Tuesday, September 4, 2007

How to extend the life of an RV battery

How long your RV batteries last depends on how you use them. Factors include how they're used, how well they're maintained, how they're discharged, how they're re-charged, and how they are stored. A battery cycle is one complete discharge from 100 percent down to about 50 percent and then re-charged back to 100 percent.

One important factor to battery life is how deep the battery is cycled each time. If the battery is discharged to 50 percent everyday it will last twice as long as it would if its cycled to 80 percent. Keep this in mind when you consider a batteries amp hour rating. The amp hour rating is really cut in half because you don't want to completely discharge the battery before recharging it. The life expectancy depends on how soon a discharged battery is recharged. The sooner it is recharged the better.

What does all of this mean to you? That depends on how you use your RV. If most of your camping is done where you're plugged into an electrical source then your main concern is simply to properly maintain your deep cycle batteries. But if you like to do some serious dry-camping you'll want the highest amp hour capacities you can fit on your RV.

Deep cycle batteries come in different sizes. Some are designated by group size, like Group 24, 27 and 31. Basically the larger the battery the more amp hours you get. Depending on your needs and the amount of space you have available, there are several options when it comes to batteries. You can use one 12-volt Group 24 deep cycle battery that provides 70 to 85 amp hours or you can use two or more 12-volt batteries wired in parallel. Parallel wiring increases amp hours but not voltage.

If you have the room you can do what a lot of RVers do and switch from the standard 12-volt batteries to two of the larger 6-volt golf cart batteries. These pairs of 6-volt batteries need to be wired in series to produce the required 12-volts. Series wiring increases voltage but not amp hours. If this still doesn't satisfy your requirements you can build larger battery banks using four 6-volt batteries wired in series/parallel that will give you 12-volts and double your AH capacity. --Mark Polk

Learn more about using your RV and its operation with Mark Polk's best-selling DVDs, books and eBooks.
Posted by Staff Report at 10:01 AM
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11 comments:

  1. Most important is to fill cells to the proper level with distilled water and check every month.
    ReplyDelete
  2. Is it possible to charge both batteries at the same time? ( Have 2 12volt batteries wired in series producing 24 volt. How do I connect the charger ie; to what terminals?

    Thx

    Jerry
    ReplyDelete
  3. Well actually Terry, although you are very correct, wouldn't that be along the lines of maintenance of your batteries? I wouldn't want some newbie to try and fill brand new batteries, would you?
    ~desertratdan
    ReplyDelete
  4. The first paragraph states that "if the battery is discharged to 50 percent everyday it will last twice as long as it would if its cycled to 80 percent." If that is true, then it would make sense to purchase batteries that provide no more capacity than twice what one might use between charges.

    However, the second paragraph states that for "serious dry-camping you'll want the highest amp hour capacities you can fit on your RV". People who boondock often surely know the maximum number of amp-hours they might use between charges. That makes me wonder if the first paragraph is a misprint. (Or, am I simply putting too much analysis into a simple, general statement.)
    ReplyDelete
  5. the artical say if you want more amp hours at 12 volts to wire 4 6 volt batteries in series/parallel how is this connection made? I know how to wire two 6 volt bat. in series but how do you wire 4 batteries in both series /parallel
    ReplyDelete
  6. John,

    You connect each of the two sets of 6 volt batteries in series as you know how. Then you connect the resulting 12 volt negative and positive terminals in parallel.

    Hope this helps

    Howard
    ReplyDelete
  7. Scott while it would appear this may be a conflict the key is lthe statement of "between charges", if you can charge daily than you woul dbe correct nothing beyond one days capacity, but if you can not fully charge and run what needs to be during each 24 hour period than you need the max capacity you have spce for. the point of the original post is do not "short discharge/charge the batteries. we have a huge problem with this in laptops, the batteries develop a memory, for lack of better term, and will nolonger discharge as deep as they dshould after repeated partial discharge and charge cycles.
    Ray
    ReplyDelete
  8. Scott while it would appear this may be a conflict the key is lthe statement of "between charges", if you can charge daily than you woul dbe correct nothing beyond one days capacity, but if you can not fully charge and run what needs to be during each 24 hour period than you need the max capacity you have spce for. the point of the original post is do not "short discharge/charge the batteries. we have a huge problem with this in laptops, the batteries develop a memory, for lack of better term, and will nolonger discharge as deep as they dshould after repeated partial discharge and charge cycles.
    Ray
    ReplyDelete
  9. Ray, the problem with laptop batteries and memory effect is long in the past. The only batteries affected by this problem were the sintered-plate nickel-cadmium batteries and they haven't been used in a long time.

    Chris
    CreativeTribe.TV
    ReplyDelete
  10. I purchased 3 solid state trickle chargers.
    One hooks to my pickup and is pluged in when it is parked which could be for weeks at a time.
    One in the vechicle i drive arround town.
    one to my camper battery.

    This keeps all three batterys toped off and will not overcharge them. I always have charged batterys.
    ReplyDelete
  11. I purchased 3 solid state trickle chargers.
    One hooks to my pickup and is pluged in when it is parked which could be for weeks at a time.
    One in the vechicle i drive arround town.
    one to my camper battery.

    This keeps all three batterys toped off and will not overcharge them. I always have charged batterys.
    ReplyDelete

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