How To Store and Maintain a Jet Ski Battery Over the Winter
If you don’t use your jet ski for a longer period, you should take care and store your battery carefully.
This means when the winter is coming, jet skis needs thoughtful winterization which should cover the battery as well.
It’s always imperative to maintain and store a jet ski battery in winter properly, as wrong or overlooked maintenance can damage it for the next spring! So now without further ado, let’s see how to maintain a jet ski battery over the winter!
How To Store a Jet Ski Battery Over the Winter
To store a jet ski battery over the winter, you always have to remove it from the hull first and store it in a dry and secure place around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. You may also want to keep the jet ski battery charged during the winter, so the best practice is to use a battery tender, or charge it at least monthly with a smart charger.
Is it that simple to take care of a jet ski battery over the winter? The answer is yes, and no.
Although these are the most important steps in a nutshell, you may want to learn more about how to remove, maintain and charge your battery properly!
Removing The Battery
Contrary to popular belief, you should remove the battery whenever it needs to be charged. The batteries can be found in various places in a jet ski, but the most commonplace is still the engine compartment.
If you can’t find your battery there, you should refer to the owner’s manual on how to locate and remove your battery. Always be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions during the process!
Storing a Jet Ski Battery: Winter Storage
Once a jet ski is winterized, it’s usually stored in a colder area. This is one of the main reasons why you should remove the battery from your jet ski for the winter months, as cold temperatures aren’t good for batteries!
Because of this, you may want to remove your battery and store it in a secure and cool place. It also has to be mentioned that just like cold, extreme heats are also harmful for batteries.
Moreover, the higher heat always results in higher self-discharging rates as well, so the best practice is to store a jet ski battery at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Most owners store their batteries in the garage, where they can keep an eye on them. But can you store your battery even on concrete, or can it damage your battery or does it mean faster self-discharging?
Don’t hesitate to read more to find out the answer!
Can You Store a Jet Ski Battery on Concrete?
Can you store jet ski battery on concrete? Contrary to the myth, you can store a jet ski battery even on concrete floors. You don’t have to worry as it won’t damage or discharge the battery faster. But if you store it on the floor, make sure that pets and children don’t have access to it!
The best practice to store a jet ski battery is to place it on a shelf or table, close to an electrical outlet. But also keep in mind that batteries may leak during the winter, and the leaking acid from the battery can cause damage.
Because of this, make sure that you place your battery on an acid-resistant surface. Alternatively, you can use a special rubber mat designed for battery storage.
These jet ski battery mats do a good job while you store a jet ski battery in the long run, as they can trap and neutralize the leaking acids from the battery.
How to Charge a Jet Ski Battery Over the Winter?
Beyond the appropriate storage, you also have to pay attention to the battery charge.
How to charge a jet ski battery over the winter? The best practice is to remove the battery from the hull and keep it on a battery tender all the time. A tender can constantly monitor and charge the battery during the winter months; in this way it gives the battery proper maintenance. If you don’t have a battery tender, you should charge your battery at least monthly with a normal charger.
For this purpose, it’s best if you use a smart charger, to avoid overcharging your battery. Also keep in mind that it’s not recommended to charge a jet ski battery with a charger that is rated at higher than 2 amps, as it can damage the battery!
Also make sure that the charger works well with your battery, as regular batteries require different chargers than sealed AGM or gel batteries.
If you have more toys and want to charge more batteries during the winter, a battery tender bank may come in handy.
These devices are designed to charge 2-10 batteries at the same time depending on the model, which could be really convenient if you have to deal with more batteries.
Once the battery is stored properly, attach the battery tender and that’s all, you don’t have to bother with it anymore. All you need to do is to just check the battery sometimes to make sure the tender is running and you don’t see any problem with it.
If you use a regular dumb battery charger (which is not recommended) to charge your jet ski’s battery during the winter, you have to charge your battery at least once a month.
Be careful, as older chargers are prone to overcharging batteries; that’s why every jet ski owner needs a smart charger, which turns off automatically once the battery is fully charged.
How Do You Maintain a Jet Ski Battery?
When it comes to jet ski battery maintenance, there is a lot of confusion out there. Do jet ski batteries need maintenance? The answer is; depending on the model!
If your jet ski has a sealed AGM battery, the good news is that these models don’t require maintenance beyond the regular charging.
It’s because once an AGM battery is filled up with the acid, its top is sealed with a cap. As these models are completely closed, it means you don’t have to add acid or water to it, so ultimately they don’t need maintenance (just like gel batteries).
Speaking of lead-acid jet ski batteries, these models need care and attention as these models contain a mixture of water and sulfuric acid, and features some removable plastic caps.
It’s because you have to check the water level in the battery regularly and add distilled water when it’s needed.
Moreover, you may want to clean your battery, as corrosion on the terminals can lead to many problems. You can clean it with a mixture of water and baking soda:
How Do You Maintain a Jet Ski Battery?
The maintenance of jet ski batteries may vary from model to model. Although the sealed AGM and gel batteries are considered “maintenance-free” batteries, but you still have to charge them regularly, while the regular flooded lead-acid batteries need much more care. Always refer to the battery’s and the charger’s manuals and follow the manufacturer’s instructions when charging and maintaining a jet ski battery.
Be careful as overlooked instructions may end in a damaged battery, charger, or in the worst case, you can destroy your ski’s electronic parts!
Conclusion
It’s always wise to pay attention to the appropriate battery storage and maintenance, as improper winter storage is one of the leading reasons why many batteries fail during the off-season. And finally, the cost of a jet ski battery will cost several times more than a battery tender!
First always remove the battery from the jet ski, and store it in a dry and cool space (around 60F).
You can store the battery on the concrete floor; just make sure that it’s not accessible to children or pets. If you want to store the battery on a table or shelf, be aware that there is a risk of acid leakage so you may want to use a battery mat to trap the leaking.
Once you’ve stored the battery, it’s a best practice to use a battery tender, which can keep a jet ski battery charged during the winter months. Another way is to charge your battery at least monthly with a normal charger.
The best chargers for jet ski batteries are the smart chargers as they can’t overcharge your battery. Be sure not to exceed the 2-amp charge rate as it can damage a jet ski battery, the safest way to stay around 1 amp.
If you have a sealed AGM or gel battery, the maintenance is limited to keep them charged during the winter, but the regular flooded acid jet ski batteries need more maintenance.
Beyond the battery, don’t forget that other parts also need to be winterized on your jet ski!
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