Putting your car away for the winter

[hoopstir1]

Hello All
Does anyone start their car once you put it away? I was told its not good to do that .I have a battery tender on it. Just was wonder what people do in the northeast.
Thanks again in advance.

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[robvas]

Hello All
Does anyone start their car once you put it away? I was told its not good to do that .I have a battery tender on it. Just was wonder what people do in the northeast.
Thanks again in advance.

Some people do it every week.

There's no real reason to if you're not going to drive it and get it up to temp.

 

[hoopstir1]

Thank you

 

[Neggytive]

My car goes into storage every summer for 5 months

Battery tender

over inflate the tires, park the car on carpet squares to keep the rubber of concrete

Fuel fill with R90 ethanol free gas after driving the car to below a 1/4 tank. If no R90 is available treat gas with Seafoam or other stabilizer

Cover exhaust tips and engine air intakes with plastic bags to isolate any open cylinders ( valves open) from changes in humidity

My cars in NH get stored for the winter, no R90 so Seafoam, plus I leave the hood open with the engine cover off to discourage mice from making themselves at home, plus I set a ton of mouse traps in the garage that my house watcher replaces as needed. I learned that lesson after one got into the engine bay of my Porsche one year and damaged the harness. Plus mouse p*ss and sh*t stains aluminum

 

[turtletim]

I start the car every 2-3 weeks and warm it up for 20-30 minutes. Then I wait 2-4 days before I put it back on the battery tender. Allowing the battery to discharge some helps with life some. I move it around on the tires and keep non-ethanol gas in it during storage too. Helps prevent corrosion etc. I use those mouse blocker devices in my garage. Not sure but seem to work.

 

[hoopstir1]

thank you

 

[robvas]

 

[hoopstir1]

Thanks that was good information

 

[Terminus]

No starts over the winter for my pony. I couldn't even if I wanted to! Pulled the battery, full tank of stabilized petrol run thru fuel lines & covered in sealskin!

Winter battery storage in the garage. I put a charge on them a couple times. Left to right: 2 deep cycle for truck camper, 1 from old camper for snow machine diag, 25 Mustang, & 2 little deep cycles for backpack gold sluice!

 

[TMR]

I have 2 garage queens currently. They live on Ctek battery tenders. Vouching for the warm them fully comment- I only start them when I can actually drive them enough to get them to temp. Fairly easy to do in my climate. I try to not let them sit for more than 3 weeks, an admittedly arbitrary time frame. But this has worked so far.

 

[Ryunker]

Hello All
Does anyone start their car once you put it away? I was told its not good to do that .I have a battery tender on it. Just was wonder what people do in the northeast.
Thanks again in advance.

I store many of my cars from September until late April every year here in Southeast South Dakota. Winters here are stupid cold.

When it comes to storage, you have to know a couple of key facts—there's a ton of misinformation out there on the interwebs.

1. Batteries: Fully charged batteries cannot freeze. But discharged ones will, and if they're not properly thawed before charging, well, stick a fork in them—they're done. At 12.45 VDC, batteries are about 75% charged, meaning 25% is water, so yeah, they'll freeze. On the '24 DH, it's an AGM battery, but I treat it like a standard one anyway. Battery tenders seem to work, but I'm uncertain: If the battery wasn't at 100% before hooking up the tender, will it just "maintain" that lower level? If so, it'll still have a shorter lifespan. I haven't monitored my tenders closely, though—haven't seen the need. Instead, I have a professional-grade charger at home, and I charge each battery to 100% every month. I get roughly seven to ten years of life out of every battery this way—even the one in my Indian Roadmaster and my outdoor riding lawn mower. This is a proven method I've used for almost two decades.
2. Fuel stabilizers: With today's pump fuels, stabilizers are definitely not needed unless you're talking five-plus years of storage. Again, this is proven over decades—the marketing and sales push on this stuff is way over the top. Sure, they work, but for seasonal storage? Big nope.
3. Exterior care: For those who go with ceramic coatings, no prep is needed. For the rest of us using carnauba wax, its life is still limited to about six weeks, even under covers. So uncover those cool rides and give them a fresh coat of love to keep the exteriors looking sharp.
4. Tires and pressures: Some folks get way too excited about this—it's overrated. Just keep air in them and forget about it until spring, when you set the pressures and drive. The tech in tire manufacturing is so advanced it's crazy. Always remember: All tires have a lifespan of ten years, no matter how few (or many) miles you've put on them.
5. Oil changes and fluids: Stick to regular intervals based on miles driven. Pick up test strips for brake fluid copper content, plus coolant pH levels—they're often overlooked, but keep them monitored. Most shops have no clue how to test this stuff properly, so do your research, grab the strips, and take ownership. Along with copper content in the brake fluid, monitor the water content too—that fluid is hygroscopic and attracts moisture like crazy. There are affordable tools out there to test it (not crazy money), so consider getting one. Again, most shops just look at the color and say, "Yup, it's good."

Best of luck to you on storing your ride. 33 days until Spring!

 

[robvas]

[*]Fuel stabilizers: With today's pump fuels, stabilizers are definitely not needed unless you're talking five-plus years of storage. Again, this is proven over decades—the marketing and sales push on this stuff is way over the top. Sure, they work, but for seasonal storage? Big nope.

Definitely not true - I have had to clean the goop out of my snowblowers carb/fuel lines. I run it dry now in the spring.

 

[Ryunker]

Definitely not true - I have had to clean the goop out of my snowblowers carb/fuel lines. I run it dry now in the spring.

Gotta tell you, must have had pending issues before, two-year-old gas here, and zero issues still.

 

[robvas]

Gotta tell you, must have had pending issues before, two-year-old gas here, and zero issues still.

Nope. Brand new snowblower, sat for one summer with gas in it from spring. Happens all the time up here in the north of the first day we get a snow storm.

Now, remember they hold a lot less gas than a car, the tanks aren't sealed as good, etc. so you don't see it as often in a car that's stored for a few months. But gas definitely still goes bad.

 

[hoopstir1]

Thank you

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