MuskyHunter Loc: Torrington, CT

I posted several photos of ice conditions at Lake of the Woods in the past several days. Here are some notes on ice out and the winter.

1. Ice on the local lakes appears to have gone out today (temps in the 70s helped).
2. I picked my boat up from an unheated shed I stored it in. The boat endured temps close to -40 (not windchill).
3. For those wondering about batteries, I plugged the batteries into my charger and within one minute, the charger indicated 100% charge on all three batteries. The boat was stored with batteries fully charged on Oct. 7 (one day less than seven months). It was never on a charger for those seven months, so for those worried, you needn’t worry.

Now for Lake of the woods - here is a photo from today…74 degrees and still ice on the bigger part of the lake. My boat is shown below.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

That's great news MH. I'm amazed about your batteries, mine will lose about 30 or 40%of their charge in 2-3 months in my cellar, 60° all winter. I keep them a Genius charger now. Nice boat, that will work on lakes and the Sound here.

Huntm22 Loc: Northern Utah. - West Haven

Very nice. Thanks for the battery info. I do keep mine on a smart trickle charger/battery tender and have been 7-10 years on batteries. Think I’m on year six of this set.

Go get them Muskies! The water is so low in our local reservoirs ( 20 - 40 % of norm) that it is a ways below the launch ramps. Snow pack is only 50-60% of norm so it’s a pretty bleak outlook for our fishing. Hope our Muskies are surviving!!

MuskyHunter Loc: Torrington, CT

Just a note, the batteries fare much better in colder temperatures. If you are storing in a heated or warmer place, they will discharge faster. I’ll bet if you stored them outside, they would be 100%.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

I was taught that if they do come below 75% or so, they can freeze, and obviously crack . Then you have an acid problem. Very interesting Frank.

Gordon Loc: Charleston South Carolina

What name brand batteries you have? Mine stay outside disconnected and lose some of there charge.

MuskyHunter Loc: Torrington, CT

Mine are interstate. So the big factor is temperature. The colder it is the less the discharge rate. Basic chemistry is that this is an ‘exothermic’ reaction (this is a big generalization). Typically, the exothermic reaction rate is cut in half for every 20 degree temperature decline. So the colder the temperatures, the discharge rate declines sharply. If average temps are around freezing, my guess is that you will not experience any discharge. Temps in SC are probably high enough that you will need to charge periodically.

Where I am, the temps are so low, that exothermic discharge rate is almost 0.

MuskyHunter Loc: Torrington, CT

The key is 100% charge. They will not freeze at -40. Of course the variable is temp and current charge. In over 40 years I have never had a battery freeze. BUT, full charge at the start is important. And, if it is warmer, you may need to charge periodically.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

That's what I figured. Here it can be anywhere from 50° down to 0°, fluctuating all winter. Once the boat is covered, I can't check the charger. If it fails, and they discharge and freeze, everything gets an acid bath. It's easier to take them out and bring them inside.

Gordon Loc: Charleston South Carolina

Thanks for the info MH

Flytier Loc: Wilmington Delaware

I left mine in the boat all winter but had all four plugged into a battery minder. When I opened it up everything was good. All four batteries read just short or just ver 13 volts. The batteries are 2 years old.

MuskyHunter Loc: Torrington, CT

Not a bad strategy. As I said, where we are they will not discharge at all.

CT is expensive , but I am hoping I can go there to be with my family. Maybe I will be able to go out with you. It was nice meeting with you!

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Great meeting you as well Frank. I hope we can wet a line together before I bail out of the state. Keep me in the loop as to your plan, and we'll make it happen.

Blackdog Loc: Round Rock, TX

Well MH your "Exothermic" reasoning reminded of an old email regarding just such a topic. This will probably send this thread to the attic but what "HE11"

Gentlemen I givve you the following Bonus Question....


Is Hell Exothermic Or Endothermic?

The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry midterm, and an actual answer turned in by a student.

The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over,it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct.... ...leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+



BD

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

That was great Dog, got a good belly laugh out of me. Thanks, and Good Night.