How Do I Winterize My Boat and Jet Ski Battery?

As the weather gets colder, there are fewer opportunities to use your boat or jet ski. Before you stow them away until spring, it’s important that you take the time to winterize your boat and jet ski batteries. This not only protects them from potentially freezing temperatures, it ensures that when you bring your boat and jet ski out of storage, all ready to go for another season. Here’s how to winterize your jet ski and boat batteries.

Why do I need to winterize my batteries?

You may already know that you need to winterize your boat or jet ski. While many how-to guides focus on the fuel and oil, your battery also needs attention. As you store your water vehicles in the colder months, they can freeze, corrode or otherwise incur damage. Properly winterizing your boat or jet ski ensures that they’ll be ready to hit the water, as soon as you pull them out of storage.

General battery winterization tips

• Remember to remove your batteries from your boat and/or jet ski. Never leave your batteries in the vehicles when they’re not going to be in use.
• All batteries put in storage should be fully charged. Be sure to add distilled water at least 1/8″ above the plates before charging. After charging, clean the top of the battery with a solution of water and baking soda.
• Disconnect the negative cable and grab your hydrometer or voltmeter. A few hours after disconnecting, check specific gravity or voltage. Check each cell. Specific gravity should be 1.265 – 1.285. If you’re using a voltmeter, your charged battery should read 12.6V.
• Remove any dirt and debris that’s accumulated on the battery. Dirt and debris can absorb moisture if there’s any condensation, and draw a current across the top of the battery. This will cause a discharge.
• Of course, it’s normal that batteries will lose some of their charge while in storage. Many items with batteries will draw on the battery, even when they’re turned completely off. These are called parasitic or vampiric loads. That’s on top of the normal battery self-discharge when in storage. To avoid this, we recommend disconnecting the terminals and parallel and/or series connections.
• Make sure that you store your batteries in an easy-to-access area. This will help remind you to keep an eye on your batteries throughout the winter months.
• Another method is using a monitoring/trickle battery charger, which will keep the battery active over the off season. Make sure you get the right one for your specific battery types. Whichever method you choose, we’re happy to help you find the batteries and chargers that will take you through winter into the warmer months.

Visit the battery experts

When you need help winterizing your batteries—or finding the right batteries and accessories for your vehicles and devices—Texford Battery Co. is here to help. Call us today or stop by our store to get help with your battery needs.

Categorised in: Marine Batteries

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