If you want a good thing to last, you have to take care of it. That's the first rule that must be kept in mind by all people that don't want to throw their money out the window. And among those people are the RV owners who must assure the maintenance of their RV battery.
Unfortunately, many of them don't do that and they buy a new RV battery each year. And this is happening even if they know that the best RV battery can last to 6 years.
Look at these 7 tips on how to maintain your RV battery. They are easy to follow and easy to do.
1. According to “RV share”, the first thing that you have to do is try to prevent corrosion. This is the main cause of a voltage drop and an amperage output failure. The corrosion's right under your nose. The wire connections are covered with green or with powder, like dirt. But it's not.
Don't forget that RV battery is charged with sulfuric acid and when the charging process has the place, some of the mixtures from inside the battery containing sulfuric acid and water may arrive on the surroundings and so, on your battery wires. If you don't have a sealed battery than you have a problem. In this case, you have 2 options:
- You can try to prevent corrosion by mixing 1/4 cup of baking soda with almost 2 cups of clean water. The ratio must be 1:6. And that mixture sprays it on the battery, especially on the terminals. Wait for 5 to 10 minutes and then spray the places again but this time only with clean water. Do this procedure each month.
- When the corrosion it’s already installed, you can't take care of the issue at home. You have to take the battery to a specialized service. And you have to do it fast.
2. Charging the RV battery.
- Never, but never let a battery charge go below 50 %
- When it’s hot outside or you have a long trip, check frequently the battery because she may need a refill with distilled water.
- When you charge your RV battery do it in stages: first let her charge to 90% and then use an absorption charge and then end the procedure with a float charge that will assure you that the battery is fully charged and she is staying like this for a long time.
3. According to “KOA.com”, when you charge your battery try to use only distilled water. It's the best choice for your battery. Tap water can cause many problems and one of them is calcium sulfide.
4. Inspect the battery housing. The same corrosion that can affect the RV battery wire connections also can be found on the metal walls of the battery housing. For preventing this thing to happen, use the same mixture of baking soda and water and follow the same procedure.
5. On / off. When your RV is not on the road, but in the parking, lot be careful and press the off button. This is not a joke. Verify if your RV has a battery disconnect button and press it. This will keep your battery fully charged.
6. Don't water the battery before charging. Do it only when the battery is fully charged. There are cases when the battery plates are in sight. In this situation, cover the plates with enough water and then start the charging process. In the end, fill each cell and close the battery.
7. Take care of the wire connections. This is as simple as it sounds. But if you skip this "must do" your RV battery will "die" sooner. There are certain factors that can cause the wire connections to weaken. If you don't verify them before each trip or at least every month the risk is too overworked the battery.
So this is some simple things that you must take care of if you want to have a "healthy" RV battery and of course long trips without any problems.
Also, when you have concerns about your RV battery you can search for answers online because there are many specialists out there that can give you the right solutions for your problem. And that's for free.
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