Away for the Winter

[nobleguy]

I'm considering putting the car away to hibernate for a bit (probably until March). Are there any gotchas I should look out for to prevent disappointment the first time I turn the key next year?

Presumably I should let her tick over for a bit every now and then to try and prevent total battery collapse - anything else?

[Podie]

Idling isn't particularly good for engines... you'd be better taking it for a 30 minute drive when it's dry... ideally once a week.

[snuffy]

Putting your car, any car, away for the winter is a bad idea. Things always cease up, perish and so on. A few years ago I put my Esprit away and within a few miles one of the cooling hoses split and pissed coolant everywhere.

I'd drive it in winter on a nice crisp morning, the turbo's love the cold air. Only yesterday I drove to Southport and back just for the drive !

[lotus160sport]

Just a quick question on the battery whilst on the subject because I have one of these accumate battery conditioners and am going to get the cigarette plug that charges the car without having to get to the awkward battery position can anyone tell me as I am sitting at my desk, if the power supply is permanatley on whilst this ignition is off?
Thanks Greg

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

lotus160sport said:

Just a quick question on the battery whilst on the subject because I have one of these accumate battery conditioners and am going to get the cigarette plug that charges the car without having to get to the awkward battery position can anyone tell me as I am sitting at my desk, if the power supply is permanatley on whilst this ignition is off?
Thanks Greg

It is.

[lotus160sport]

muchos gratius

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

lotus160sport said:

muchos gratius

Only gotcha is I think it's only a 10amp fuse, so if you charge this route and the battery has run down somewhat, it'll pop it.

[lotus160sport]

Thanks phil I will bear that in mind.

[AMG Merc]

Try to drive it!

[lotus160sport]

Oh I will!just handy when the weather doesnt permit me to take its warm jacket off (i.e when there is heavy snow, tornados, torrential rain, tsunami e.t.c) apart from that she will be eating the roads on a daily basis all year long.

[caccobra]

nobleguy said:

I'm considering putting the car away to hibernate for a bit (probably until March). Are there any gotchas I should look out for to prevent disappointment the first time I turn the key next year?

Presumably I should let her tick over for a bit every now and then to try and prevent total battery collapse - anything else?

Best to store it in a heated garage. If not, things will deteriorate while sitting, due to condensation forming on virtually everything in a cold and damp garage. Also a good idea to start it every 3-4 weeks and get it good and warm so you get the moisture out of the exhaust. Keep a battery trickle charger on the battery. Here in the snowbelt of the US, we are forced to store our toys every year and this is what I have done for years. When you are ready to bring it out again, it should be ready to go with no problems.

Edited by caccobra on Tuesday 5th December 15:15

[nobleguy]

caccobra said:

nobleguy said:

I'm considering putting the car away to hibernate for a bit (probably until March). Are there any gotchas I should look out for to prevent disappointment the first time I turn the key next year?

Presumably I should let her tick over for a bit every now and then to try and prevent total battery collapse - anything else?

Best to store it in a heated garage. If not, things will deteriorate while sitting, due to condensation forming on virtually everything in a cold and damp garage. Also a good idea to start it every 3-4 weeks and get it good and warm so you get the moisture out of the exhaust. Keep a battery trickle charger on the battery. Here in the snowbelt of the US, we are forced to store our toys every year and this is what I have done for years. When you are ready to bring it out again, it should be ready to go with no problems.

Edited by caccobra on Tuesday 5th December 15:15

Cool. Thanks for that.
I might run it every now and then, but it's generally weekends only at the moment anyway.

[Timbo_Mint]

I've the same thing... It's currently stored at the parents home.... I wonder if they'll run to the cost of putting the central heating out to the garage...

Thanks for the advice

[caccobra]

Timbo_Mint said:

I've the same thing... It's currently stored at the parents home.... I wonder if they'll run to the cost of putting the central heating out to the garage...

Thanks for the advice

There are small gas, forced-air heaters made specifically for a garage or you can do what some of us have done and put in an infrared-type, radiant heat commercial heater (tube style) that has it's own little furnace and blows everything through the tube and out of the garage, so you have radiant heat without dust blowing everywhere (as with normal garage geaters). Mine heats a three car garage (33') with 11' ceilings and I set the thermostat at 65F. Probably adds only $25-$50/mo. to the heating bill (depending on how cold it gets during the month), so very efficient system with reasonable monthly expense.