Winter Storage Help..

D

docttor999

Member
Hi Guys,

I am leaving the car idle for 2 months over winter from January, I am travelling away. Have read the posts on full tank of fuel, keeping the car dry and also on pumping up the tires, I have Falkens any one recommend a PSI to pump up too?

Also I am buying a CTEK 3600 charger, the car will be stored outside but I can plug in the charger into the a power outlet in the garage it is a few metres away, will the CTEK lead extend that far or will I have to use an extension?

Also do you recommend leaving the car idle for 2 mths or starting the car periodically with the charger on?

The other option is to leave the CTEK on for a week, disconnect and reconnect a week later, would this work rather than leaving it on constantly?

Thanks again for the help!

doc
 
I don't use my van for a couple of months at a time, normally over the summer. It doesn't seem to be much of an issue. It just starts and away we go. What are you expecting to go wrong?

Just curious.
 
Finisterre said:
I don't use my van for a couple of months at a time, normally over the summer. It doesn't seem to be much of an issue. It just starts and away we go. What are you expecting to go wrong?

Just curious.
Click to expand...


I dont drive my car that frequently, the battery is 6 yrs old now. I would worry it would go flat especially over a cold winter with no use. Doing my research many people recommend a trickle charger like the CTEK.
 
I use an optimate for car, bike and ride on mower as the need arises. You can get attachments which permanently fix to battery terminals. Then it's simply a matter of clipping in the optimate lead. If the car is outside the garage I use an Optimate extension lead. Easy peasy.
 
appart from the battery conditioner i wouldnt do anything else. 2 months is nothing. im not sure how these cars react to no battery as another option is to just completely dissconnect the battery then you dont have to worry about buying the charger either or using it outside etc.

the fuel tank top up has some validity to it. (personally i wouldnt bother with that either but then again i used to leave my car with a completely emtpy tank)

i wouldnt start it either unless you intend to drive it properly. just leave it alone and it will be fine.
 
I wouldn't leave it disconnected, it will forget various settings and it causes the back up batteries for central locking and alarm to discharge and then they need replacing when they won't hold their charge. It'll cause all sorts of problems.

I just bought a battery trickle charger from Lidl for £15. Bargain! Looks just like the C-Tek I have at work and functions the same. It will charge and maintain batteries.
 
dan yeates said:
I wouldn't leave it disconnected, it will forget various settings and it causes the back up batteries for central locking and alarm to discharge and then they need replacing when they won't hold their charge. It'll cause all sorts of problems.

I just bought a battery trickle charger from Lidl for £15. Bargain! Looks just like the C-Tek I have at work and functions the same. It will charge and maintain batteries.
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Is this the Lidl one?

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_35188.htm
 
+1 for battery maintainer is all you need to do and don't start it unless it will be driven for several minutes at full operating temperature. Mostly full tank and hard tyres are valid but not essential measures. I wouldn't put a lot more air than the max. pressure indicated on the sidewall. Don't take on a long drive on the motorway with high pressure in them.
 
2 months isnt very long really,

If you was leaving it for 6 months +

trickle charger
Pump tires up to about 40 - 45 psi (or what ever the max is on the tire)
leave hand brake off and chok wheels
full tank of fuel
oil full
As its going to be winter, (espically if outside) check anti-freeze in your coolant
Wash the car so its nice and clean before you leave it
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies as always guys. :thumbsup:

Regarding the coolant, forgive my ignorance but how do I check this has antifreeze in?
 
If its not been changed since you have had the car you can check it with something like: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=159068&categoryId=255224&langId=-1

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
dan yeates said:
I wouldn't leave it disconnected, it will forget various settings and it causes the back up batteries for central locking and alarm to discharge and then they need replacing when they won't hold their charge. It'll cause all sorts of problems.
.
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i did wonder about stuff like this. which is why i only suggested it.

im still not convinced by the totally full fuel tank. I get/understand the concept that the headspace in the tank may cause condensation to form which will then mix into the fuel. but in my experince ive never had it happen. not for only a couple of months anyway.
 
sam1832 said:
2 months isnt very long really,

If you was leaving it for 6 months +

trickle charger
Pump tires up to about 40 - 45 psi (or what ever the max is on the tire)
leave hand brake off and chok wheels
full tank of fuel
oil full
As its going to be winter, (espically if outside) check anti-freeze in your coolant
Wash the car so its nice and clean before you leave it
Click to expand...

This what ill be doing when mine hibernates again at the end of the month. Won't top the oil up though as it will only drain into the sump and it due a change when it come out in feb/mar
 
srhutch said:
sam1832 said:
2 months isnt very long really,

If you was leaving it for 6 months +

trickle charger
Pump tires up to about 40 - 45 psi (or what ever the max is on the tire)
leave hand brake off and chok wheels
full tank of fuel
oil full
As its going to be winter, (espically if outside) check anti-freeze in your coolant
Wash the car so its nice and clean before you leave it
Click to expand...

This what ill be doing when mine hibernates again at the end of the month. Won't top the oil up though as it will only drain into the sump and it due a change when it come out in feb/mar
Click to expand...

Mine too

I might even get a cover for it in the garage too


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
You may be right about condensation. It was valid when tanks were openly vented to atmosphere, but with all this vapour recovery & purge stuff now-a-days, moisture may not accumulate in any quantity. But then, note that the leak test pump does have a heating element to eliminate condensation in the mechanism. And moist air is still drawn in as the tank empties. The problem is you wouldn't notice any accumulation until the situation got really bad. I'd rather not contribute to any small accumulation if it's not too much trouble.

In addition, just the thought of a nearly empty tank just sitting makes me squirm. I'm not anal about it being totally full, but I feel better if it's a good bit more than half.

OTOH, for long storage, a tank full of stale fuel can't be the greatest asset either.
 
i left my car outside for 2 months untouched
All i did was leave handbrake off
Started up just fine
 
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