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I've always put my batteries in the crawl space. Is it safe to leave a battery in the boat in my non heated garage - hooked up to an intelligent trickle charger. Maybe I wasn't paying attention but I just read that the better trickle chargers do not run all the time, but sense the battery state and charge as needed.

It's trivial but running low current all the time would bug me a bit and my wife a lot. That's why I've never bought trickle chargers before. I probably need 4

It’ll be fine David......
Don’t overthink it, you’ll hurt yourself. /;-)
I’ve got 3 batteries that’ve been in unheated storage during the winter months on smart trickle chargers. One of em is over 7 yrs old.
No issues, with any of em.
If it’s an AGM battery make sure the smart charger is AGM compatible.

That's the trouble with being an engineer for a safety company. I am conditioned to overthink everything. I'll buy 4 tenders and life will be good.

Battery tenders work great and are EXTRA insurance. If the battery is in good shape with a good charge it will go all winter without freezing. It can stay in the boat with just the ground disconnected and it will be fine. If it is weak or not fully charged it will freeze. Tenders are a good idea but if you don't want to spend the money you don't have to.

another battery question

Today I drove my Lotus to a fast station to fill up for the winter. When I went to start I had no power - no interior lights, no radio, dead power windows, and of course it would not turn over. The battery is under the trunk and the voltage tested fine. But I only read 2-3 volts under the hood. Jump start with booster cables and it ran fine until I turned it off. Dead again.

Battery failure? Can a battery be tested?

No rush, the car is in winter storage and the battery is in my basement.

Sounds like your battery is toast. You can pull it out and charge it then have it load tested (or buy a load tester at PA).

So at the battery you have 12v? I don't know what a GE hood is, but you should have battery voltage everywhere in the circuit if your wiring and grounding is good. If you have less than battery voltage somewhere else (your 2-3v) you have a wiring issue. Batteries can be tested, any garage or Canadian Tire should be able to help you out with that.

I don't know what a GE hood is either. I can't type for crap on my IPAD touch screen.

In the spring I can take the battery to get it tested. Or maybe fall if there is a nice day left. A wiring issue in a 50 year old Lotus is inconceivable.

Years ago when there was no internet and you had to go to car shows and talk to people to get info, I was building a Triumph Bonneville with a friend. We had met some very interesting people on our quest for knowledge, one being a senior brit with quite a collection of bikes in his garage. We were discussing Lucas electrics when he quipped "you know why brits drink their beer warm? It's because Lucas built our fridges." I'll never forget that one lol

Lucas....the prince of darkness...