Yet another winterization question

Sneakygoat

Thanks MacCool,

You said don't start with while it's hibernating? Since the garage is connected to my house am I better off walking out and starting it once every 3 weeks and letting her run or just put a tender on it and not start it the entire winter? I have seen threads that argue for both.

Edit: It probably won't come out of the garage till April, winters here are.....well they are awful. That being said maybe I should put some stabilizer in it if it's going to be in the garage for 5 months?

MacCool

Stabilizer, plus or minus. Probably no harm in putting some SeaFoam or StaBil in.

Proponents of starting it base that on trying to get the oil pumped around the engine every few weeks. Modern oils have enough film strength that that's unnecessary. In fact, probably does more harm that good since the heating /cooling from starting will just promote condensation. You'd have to run it for awhile at temp to boil off any water. It's pointless.

Condensation occurs when the temperature falls below the dew point (think dew on the grass, which turns to frost if it gets cold enough), so if your garage is heated, condensation isn't much of an issue as long as the garage temp remains constantly higher than the dew point. A full tank is still a smart idea.

Zipper 104

In a few weeks I'll be putting mine away pretty much the same way I did my motorcycles for years. Detailed, full tank of fuel, Stabil, battery out on a Tender inside the home, roll the tires up onto plywood squares and throw the cover over it until the end of March.

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MacCool

Why would you pull the battery if you're going to put it on a Battery Tender?

lpsscc

In case the battery tender goes crazy, over charges the battery, the battery pops leaking acid all over the engine compartment, ruining paint, wires, etc.

I too run in the motorcycle community where the pulling the battery deal is pretty common when you have your battery on a charger for 5 months or more. Just a thing I guess. Not necessary but hurts nothing.

MacCool

I too run in the motorcycle community. Here in Minnesota where the seasons are very..."distinct"...it's common to have multiple vehicles in storage at different times of the year. Between boats, cars, snowmobiles, quads, lawn tractors...other stuff, I have 4 or 5 vehicles on Battery Tenders at any given point in the year. Certainly, nothing wrong with pulling the battery for storage, just a pointless PITA from my standpoint. I plug 'em in and forget it. Never had one malfunction in decades, or at least since float chargers became common on the market.

Zipper 104

The simple answer to your question is that I can't put a Tender on it where it's parked. I've always pulled the battery on my bikes and brought them inside.
I don't like the idea of leaving the battery out in the car for 4 months without a Tender on it.
I'm with you though. I'd probably leave it in the car if I could put a Tender on it where it is.

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