Batteries removed for winter or continuous charge?

[Squigie]

A constant trickle charge is very very trusting of your source gear's reliability, overcharging can murder batts **very** quickly.

If it isn't inconvenient to regularly "check in" then leaving isolated the rest of the time is safer.

All chargers have charge controllers built-in.
I haven't had a problem with the chargers that I use.
They aren't hooked up 100% of the time.
And, at this point, all but one of my batteries are 10+ years old. I maintain them well, and they last well. But if one crapped out at this point, I wouldn't think twice about it simply being the end of that battery's lifespan.



(The 'one' - an automotive battery - came with a recent non-running vehicle purchase. 6 month old battery. Stone dead. Actually reading reversed polarity. Zapped it hard with 24 volts, so my good charger wouldn't shut off and illuminate "check connections" because of the reversed polarity. Charged it up, and now I'm cycling it to test its stamina. I think it'll survive. ...And probably go back in that vehicle after the engine swap.)

[John61CT]

Well yes, big difference if we're talking about old cheap batts you don't care about.

But with an expensive House bank maybe worth many thousands you probably take better care.

I have had an inverter-chargers costing that much fail causing destruction of the bank attached, and many cheaper chargers.

Sometimes circuits failing cause buildings to burn down

So if the same result can be obtained leaving stuff shut down and cells fully isolated when I'm not around, that's how I roll.