How to Improve RV Battery Charge and Extend Battery Life?

When you properly maintain your RV battery, it should last for 5 to 7 years. Unfortunately, the common rate of battery lifetime is 2 to 3 years. Here are some tips to help you extend the use of your RV deep cycle battery, to its full lifespan. 1. Multi-state charge Battery manufacturers recommend that your batteries run through a multi-stage charge once a month. There 3 stages to this type of charge: • The bulk charge: first the highest voltage and amperage of the charger is used. • The absorption charge: once the battery has reached 80% state of charge, the charger will enter this stabilization phase. The battery is safely taken into higher charge and avoids overheating • The float stage. This part is intended to equalize the battery and maintain it at 100% of its charge. For this, you can get a 3-stage smart charger, or take your battery to an RV dealership or any facility that will charge it for you. 2. Avoid Power drainers Get a battery disconnect. A lot of other products drain the power of the RV, like clocks, refrigerator circuit boards... When connected, these will slowly lower your battery life while it's stored. Battery disconnects can be clipped to your battery or installed in your camper. 3. Use a Battery Minder This tool should be connected to your charging system. It will maintain and dissolve sulfate from your battery. A battery minder will also help to prevent over or undercharging or your battery. The battery minders are advertised as products that will extend your battery life to add 2 to 3 years. 4. Recharge your battery after it’s been drained If you are dry camping and you decide to drain your battery, make sure you recharge it straight after draining. Batteries are at their healthiest point when at 100% charge. 5. Check the water level of your RV battery Unless your RV battery is sealed (the cover cannot be removed) then you can check its water level and maintain it. A few tips to do this operation the best way: • With a simple screwdriver, remove the cover of your battery. Be gentle with this operation, to avoid any splash of water back at you. • If water needs to be added, make you only use distilled water, and not tap water, as it can contain calcium • Don’t overfill. Just enough water to cover its plates is needed 6. Watch out for some weather conditions Hot temperatures and overcharging will kill batteries. When it’s hot, check the water level of your battery more frequently. Same when it’s very cold weather: don’t let the water freeze. Make sure you store your battery in good condition. 7. Upgrade to AGM battery Absorbed Glass Mat batteries are built differently than the traditional ones. The main difference here is that this mat is constructed in ultra-fine fiberglass. These batteries are almost immune to vibration. With AGM batteries, very little maintenance is required as you don’t have to check the fill level. Final Words Your RV batteries need some basic care and maintenance. Easy tasks like taking time to properly charge them, maintain water levels, and completely disconnecting them, you will extend your RV battery life. You will also have more battery capacity when dry camping.