Hydroflyer Battery Care: How to Maximize Life, Avoid Mistakes & Store It Right

The battery is the heart of your Hydroflyer. If the cells are imbalanced, the terminals are corroded, or the pack is stored incorrectly, the foil won’t deliver the torque, lift, or power curve the system is designed for. Everything you feel on the water starts with the battery.

This guide is the complete, field-tested playbook for Hydroflyer battery care. It’s built directly from a video walkthrough by Hydroflyer founder Jerry MacArthur, the rider who designed the entire system. In the video, Jerry shows exactly how he rinses, inspects, charges, and stores his personal batteries. Here, we expand those steps with deeper explanations, safety context, and the real reasons behind each habit.

➥ If you want the quick version, watch the video at the top of the page. If you want the complete breakdown, the science, the mistakes to avoid, the storage rules, and the habits that keep your pack healthy for years, this guide covers everything Jerry teaches riders in person.

Why Most Battery Problems Never Need to Happen

Most riders only think about battery care when something goes wrong: shorter sessions, sagging power, inconsistent acceleration, or early cutouts. Jerry’s point is simple, almost all battery issues can be prevented with a few consistent habits.

Healthy batteries keep the controller, motor, and power management system running cooler and under less strain. That’s why Hydroflyer owners tend to report more stable long-term performance compared to riders who bounce between brands or let their boards sit unused. And if you’ve read our eFoil maintenance cost guide, you already know proper battery care is the single biggest factor in lowering long-term ownership cost.

What Should I Do Right After Riding My Hydroflyer?

Rinse the Board and Battery Area First

Saltwater riders: do not skip this step.

As Jerry says directly in the video, “If you’re using it in salt water, this is a must.”

Salt dries quickly and pulls moisture into the terminals. Even a small amount left to dry can begin creating corrosion that increases resistance and lowers performance.

Jerry keeps a small pump sprayer in his truck so he can rinse everything right at the beach:

“It’s easy to give it a spray off right after the ride. You don’t have to worry about doing it when you get home.”

Freshwater riders should still rinse to remove sediment, algae, and sand.

Why it matters: salt is the fastest path to voltage drops, hotter components, and shorter ride time.

Clean the Battery Terminals

This takes less than a minute and makes one of the biggest differences.

Jerry:

“I like to use some electrical contact spray to put on the terminals.”

“I’ll give the terminals a quick wipe… especially if you splashed any salt water on them by accident.”

Clean terminals = efficient current flow.
Corroded terminals = resistance, heat, and sagging power.

Turn the Battery Off and Lay It Flat

Jerry calls this out clearly:

“The battery is heavy, and if you knock it over, you could break your toe or chip some of the terminals.”

A battery that can’t fall is a battery that stays healthy. It also dries more evenly and avoids impact stress.

Dry the Battery Before You Store or Transport It

Never put a damp battery into a case, trunk, or storage box. Moisture trapped in enclosed spaces accelerates corrosion inside the connector housings.

A quick dry prevents long-term damage you’ll never see until it’s too late.

Why This Routine Matters

This is the routine that protects:

• predictable acceleration
• clean lift timing
• consistent ride time
• stable power delivery

Poor post-ride habits are one of the most common reasons riders think their battery is “getting weak.” Most of the time, the battery is fine, the terminals just need care.

How Do You Inspect a Hydroflyer Battery Before Riding?

Jerry treats the pre-ride inspection like checking your bindings on a snowboard: quick, simple, and essential.

Check Your Charge Level

100% and riding immediately? Great.

But if your battery has been sitting fully charged for days, drop it to storage level. Jerry repeats the golden rule: “It’s generally recommended to leave your Hydroflyer battery at about 50%.”

Lithium cells age slowest when stored in the middle, not full, not empty.

Check Cell Balance in the Hydroflyer App

The app makes battery health easy to read.

Balanced cells = predictable power.
Unbalanced cells = voltage sag + inconsistent acceleration.

If one cell is far off, don’t ride. Fix the imbalance before heading out.

Check the Terminals, Seal Area, and Battery Tray

You’re looking for:

• residue
• moisture
• corrosion
• sand or debris

A quick wipe prevents poor connections or inconsistent pressure when you close the battery housing.

Inspect the Battery Body

If the pack has dents, cracks, swelling, or anything unusual, stop and reach out to Jerry.

Impacts can cause internal stress that doesn’t show externally.

Power It On Before Installing

Look for the normal power-on sequence.

Odd blinking or unusual behavior often appears before any major battery issue.

How Do You Charge a Hydroflyer Battery Without Shortening Its Life?

Charging habits make or break long-term battery health. Most of the hidden wear happens here, not on the water.

Use the Proper Hydroflyer Charger

The Hydroflyer charger manages voltage, current, and cell balancing. Don’t replace it with cheaper alternatives.

Cheap chargers overheat cells and shorten lifespan without warning.

Charge in a Cool, Indoor Space

Heat kills lithium. Charging in a hot garage or car dramatically accelerates wear.

If your battery feels weaker mid-summer, this is usually the reason.

Let the Charger Finish Balancing

Balancing happens at the end of a charge cycle.
Unplug early → cell drift → reduced ride time.
Complete cycles = stable long-term performance.

Don’t Store the Battery at 100%

Jerry:

“Leave it at about 50%.”

Full or empty storage is the fastest way to permanently reduce capacity.

Use Storage Mode on New Hydroflyer Chargers

Storage mode automatically brings the battery to ~50% and balances the cells.

Jerry mentions why:

“Sometimes if you're going to go for a ride, something comes up and then weeks go by.”

Storage mode protects your pack from those forgotten fully charged weeks.

Avoid Running the Battery to Zero

Going to 0% repeatedly stresses the cells and accelerates imbalance.

Stop around 15–20%.

Never Charge a Damp Battery

Even small moisture trapped in the terminals creates microscopic corrosion during charging.

Dry it first. Always.

How Do You Store a Hydroflyer Battery in the Off-Season or While Traveling?

Storage determines long-term lifespan even more than riding does.

Lithium batteries age based on how they’re stored, not just how they’re used.

Store at 50%

The golden rule.

Jerry:

“Leave your Hydroflyer battery at about 50%.”

50% is lithium’s “happy place.”

Use Storage Mode

Storage mode keeps the pack at the ideal resting voltage.

If you’re off the water for a week or more, use it.

Store in a Safe, Protected Container

Jerry’s setup:

“I like to store mine in a metal job box container… I also use one of these fiberglass fireproof blankets.”

This protects the pack from:

• heat
• impact
• moisture

Simple, inexpensive, effective.

Keep It Away From Heat

Do not store in:

• cars
• hot garages
• direct sun
• unventilated sheds

Heat ages lithium faster than anything else.

Clean and Dry Before Storing

Moisture in storage = corrosion you won’t notice until performance drops.

What Damages an eFoil Battery Most? (Avoid These Mistakes)

Most battery failures come from habits, not defects.

Common damage sources include:

• Salt left on terminals → corrosion
• Storing full or empty → accelerated aging
• Charging in heat → chemical wear
• Storing damp → trapped corrosion
• Running to 0% → cell stress
• Ignoring cell imbalance → uneven discharge
• High-heat storage → rapid capacity loss
• Impacts or drops → internal damage

➥ Jerry’s final point: the battery doesn’t fail suddenly.
It fails gradually from repeated habits.

Good habits = long life.
Poor habits = early replacements (see eFoil battery replacement cost).

How Long Does a Hydroflyer Battery Last If You Take Care of It?

There’s no fixed expiration date, but with good habits, a Hydroflyer battery lasts years.

Healthy lifespan signs:

• smooth power delivery
• consistent lift
• stable voltage under load
• gradual, predictable fade

Neglect shows up faster:

• sagging power
• early cutouts
• heat buildup
• shortened ride time

Battery health also affects eFoil resale value, because buyers can instantly feel whether the pack is stable or tired.

With good care: multiple seasons of strong life.
With poor care: much shorter, often half the potential lifespan.

What Tools or Apps Help Monitor Battery Health?

Hydroflyer makes battery monitoring simple.

The Hydroflyer App Shows:

• cell balance
• state of charge
• temperature
• any outlier behavior

Outliers are the red flags. Balance is what keeps the pack predictable.

The Charger Also Tells You a Lot

If charging suddenly takes longer, stops early, or behaves differently, the battery is telling you something.

Visual Inspection Still Matters

Check:

• terminals
• seal area
• battery casing
• connectors

You’re simply looking for anything unusual.

When to Call Jerry

Any of these are worth a call:

• rapid imbalance
• unusual heat
• sudden ride-time drop
• swelling or physical change
• odd charging behavior

Jerry prefers riders call early, problems are almost always easier to fix at the start.

Bonus: Battery Care Checklist (Screenshot This)

After Every Ride

• Rinse board + battery area
• Contact spray + wipe
• Turn off + lay flat
• Dry completely

Before Every Ride

• Check charge level
• Check cell balance
• Inspect terminals
• Quick wipe of seal area
• Power on and confirm normal behavior

Charging

• Cool, indoor space
• Let it balance
• Use storage mode if not riding soon
• Don’t charge wet
• Avoid 0% sessions

Long-Term Storage

• Store at ~50%
• Metal job box + fire blanket
• Cool, dry room
• Clean + dry before storing

Talk to Jerry, Hydroflyer Founder & Designer