There is a lot you must know if you must extend your RV battery life. While there are general rules to be followed if you want to extend RV battery life, the type of battery you have will have to be considered when maintaining your RV battery and extending its life.
Although all batteries do not have the same lifespan, there are certain tips that will help you get the best from every RV battery regardless of what type of battery it is.
That being said, below are tips to extend RV battery life.
Always Maintain a 12Volts Charge
To keep your battery in the right state, ensure a 12-volt battery does not go lower than 12 volts. If you do not know the volts of a fully charged battery, you might consider this unattainable. However, since a fully charged battery is 12.7 volts, it is possible to prevent it from going below 12 volts.
A battery that is below 12 volts is about half empty. To measure the voltage, you need a digital voltmeter. If you want to know how much a battery has discharged, you can do this by simply measuring the voltage. This way, you do not have to guess that the battery needs to be recharged.
Hot Temperatures are bad for Your Battery
If you want your battery to last the test of time, you will need to avoid overcharging, as well as hot temperatures. This is because hot temperatures, as well as overcharging will destroy your battery in the long run.
When dealing with hot environments as well as when your battery is being used very frequently, you must always take a look at the battery cells’ water levels. To keep your lead batteries in the right state, you must cultivate the habit of adding distilled water regularly and also monitoring the electrolyte levels.
Routine Maintenance is Non-Negotiable
When looking to extend RV battery life, routine maintenance must be done as at when due. In addition to ensuring that routine maintenance is carried out, ensure a battery is not left discharged for a long time. When sulfation occurs, it could lead to dead lead-acid batteries.
Sulfation is simply the process in which little crystals begin gathering on the plates when a battery’s charge is low. When sulfation occurs over a short period, the battery can still be used. However, if it lasts for a fairly long period, it will be impossible to go on using the battery. When a battery’s charge state goes below 80%, sulfation sets in. So, to prevent sulfation from taking place, you simply need to charge your battery as at when due.
Charge Your Batteries the Right Way
To keep your battery alive for a long time, you must charge it properly and in steps. Bulk charges are only important when looking to get your battery 90% full. After your battery is 90% full, you should go on with absorption charge. This type o charging prevents the loss of water and battery gassing
Lower the Battery’s Discharge Depth
The depth of discharge of a battery has a major effect on its life. So, if you want to increase a battery’s life, you will need to lower its depth -of-discharge. If a battery only gets down by 50% daily, it will do a lot better than a battery that gets down to 20% daily.
The Battery Disconnect Switch Should stay off when the RV is off
RVs do not need to be on before discharging a battery. The reason for this is the parasitic load they carry. These parasitic loads include but not limited to appliance circuit boards, clocks, the TV antenna power booster, LP gas leak detectors.
Although not all batteries feature a battery disconnect switch, if your RV features a battery disconnect switch, each time your RV is not being used, you must put off your battery disconnect switch.
Mineral Free Water Should be used
Beyond simply adding water when the water level is low, it is important that you make use of water that is mineral-free. While there are various ways to get mineral-free water, you will be making the best move when you make use of distilled water. If you make use of just tap water, you might cause your battery calcium sulfation
Watering Batteries
The only time batteries can be watered is when they have been charged. However, the only time batteries can be watered before they are charged is when the plates get exposed. The quantity of water to be added is dependent on how exposed the plates are. With very well exposed plates, you must put the right quantity of water for the battery to charge.
As soon as the battery gets fully charged, ensure every cell gets filled all the way to vent well’s bottom
How to Store RV Batteries
If you are going to make use of your RV battery for a long time, you should know how to store it properly. RVs are no like regular vehicles. They are usually not used as regularly as traditional cars as they need to be kept away in winter. It is perfectly normal for your battery to get discharged with time if no special attention is paid to it.
When RV batteries get discharged, your battery’s life becomes affected. This is because flooded cell batteries are greatly affected by freezing. When a battery is charged, it is impossible for it to get frozen
If you will not be making use of your RV for a fairly short while, to keep your battery alive, you should take it out of your vehicle and go home with it. Once you take your battery home, ensure you keep an eye on it to prevent it from discharging below 80%. You do not have to check it daily. Monitoring it monthly will do. Since your battery is not in your recreational vehicle, you do not need to charge it frequently. You will get good results when you simply charge it overnight.
