Looking for recommendations for over-winter battery care. Currently have only the M1 and mowing season is coming to an end. I’m looking for recommendations for storing the battery in Yarbo plugged in or remove battery and store in basement. I’m located in the Midwest so could see temps below zero.
1 Like
You can refer to this article for more details. Basically store it indoors and charge it every 3 months. Or, leave Yarbo docked and charging. It’s got heaters so it will maintain the battery temperature without issue.
3 Likes
Hi there,
For winter storage, we recommend the following battery care guidelines:
-
Charge the battery for about 5–10 minutes at least once every three months.
-
Store it in a temperature range between 41°F and 86°F (5°C to 30°C).
This will help maintain the battery’s health and performance during the off-season. Stay warm and ready for next mowing season! 
3 Likes
It isn’t clear from any of these recommendations: for winter storage, is it better for the long-term battery health to:
a) pull the battery, and then charge it for 5-10 min every three months (and store at proper temp)
or better to:
b) leave the battery in the Core, with the Core plugged-in with cord (or perhaps on the docking station if indoors), and let “Battery Care Active” take care of it? (and store at proper temp)
I am no battery expert but I think it would be better to store it around 50% battery charge vs leaving it charging all the time. That being said, it won’t hurt it either way. You do have a 2 year warranty on the battery, longer if you bought the extended warranty. The advantage to leaving it charging is that it’s ready to go and stays updated as firmware updates and other hotfixes are deployed.
If it was me, I would charge the battery to 80%, pull the battery and store it. I’d check the battery’s level after a month to make sure it isn’t decreasing. If so, charge back up to 80%.
That’s what I’ve chosen to do, but I see no way to check the battery level short of reinstalling.
Yeah I think that is what I am going to do (pull and store). Whatever exactly “Battery Care Active“ is it probably isn’t as good as letting it rest somewhere in 50% - 80% SOC. I unplugged the Core last night and the battery is already down to 71%. When I get the muster I’ll go pull it this morning.
1 Like
Perfect. That’s a really good SOC to store the battery at. Since we don’t know how quickly it self-discharges when disconnected, I would err on the side of caution and check it after around a month. If it hasn’t discharged any further, you’re probably fine just storing it until spring.
My Cub Cadet electric Zero Turn survives just fine all winter without ever recharging it. I was paranoid about it at first, but now I don’t even think about it. Same with my other robot mowers. They don’t self discharge at all once the battery is disconnected.
1 Like
Okay now for some really dumb questions.
-
Do I really need to pull-out the battery, why not just power the Core off and leave the battery in there? Every month or so I’ll plug it back it and charge for a few minutes…no need to pull it out. My Core is stored in my shed which is heated to 50F.
-
Er…how do I get the battery out, does that top cover really just lift-off? You pull the cover comes off first, right, and then you take out the security screws? My cover doesn’t come-off, I’m pulling to the point where I’m afraid I’ll break something. Or if the screws come out first (?) and then the cover, I don’t see how to get a wrench in there. I don’t remember how it went to together, and a few minutes of internet-searching yields useless high-level videos that show people just easily pulling the battery cover off.
If you installed the security screws in, they have to be removed first. Then the rear of the cover and be lifted to pivot out.
Yes, you could just store it in the core. Cool dry place is where it says to store it. As long as the core is “shutdown” you should be fine.
As for removing the cover, remove the security screws first. There is a security Torx tool included with the tools.
Not dumb questions at all. Very good questions actually.
Ideally it’s best if the batteries don’t freeze. So if Yarbo is somewhere that’s >32° I’d just leave the batteries inside. Like you said, just unplug the battery.
I decided to charge the battery that is stored in the basement today and went to connect the charger. Hmm, it does not fit. You can only charge the battery when it is in the core which is currently in the shed at 17 degrees. Am I missing something?
Yarbo sells a charging cable to allow you to use the external charger on a stand alone battery. It can be found here.
3 Likes
It’s kind of a common source of frustration that the battery cable isn’t included in the box with the Core. So yea, if you want to charge your battery without using the Core, you need to purchase the cable Ken linked to.
2 Likes
To charge the battery directly, you will need to purchase the Battery Power Cord from Yarbo. Here is a reference for you: How to charge the Yarbo battery directly? | Yarbo Wiki