How to Keep Your RV Battery in Good Condition?

When you live in an RV, your equipment lives and dies based on the condition of the RV battery. However, RV batteries are not an on-off thing. There are things you can do that kill them, and there are ways to extend their life. Here are a few tips on how to keep your RV battery in good condition. 

Tip 1: Clean it up. 

Periodically inspect the RV battery. If there is corrosion on the battery terminals, clean it. If there is grease or dirt on the battery casing, clean it off. While you’re at it, check for cracks or bloating of the battery casing. If you see this, get rid of the battery, because it could explode dangerously the next time you try to recharge it. 

Tip 2: Store it properly. 

First and foremost, store the battery where it won’t boil or freeze. Don’t put it in a shed where it gets incredibly hot. Nor should the battery be stored where the electrolyte can literally freeze. Don’t store batteries near ignition sources, either, since hydrogen leaking from batteries can create a fire hazard. For example, don’t smoke cigarettes near your stack of batteries. 

Tip 3: Don’t let it fully discharge. 

Batteries shouldn’t fully discharge. This means you should try to fully recharge it when you’ve drawn it down instead of partially charging it again and again. The battery’s chemical memory could reset such that you can’t fully charge it again. Ideally, they should never go below 50 percent charge. And a battery discharged to 50 percent every day will last twice as long as one that cycles down to 20 percent every other day.

The hard part is preventing a full, extended discharge while it is in storage. You don’t have to store an RV battery with a trickle charger attached, but if you don’t, it should be fully recharged once a month. For more updates, Check out this helpful link. 

Tip 4: Don’t overdo it. 

There are several variations of this advice. You should monitor the temperature of the battery, and stop charging it if it is too hot. Monitor the voltage of the battery, too, and don’t overcharge it. Either of these done to excess can cause the battery to explode. 

Verify any safety devices you have like temperature control systems and over-voltage protections on the charge controller, because these devices may be off or malfunctioning, leaving you vulnerable when you think you’re safe. 

Tip 5: Understand the intended purpose of your battery. 

Car batteries are designed to provide a strong jolt of power to start the car engine. RV batteries are designed for a slow release of power to power your devices. A marine battery is somewhere in the middle. It can be used to start an engine such as a boat engine, but it can also be used to power navigation devices and RV equipment. 

Don’t try to use a battery for something other than its intended purpose, since it may not work well and doing so could damage it. For example, trying to start the car with house batteries may not work and will shorten their life if it does. 

Tip 6: Kill the parasitic loads. 

Parasitic loads are the little power draws that discharge a battery over time. This includes critical safety devices like smoke detectors and gas leak detectors. However, it includes TV antenna power boosters, clocks, and anything else connected to the battery. One solution is disconnecting things when you aren’t using them instead of just turning them off, though turning them off is essential. 

The other solution is using the battery disconnect switch to turn off all power loads when you aren’t using the battery. If you are charging the batteries via solar power, make sure there are protections so the battery can’t be drained by the dark solar panels, too. 

Tip 7: Do battery maintenance the right way. 

You probably know how to do battery maintenance like running desulfating cycles on lead acid batteries every few months and adding water when the electrolyte density readings call for it. However, doing this wrong can cause other problems. 

For example, you should only add mineral free water to the battery. Adding tap water will cause calcium sulfation. Use distilled water instead. 

Another mistake is adding water and then charging the battery, though water does need to be added if cells are exposed. In other cases, they check the battery’s water level and then charge the battery. Failing to cap the vents will cause water loss, even if you just added it. 

Conclusion 

Make mistakes when you try to maintain or store the battery, and it will die years sooner than expected. Take good care of your batteries, and you’ll save money on the purchase of replacements and minimize unplanned emergency calls.