putting the baby away

Rruuff Day

Rruuff Day

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Aug 30, 2014
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Hi all. Well, by the looks of the weather patterns, it's almost that time in Alberta to put my baby away for the winter. Luckily the gf and I got a sweet 4 day run in to Whitefish Mt and across the hwy to the sun in Glacier couple weeks ago. As a pretty new vette owner, this trip only made me want more.... for those that have never been (and live out west where most roads are flat and straight), this area around Whitefish and Missoula put a smile on and kept it there....

But I digress.... any tips on storage for the winter would be much appreciated. I've already changed the oil but i'm wondering about battery drain (should I take it right out)? and any other hints from the amazingly knowledgeable drivers in the forum (ok...was that too much...lol)... oh yeah... C6 coupe and heated garage if that makes a difference...

thanks in advance
 
The worst part of unheated storage is the cooler parts of spring and fall or winter thaws when the cement sweats. There can be moisture on the surfaces of the car and that is when all the little stuff rusts. It is more important to have the garage heated and dry then than in the dead cold of winter when everything is dry.
 
Good advice Keith, my garage is not heated and that is exactly what happens. It is amazing how much the concrete sweats and it does get the bottom of the car damp.

I wonder if you spread out of a sheet of something like Super 6 vapour barrier under the car if it would help?

My car sits on wheel dollies so it is up a little bit higher. I change the oil and filter, check the antifreeze strength and this year I am going to take the battery right out of the car and leave it on a trickle charger. Clean the car well, maybe a good coat of wax and say good night.
 
You never know exactly when the snow will come, so, around this time of year, I put gas stabilizer in the cans of gas for the lawn tractors and some in the gas tanks of the vehicles that are going away. That way, when it happens, I know that everything has been looked after. With the weather that we have been having here over the past couple of weeks, a person could almost forget that winter is coming.
 
supercarpilot said:
Could a person eliminate the need for a battery tender by disconnecting the battery? I want to just disconnect it, and leave it in the car then come spring throw a trickle charger on it prior to firing up if needed.
Click to expand...

The problem with doing this is even if the battery is disconnected it will still self discharge to some degree. When the acid is absorbed back into the plates you are left with essentially water in the battery. It can and will freeze which will lead to a very short life and could in fact crack the case. That would be a mess.

It is not a chance I am willing to take. That said the battery in the C5 is fairly easy to get out. Maybe not so much on other cars.
 
Good afternoon Gentlemen,

Currently snowing in Northern Alberta.............but not due to stay, by the weekend back to 13/14 above so I still think there will be a few more driving days yet.

But to be sure that time of year is approaching.............

The buyer of my house gets a house inspector in tomorrow which is the old out on the offer to purchase so here's hoping!! That also means I'll have to find a new place to store the Z06 over the winter.

Cheers,

Garry
 
supercarpilot said:
Could a person eliminate the need for a battery tender by disconnecting the battery? I want to just disconnect it, and leave it in the car then come spring throw a trickle charger on it prior to firing up if needed.
Click to expand...
In the C5 operators manual GM recommended battery removal for long term storage .I looked today in my C6 manual and nothing is mentioned about winter storage .
My car is stored in Orlando winters and there is no electricity for a tender so I disconnect .I leave the car for 4-6 weeks disconnected .The worst thing that happens is once in awhile I have to index the windows ,and reset the memory .

If you disconnect the battery and have the opertunity you might want to consider taking it into the house .

It wont hurt anything if you place a 12 inch piece of rigid insulation under each tire .Mouse traps in the general area are a nice plus .
 
supercarpilot said:
Could a person eliminate the need for a battery tender by disconnecting the battery? I want to just disconnect it, and leave it in the car then come spring throw a trickle charger on it prior to firing up if needed.
Click to expand...

I can't understand why anyone might resist using a battery tender. I leave the battery in my Triumph Spitfire and AMX year round... with a tender on each. The Spitfire battery is now 8 years old and still very good. The AMX battery is now 5 years old and A1. Both cars are always ready for a drive even when we have a slight break in the middle of Winter.

I also leave the 7 year old battery in my '72 BMW 600 motorcycle through the Winter... guess what? It also occasionally gets to stretch its legs a few times in the middle of Winter.

I am a STRONG advocate of battery tender/maintainers as you can see!
BTW all my batteries are the cheapies you can buy at Walmart and Canadian Tire.

David
 
Black 03 Z06 said:
Good advice Keith, my garage is not heated and that is exactly what happens. It is amazing how much the concrete sweats and it does get the bottom of the car damp.

I wonder if you spread out of a sheet of something like Super 6 vapour barrier under the car if it would help?

My car sits on wheel dollies so it is up a little bit higher. I change the oil and filter, check the antifreeze strength and this year I am going to take the battery right out of the car and leave it on a trickle charger. Clean the car well, maybe a good coat of wax and say good night.
Click to expand...


I bought several sheets of particle board/plywood from Home Depot--they were about 5 bucks each. I park the vette over them in the winter to keep moisture out. Works really good!

My other winter tip is to see the winter storage thread. We all have our own rituals that we've posted there.....
 
I do the same with some particle board and I put some carpet under the tires when I park it. I also take the battery out and store it in the house. battery tender works too. no heat in my garage and I live in sask.
 
No heat in mine either, but I just keep it on a tender in the garage. I'm probably harder on it then you, but meh..........that thing is crammed in there pretty good. I don't want to put it in every spring.
 
xlr8r said:
No heat in mine either, but I just keep it on a tender in the garage. I'm probably harder on it then you, but meh..........that thing is crammed in there pretty good. I don't want to put it in every spring.
Click to expand...

Black 03 Z06 said:
The problem with doing this is even if the battery is disconnected it will still self discharge to some degree. When the acid is absorbed back into the plates you are left with essentially water in the battery. It can and will freeze which will lead to a very short life and could in fact crack the case. That would be a mess.

It is not a chance I am willing to take. That said the battery in the C5 is fairly easy to get out. Maybe not so much on other cars.
Click to expand...


Makes sense, BTW my car is stored in a heated garage. I have 3 cars, 4 quads, 2 motorcycles and a boat with dual batteries. What I have done in the past is remove the batteries out of all the vehicles stored outdoors and put on shelf in said garage (never store battery on concrete floor in case someone who isn't knowledgeable is reading this) and I then put trickle charger on batterys in the spring prior to installing. I don't as a practice put the trickle charger on and walk away for months, however maybe a battery tender is different than a trickle charger? This is the first year with a vette however my old muscle car I had I always disconnected the battery and left it onboard then put trickle charger on it prior to firing in spring and that battery was still going strong after 7 years when I sold the car.
 
Battery tender is better than a trickle charger. Tenders actually cycle your battery, and stop charging when battery is full. It's like a hamster-wheel for your battery! The trickle just charges your battery--even when battery is fully charged. This isn't the best thing to do for your battery either.

I still think the tender is a nacelle not idea. Disconnecting is fine too, but I am too lazy. And let's face it, it the 60 bucks I paid for my tender, or whatever it was, is too much, I probably should not have but the vette in the first place.
 
I use $30 Schumacher tenders from Walmart and Princess Auto and the last two I bought (our son and I have a bunch of cars and M/Cs between us) were from Walmart in the U.S. for $20! All work fine. The oldest is about 8 years old and still in use about 350 days a year.
David
 
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