Hurricane Season battery Storage

[zippy]

I am storing my boat on the hard for hurricane season in Martinique. I have four 140w solar panels connected to four Victron MPPT 75/15 controllers, and 4 Lifeline GPL 8DA AGM 255 AH batteries routed through a Magnum MS2812 Inverter/Charger. I would like to determine the optimum storage practice for this system.

Option 1: Leave the system as is. Charger will float charge at 13.1v for 4 hours, then go to full charge mode doing nothing until battery drops to 12.7v, then returning to float.

Option 2: Disconnect 2 solar panels leaving 280 w which is plenty of power to keep batteries charged. Not sure if this reduces any risk or is worth doing.

Option 3: Previous owner kept freezer running on low as a power draw. I am not sure of the reason for this, or if it is necessary. I would think it would be better to keep a fan running for air circulation if anything.

I will have the boat checked on a regular basis to make sure system is operating properly. Any comments or suggestions appreciated.

[S/V Illusion]

We stored once in Antigua and after querying others doing the same thing, the consensus was to shut everything down. The caveat being someone responsible checked the boat periodically as you intend and ensure there is adequate ventilation.
Batteries don’t tolerate heat well so checking them is an integral part of the periodic inspection. It’s simple enough for someone to charge them when appropriate. Leaving stuff connected absent any oversight invites the inevitable malfunctioning regulator or charge controller.

[zippy]

If every system is shut off, does anything else have to be done with the solar panels?

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by zippy

If every system is shut off, does anything else have to be done with the solar panels?

In such a case, they serve no purpose which is why lots of people either cover or remove them during storage. To be clear, not everyone but that seems to be the consensus among those of us who store in the island (hopefully) south of the hurricane belt.

[a64pilot]

I would charge them fully and disconnect them, not just the battery switch as sometimes things are wired past the switch, an HF radio that always pulls power for the crystal heater or a bilge pump for example.

[zippy]

Should a 4 battery bank be left connect together or should the batteries be separated. Lifeline suggest a boost charge after 3 months of not being used.

[Boatguy30]

There is a guy that gives solar talks in the Bahamas in the winter. He advocates leaving all panels and chargers connected and shutting off all loads except maybe a few fans for air circulation (my add) I prefer to put a bit of shade cloth over most the entire panel area to keep the panels from getting sunburned prematurely and making the controllers work so hard. He claims there is no advantage to this.

[zippy]

Two responses for disconnecting everything and one for leaving the panels hooked up to the batteries. I would still like to know if a 4 battery bank should be remain connected together if panels and chargers are not connected.

[Boatguy30]

Actually, I believe that this is somewhat well addressed and eliminating the free flow between sores batteries is beneficial. But keep a bunch of solar panels open circuited with the charges constantly searching for load seems rather unknown?