Thinking ahead for this winter

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by crash test dummy

bet they won't make it a sticky !

and ya know.....that is why we should have a complete separate DIY Section for threads to show people how to do things that work but are in manuals. Or even good tips/tricks to get things done.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

Battery Tender makes a maintainer that you can use to keep your batteries fully charged when not in use. I have these for my cars. I leave a car in Arizona when I am in Colorado for the Summer and I leave one in Colorado when I am in Arizona for the winter. They also make one for golf carts. The car version is only $50 but the one for golf carts is more but if it prolongs the life of your batteries a year it pays for itself.

I agree on using a Battery Tender, or similar device, for cars that aren't used often and stuff with seasonal usage like riding lawnmowers, but for golf carts, I lean more towards a charger that goes into float charge after the regular charge cycle completes.

Of course there are financial considerations and the ferroresonant transformer type chargers last forever, so something like a Battery Tender would keep the cart batteries fully charged while in storage.

[Ky81538]

Hey all,
Just wanted to send a follow up to this thread. I removed all of my new batteries from my cart this Fall when we closed up the camper. I also took the charging socket and associated wiring from the cart as well. I hooked everything up on a sturdy shelf unit in the garage over the winter. I monitored the battery voltage weekly and plugged in once it reached about 37.2 VDC. I did this through the cold and never-ending Minnesota winter.
I'm ecstatic to report that my $600 babies are still good as new. This past weekend I hooked them up and PRESTO!! Back in business.
Thanks for the recommendations everyone.

[JohnnieB]

Thanks for the feedback.

[yurtle]

I know you didn't want to spend the money on a DPI, but your existing charger still has value, and can probably be sold to partially offset the cost. Of course if moving batteries twice a year isn't that big a deal, no problem with that either. One thought is depending on how far the batteries had to drive, you're burning up fuel with the added weight of whatever vehicle (camper?) was used to transport them.

Just a thought. As long as you keep doing what you did, there's really no difference.