winter maintenance of batteries on towable lifts

[arbor pro]

for you guys who own battery-operated towable or tracked lifts, I'm wondering what you do about your batteries during winter in cold climates. I don't use my lift much at all during the winter and find it hard to keep the batteries charged so they don't freeze. Just wondering, do you keep your lifts plugged in and trickle charging 24/7 inbetween uses or do you just charge your lift the night before a planned use or do you pull the batteries and put them inside?

(This is assuming that, like me, you don't have a heated shop to put your lift in inbetween uses). Last year, all 4 of my batteries (I believe they were trojans) froze solid so I had to replace them with the Interstate equivalent. I'm finding that, with -30 temps this past couple of weeks, the batteries just won't hold a charge for long at all and are freezing up on me if I don't have the lift plugged in 24/7 which is a bit of a headache for me because I don't have electricity at my equipment storage lot - only at my house.

Any advice? Do they make a gel battery guaranteed not to freeze that I should consider? I'm sure they cost more than regular but, $400 a year to replace 4 regular batteries isn't cheap either...

 

[isaaccarlson]

I have never been a fan of gel batteries myself, just an opinion but

If it were me, I would bring them inside. How big/heavy are they, and what type of connection do they have? You can get forklift battery connectors that just plug together and put those on your batteries. It is super quick to plug/unplug them.

 

[John464]

we use the deltran battery tender mini. it is made for smaller batteries. has a float mode with LED lights and a quick connect adapter that doesnt require popping the battery cover. simple route the connect wire adapter to underneath and just plug in. I plug our chippers, skid steer, stump grinders and spider lift every day in the cold. one day without in plugged in on the spider and it wont turn over. the Deltran mini's are cheap $25 each on ebay and are known for the best battery tenders in the biz. the quick connect is worth its weight, time saver. I have 10 of the units and never any issues. oh there is also an inline fuse, in case of a short. hope that helps

 

[arbor pro]

we use the deltran battery tender mini. it is made for smaller batteries. has a float mode with LED lights and a quick connect adapter that doesnt require popping the battery cover. simple route the connect wire adapter to underneath and just plug in. I plug our chippers, skid steer, stump grinders and spider lift every day in the cold. one day without in plugged in on the spider and it wont turn over. the Deltran mini's are cheap $25 each on ebay and are known for the best battery tenders in the biz. the quick connect is worth its weight, time saver. I have 10 of the units and never any issues. oh there is also an inline fuse, in case of a short. hope that helps

A batter tender, I presume still requires electricity so, why would I not just keep my trickle charger on the lift plugged in vs buying a battery tender? Wouldn't the charger on the lift do the same thing?

 

[ShoerFast]

A batter tender, I presume still requires electricity so, why would I not just keep my trickle charger on the lift plugged in vs buying a battery tender? Wouldn't the charger on the lift do the same thing?

If your trickle charger has a maintain mode, go for it,

If your over-maintaining/charging them for an extended length of time, you will damage them.

 

[arbor pro]

If your trickle charger has a maintain mode, go for it,

If your over-maintaining/charging them for an extended length of time, you will damage them.

I guess that's the question I'm posing to other towable lift owners, especially genie owners, is whether or not the charger on the genie towables is ok to leave plugged in 24/7 during the winter to keep them charged. I guess I can call genie and ask.

 

[autobaun70]

I guess that's the question I'm posing to other towable lift owners, especially genie owners, is whether or not the charger on the genie towables is ok to leave plugged in 24/7 during the winter to keep them charged. I guess I can call genie and ask.

We have 3 of them here where I work, doesn't hurt a thing on those to leave them plugged in 24/7. However, they are fully automatic charges, so I seriously doubt that they would prevent freezing in every case. I would think that something more along the lines of a battery heater would be better suited for your situation.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200382055_200382055

 

[Mike W]

We run Bil-Jax lifts at work, and when the on board charger is done charging, it shuts off. They don't turn back on unless you un plug, and plug it back in again. Not sure how Genie charges, but it's something to look into.