Battery disconnect for car at summer home

Hey everyone - I have a summer home where I keep my 2006 Infiniti M45. Every year when I leave the house for the winter, I connect my battery to a trickler, but every year when I return the battery doesn’t start. So was wondering - what if I just disconnect my battery for 7 months - would that be an issue? Has anyone ever done this type of disconnect for this long? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Without keeping the battery charged, the battery will sulfate.

http://www.batteryminders.com/avoid-battery-sulfation/

What type of charger are you using?

Tester

Lead acid batteries, in good working order, have a self discharge of 40% per year. That’s not an answer, I know. But there are variables to account for. What with the age of the battery, the charge level at time of storage, the temperature delta over time, etc, who can say? The only way to know is to experiment.

ok thanks. the car will be in a garage but the temps in the winter up here in massachusetts are still cold. the trickler never works so may just try this approach this year. i will probably call the infiniti service folks as well.

thanks for the article. i don’t remember the charger - but it is a standard type unit i bought at a auto parts place a couple years ago. but even with car on that unit or 7 months it never starts when i get back. so was going to try something new this year

Do you disconnect the battery from the car and then install the charger?

And I know this is a stupid question.

Do you turn the main power off when you shut the summer home down for the winter?

Everyone I know who has a lake home does.

Tester

our power to the house is on all year. i have not disconnected the battery in the past as I was worried it would screw up my electonics settings, but the more i read this seems to be a small issue. this year i thought i would just disconnect the batery and hopefully that would allow it to stay fresh. I may need to bring it into my house where it will be 55 degrees versus leaving in the garage where i know it gets much colder

Disconnect the battery and then put the charger on the battery.

Tester

if volt-meter is available, it would also help to confirm that the charger is able to raise battery voltage above the float voltage, which is around 13V

My boat battery lasted 13 years, just hooked it up to battery maintainer spring adn fall to give it a full charge. The car may have a parasitic draw, but What happens? no crank? If so time for a new maintainer my guess.

If the battery holds a decent charge, it would probably be better off in the garage. Heat speeds up a reaction, including sulfation.

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I wonder if it is a good idea to leave a lead acid batter on a trickle charger for 7 months. I would be worried of a potential fire hazard if a short occurs in either one of the pieces or the battery overcharges and starts building up gases. Could be a ticking time bomb. Why not just take the battery with you or fully charge it before you leave and let it sit in the warmest area of the house until you get back. It’s a ~$100 battery why take a chance…

I’m curious what charger is being used, exactly. There is no ‘standard’ type.

I would just disconnect the battery cables and leave it. My John Deere rider sits foe 6 months and starts right up in the spring. I don’t remove the cables but it has no computers to drain the battery.

I would also buy a battery charger to keep at the lake house, they seem to be on sale for $29 at Harbor freight every month. That is what I paid for my 6 amp Sears one about 60 years ago.

I disconnect the battery of my '87 pickup, drive it a few times a year. I have a battery booster I keep inside to start it after a long time. That’s what I’d do in your case. I used it to start a neighbor recently, so you can be neighborly without the hassle of a jump too.

@vicparkguy_143369 - how old is the battery that keeps dying?

Just two years. I am going to just disconnect it and bring it Into the house for seven months - that was most people’s recommendation

The higher temperature it is stored at the more it will discharge.