another battery anyway. If that's the case, just remove the battery from the car. Every time it drains to less than peak power, you've effectively shortened the life of that battery. Sometimes, even a charge won't bring it back to full strength.
A battery installed in the car w/o a float maintenance charger attached will not last long in the cold of winter...there's just to much electronics that the battery is constantly being drained by.
Starting the car periodically won't do that much to charge the battery and it will do more harm to the engine/oil in the long run. Taking the car out for an hour drive (weather permitting) might be a better option.
You can remove it and not put it on a float maintenance charger, hoping that it's still strong enough to start you car in the spring. Or you can put the battery on a float maintenance charger with the battery out or still installed in the car. The float maintenance charger will maintain the battery at peak power.
My car hibernates from December to April on a float maintenance charger in my shop and under cover. It's full of fresh fuel and STA-BIL and I'll drive it only if the weather permits. I'll change oil in the spring if it's indicated by the DIC or one year from last change.

 

Last winter I had to put the C5 into cold storage. I thought that I would go down and start it once or twice a month and that all would be fine. Guess what, snow, snow and more snow. Needless to say, I didn't get down before the battery went dead and when it is low on charge it freezes much sooner. The cost to me was a new battery to replace one that was fine when I stored the car. Had I known what was going to happen, I would have taken it out of the car and left it in my heated garage. A battery tender is well worth the worry. Cost of battery vs cost of battery tender???????????????? You choose.

 

yes...
buy a battery float charger... many brands.... many prices....
this one is inexpensive with NO Corvette tax... I have 4 my brother 2 and several club members also use them...
My oldest is 4 years and works great...

www.harborfreight.com

AUTOMATIC BATTERY FLOAT CHARGER


Skip the aggravation of a jump-start by keeping your vehicle's battery fully charged. Use on 12V batteries while in storage or during cold weather. The floating circuit maintains a full charge without overcharging. Includes automatic safety shut off.
Leads: 10 ft. overall length



ITEM 42292-1VGA
$7.49

 

I do what GM recommends! Charge the battery fully. then disconnect the negative battery cable. I have been doing this for the last 9 years on my FRC with out any problems. My car is stored from Nov till April

 

BT regular or junior...still cheaper than a new battery, and your battery will last twice as long.

 

Hey C-5 owners is there any problem with the electronics or computer when you disconnect the battery. In other words does it cause any problem when you connect the battery bacK? Thanks

Guy

 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I think you lose some sort of security feature in your radio if you disconnect the battery. It's just best to get a float charger. A dead battery will sulfate the grids rapidly and ruin the battery.

 

$5 for a float charger. Keep the old battery up-you never know when/if you may need to start and move the car if anything does go wrong.