Battery question for my Canuck friends

[ReinyRooster]

So....I currently have the battery in the bike and hooked up to the trickle charger. The bike is in the garage which is attached to the house so it's not completely isolated but not heated. Am I ok leaving the battery in the bike on the charger over the winter or will it get too cold in the garage? I normally pull the battery but am getting old and lazy.

Rooster

[Freebird]

As long as it’s on the trickle charger it should be fine. 

[skydoc_17]

22 minutes ago, ReinyRooster said:

So....I currently have the battery in the bike and hooked up to the trickle charger. The bike is in the garage which is attached to the house so it's not completely isolated but not heated. Am I ok leaving the battery in the bike on the charger over the winter or will it get too cold in the garage? I normally pull the battery but am getting old and lazy.

Rooster

Hey Reinhard, 

I don't live in Canada, but I do live in the North Eastern US and we get some pretty tough winters. My garage is also unheated, and I keep my bike on a GOOD tender during the winter months. I never remove any battery from any of my bikes, tractors etc. I do have "quick disconnects" on all of my equipment and rotate three tenders between 5 pieces of equipment. I average 6-8 years on my bike batteries using this method, and three to 5 years on the yard equipment. I do run AGM batteries in all of my equipment for several reasons. #1 is they have more cranking amps and seem to last longer. #2 is there is NO spillage like there would be with a Lead/Acid battery. My Snow Blower is a "Tim the Tool Man" special, and I have an AGM Battery mounted horizontally on that rig. You could never do that with a Lead/Acid Battery. The point I am trying to make is if you tender your batteries, you should have NO trouble with them in the spring as far as the battery goes. There may be other issues with the fuel in the Carbs. though. Just food for thought. 

Earl

[ReinyRooster]

OK, thanks for the input guys.

[sleepy2]

I have an AGM battery also and usually leave it on trickle charger for the winter (except when there are clear roads from now till spring and am riding around). I do have a 220v heater in garage but only to take chill off as I go in and out all the time plowing and blowing snow ❄! 

[Marcarl]

For the winter I drain the carbs, park it so that it's out of the way and come spring I go wake it up. Never used a tender, have run reg and AGM, and can't say I've had an issue. If you have a parasitic drain then I would take the positive cable off of the battery.

Now you have lots of opinions to confuse you.

[uncledj]

I didn't think you're supposed to leave AGM batteries on a trickle charger for the entire season.   OK with lead acid, but AGM's don't like it.  

[luvmy40]

Just now, uncledj said:

I didn't think you're supposed to leave AGM batteries on a trickle charger for the entire season.   OK with lead acid, but AGM's don't like it.  

You do need to use a smart type maintainer for the AGM batteries. The old school maintainers were just trickle chargers with no true float function. They just ran at a low amperage constantly. I've also been told that the older chargers for lead/acid batteries don't have a high enough voltage output to fully charge an AGM battery, but I've no idea if this is true or urban legend.

Edited November 14, 2021 by luvmy40

[saddlebum]

A fully charged battery will fair better at freezing temps than at warm temps as long as it remains charged. Only when it is discharged will it be at risk of freezing. So if you don't but a charger on it disconnect the ground to eliminate any parasitic draw. A battery tender is ideal but if you use a trickle charger, put it on one of those wall timers and set it to charge for an hour a day, This is what I used to do before I got the battery tender and it worked perfectly.

My bike sits outside all winter and I simply plug a battery tender on it and forget it until spring. There has been the odd year I forgot and the bike still fired up in the spring. I have a Deka Agm and it is currently heading into year seven.

Edited November 14, 2021 by saddlebum

[larrydr]

I have been using a 1157 12 Volt DC light bulb inline with the positive terminal with my 2 amp charger ....When battery is low the bulb goes on full and as the battery reaches full charge the bulb goes dim and turns off when the battery reaches full charge ...At point there is no current transfer to the battery ...If you run the bike or turn on the accessories the charge rate goes back on and the bulb goes on till the full recharge is reached 

Edited November 14, 2021 by larrydr