Battery Life
The storage capacity and the overall life of the Battery all come down to how your Battery is cared for, during charging and discharge. Batteries are not cheap, so what can we do to make them last? It all starts before you leave your back door.
Camping Trailer Battery requirements are huge when you consider all the electrical devices that must be supplied power. The fridge, the Water Pump, Lighting, running Radios and TV’s as well as Charging Phones and Tablets. It was not long ago when Camping Trailers had only a single 12-volt house battery. Today it is standard to have two or more house batteries powering inverters up to 4000 watts.
"My battery won't take a charge?” - “My battery won't hold a charge?".
At some point you will be faced with one of these situations. As the powering requirements increase, the average battery life will become shorter. Life span depends on usage and ranges from 6 to 48 months, yet only 30% of all batteries actually reach the 48-month mark.
Wet Cell Batteries
80% of all Wet Cell battery failure is related to sulfation build-up. This build up occurs when the sulphur molecules in the electrolyte (battery acid) become so deeply discharged that they begin to coat the battery's lead plates. Before long the plates become so coated that the battery dies. The causes of sulfation are numerous, here are some …
Batteries sit too long between charges. As little as 24 hours in hot weather and several days in cooler weather.
Battery is stored without some type of energy input.
Undercharging of a battery
Heat. As temperatures increases so does internal discharge.
Low electrolyte level - battery plates exposed to air will immediately sulfate.
Incorrect charging levels and settings.
Parasitic drain, which is a load put on a battery with the isolator off.
AGM and Gel Batteries
AGM and Gel batteries are both types of Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA).
An AGM battery is similar to a wet cell battery, except the electrolyte is being held in the glass matts, as opposed to freely flooding the plates.
A Gel batteries electrolyte is gel like and immobile.
There is common confusion regarding an AGM battery because different manufactures call them by different names. They are also known as “dry cell”, “sealed lead acid” and “non spillable”. Usually when people enquire about a gel cell they mean an AGM battery.
Gel cells are still being sold but AGM batteries are replacing them in most applications.
Failure of AGM and Gel Cell batteries are usually caused by one or a combination of the following.
Over Charging
Wrong type of charger being used
Over heating of the Battery Core
Discharging by more than 50%
AGM and Gel batteries are good deep cycle batteries and they deliver their best life performance if recharged before they reach the 50% discharge rate. When Deep Cycle AGM batteries are discharged to a rate of no less than 60% the cycle life will be 300 plus cycles.
Battery Charging and Maintenance
Unsealed Wet Cell Batteries require the most maintenance. But, if completed regularly they will last a considerable time. The singularly most important factor is keeping the electrolyte level full. Subjecting them to heat boils off the electrolyte faster, but damage is minimised if they are topped up with Distilled Water, which can be purchased cheaply. Don’t over fill battery cells especially in warmer weather because the natural fluid expansion in hot weather can push excess electrolytes from the battery and will make an awful mess.
Individual cells can be checked with a hydrometer giving you an immediate indication as to the health of your battery and prior warning to a cell failing.
Wet Cell Batteries must be stored in a ventilated space, as charging them produces a small amount of explosive gas.
A standard Battery Charger is used for Charging Wet Cell Batteries.
AGM and Gel Cell batteries require almost no maintenance, which is why we use them in our Camping Trailers. But, the life span is drastically reduced if charging is done incorrectly.
Choosing the right kind of battery charger is the first step in maintaining battery health.
Smart chargers are compatible with wet cell, Gel and AGM
batteries and can even detect the charge needed based on the battery’s voltage. Many 12 Volt deep cycle battery chargers also come with reverse pulse technology that helps reduce internal impedance while the battery is charging, as well as lowering its temperature.
If you’re not using a smart charger, you’ll need to know the correct voltage for deep cycle batteries and set the charger accordingly. For AGM batteries, the required rate of charging is 14.7 volts. Be careful not to overcharge your battery, doing so can damage the internal structure and reduces effectiveness.
AGM and Gel charging differs. If your charger offers different modes, select the correct one for your battery. If you use the Gel setting to charge an AGM battery, it won't fully charge and, over time, it could actually damage your AGM battery.
Other Maintenance
Cable connections need to be cleaned and tightened as battery problems are often caused by dirty and loose connections. Don’t forget to check the earth cable if fitted, this can be the last thing that is checked but the easiest to fix.
To prevent corrosion on the terminals ensure the terminals are clean and have a good connection, a covering of grease or a battery terminal protection spray will help.
Have your battery charging input wires correctly fitted. With a single battery this is easy, connect to positive and negative. This all changes with two or more batteries. Industry best practice for charging and discharging battery banks is for the positive to be connected to the first battery + pole and the negative to be connected to the last - battery pole in the parallel circuit. This spreads equal charge and discharge to each and every cell in the bank. In my experience 80% of all Camping Trailer Battery Banks are wired wrong.
Battery Don’ts
Never add new electrolyte (battery acid), use distilled water.
Don’t use unregulated high output battery charges to charge batteries, especially AGM and Gel batteries.
Don’t put your Camping Trailer into storage without some form of maintenance charger.
Don’t disconnect battery cables while Charging (your battery acts as a filter).
Don’t put off recharging your batteries.
Don’t add tap water, as it may contain minerals that may contaminate the electrolyte.
Don’t discharge the battery any deeper than you possibly have to.
Don’t let a battery get hot to the touch and boil violently when charging.
Don’t mix size and type of batteries.
Once you are off the beaten track and all set up there are only two ways to keep that battery charged and your fridge cold.
The first is a Generator. If all the practices above are followed, you will plug your charger into the Generator and top your battery up during the day, with nothing more to think about.
If you have Solar and that’s my choice of weapon, you too can put your feet up. Providing of course, that regulator or DC to DC Charger is indeed the correct one for the type of Panels you have…………
Yes there are different types for different Panels!
Did you know that Westcoast Trailer and Caravan Services can Load Test your Batteries and modify wiring so as to increase the Life Span of your Battery? They can also Supply and Fit, a range of Quality Batteries, Battery Chargers, Inverters, DC to DC Chargers and Solar Arrays. Call them for a Quote
But that’s a story for another day.