Friday, October 25, 2024

Motorhome Leisure Batteries- Full charging & upkeep information

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Obtained a motorhome, campervan or caravan? Wish to know find out how to care in your home leisure battery, find out how to cost it, keep it and usually hold it going, particularly in winter? Or frightened about it dropping or not holding cost? Right here’s every part you should find out about your motorhome leisure battery.

Don’t overlook to seize your FREE motorhome upkeep guidelines beneath

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Motorhome Leisure Batteries

Let’s be honest- most new motorhomers or campervanners don’t actually take into consideration their batteries till they’ve an issue. Both the facility goes, or the battery isn’t holding a cost or they arrive at their motorhome or camper after winter to seek out every part is flat and there’s no option to repair it.

If that’s you, don’t worry- you’re not alone. However a primary stage of battery upkeep is necessary to maintain your leisure batteries wholesome and glad for his or her lifespan- and make that life span so long as it may be. Your motorhoming can even be a lot simpler in the event you perceive what your leisure battery is there for and how one can assist it!

It will possibly additionally assist in your yearly motorhome habitation test (or in the event you do your personal) you probably have a primary understanding of the way it all works.


Motorhome leisure batteries for newbies

So, let’s begin firstly and go over some fundamentals.

When you have a motorhome or campervan, you’ve most likely received each an engine starter battery (the one which begins your car and is usually discovered within the engine bay) and a leisure or home battery.

NOTE: If you’re shopping for a brand new CARAVAN, they’re usually equipped and not using a leisure battery, so you will have to purchase one earlier than your first journey.

The motorhome leisure battery is normally NOT within the engine, and is discovered someplace within the camper habitation space. Ours is below the motive force seat, however on our final van it was below the ground close to the oven. Examine your motorhome handbook in the event you’re undecided.

On this publish, we’re going to be focussing simply on the leisure battery, so that you shouldn’t have to go wherever close to the engine bay! We’ll be speaking in regards to the fundamentals of leisure batteries, how to decide on one, find out how to care and keep them (particularly in winter!) and what to do if they’re dropping cost, gained’t cost or appear to be utterly lifeless.

Don’t worry- this publish isn’t for skilled electricians. You don’t want to grasp amp hours, volts or ‘deep-cycle’ so as to care in your motorhome batteries. And no maths is required (okay, a teeny tiny bit would possibly be- however I promise you are able to do it.)

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Why do you want a motorhome leisure battery?

The home leisure battery runs all the facility within the habitation space of your van, everytime you’re not plugged in to mains energy. It’s used for habitation lights, water, rest room, blown-air camper heating, 12v chargers and the rest electrical.

IMPORTANT– the leisure battery solely provides 12v in your van. So, in case you are on battery energy, you CANNOT use your 240v (regular 3-pin plug) sockets. So no electrical kettles, or toaster, or microwave (except you may have a motorhome generator or an invertor- however that’s a publish for an additional day.)

So as to have the ability to present that energy, the battery ‘shops’ it. Consider it like a bucket of water. It’s worthwhile to put energy into the battery. When it’s full, no extra energy could be saved. Then, as you utilize the facility, it’s drained down. As soon as it’s gone, it’s gone till you replenish the facility.

The large distinction between your campervan leisure battery and the bucket of water is that you simply CANNOT utterly empty the leisure battery- doing it will kill it. In actuality, you’ll be able to solely use about 50% of the facility in your leisure battery earlier than you should cease draining and begin recharging.


Can’t I simply plug into mains energy on a regular basis? Do I actually need a leisure battery in my motorhome?

You could possibly, however the different job of a leisure battery is to easy out irregularities within the energy. With out this, you might find yourself damaging home equipment on account of energy spikes or having home equipment which want fixed energy (like alarms or trackers) going on and off frequently on account of energy fluctuations.

Nevertheless, in the event you plan to spend most of your time in your motorhome, campervan or caravan on a campsite, you don’t want to purchase a top-of-the-range leisure battery as you gained’t be placing it via as many cycles as somebody who primarily stays off-grid.


Why is your motorhome or camper leisure battery dropping cost?

The opposite factor to grasp is that the facility in your battery is just not like water in a sealed container. Similar to water in a bucket left outdoors on a heat sunny day, the facility in your leisure battery will slowly… disappear (no, it doesn’t evaporate like water!)

It’s like while you get a static shock and your hair stands on finish. Finally, that vitality simply dissipates. The identical factor occurs to your motorhome batteries (each engine and leisure).

That’s why you usually return to your motorhome, camper or caravan after winter or a interval of inactivity and discover the batteries flat. Even in the event you’ve turned every part off and also you’re satisfied nothing is inflicting the facility to empty finally, over time, the battery can be absolutely discharged and/or lifeless.

However don’t worry- with correct upkeep and care, you’ll be able to shield your batteries, even in chilly climate, and use them for a number of years.

motorhome storage

Distinction between an engine battery and a home leisure battery

The two varieties will not be the identical and you should purchase the suitable battery for the job.

Engine starter batteries (or automotive batteries) have thinner plates and are designed for brief, sharp bursts of excessive energy so as to crank your engine and get it going.

Leisure batteries are designed for sluggish launch over a chronic time period, adopted by re-charging. That is known as ‘deep-cycling’. Leisure batteries are generally known as auxillary batteries too.


“Can I exploit a automotive battery as a substitute of a leisure battery?”

You can’t use a leisure battery in your engine (it doesn’t have the ‘oomphf’ to get the engine began), however you might use an engine battery as a leisure in the event you actually actually needed to. Nevertheless it is not going to be wherever close to as environment friendly and we don’t advocate it.

There’s a kind of battery which may do each jobs (an AGM battery), but it surely’s not generally used for motorhomes.


What number of leisure batteries do you want in your motorhome or campervan?

Nice question- and the easy reply is, it relies on your van and the way you propose to make use of it.

On our final motorhome, we had an electrical mattress. We liked the concept of this, as a result of it made life simpler, however, in actuality, that factor was stupidly power-hungry. For that reason, we determined to suit a second leisure battery into the motorhome (and it’s one of many many causes we determined to simplify and downsize our motorhome.)

IMPORTANT: You MUST solely put a leisure battery within the acceptable battery compartment. If there isn’t area for a second battery, you shouldn’t match one. Additionally, you will have to declare becoming a second leisure battery to your insurance- they could require you to get it professionally checked.

On our newest van, and in a number of vans we’ve used, there has solely been one leisure battery- and it’s been completely fantastic. We love going motorhome wild tenting, and keep off-grid away from campsites as usually as we will, and we nonetheless don’t really feel the necessity for a second leisure battery (though we do have a photo voltaic panel, which makes a giant distinction.)

Motorhome wild tenting guides for the UK & Europe

In fact, the extra batteries you may have, the LONGER you’ll have battery energy for. Be aware that I say longer, no more. You possibly can’t match 20 12v leisure batteries and instantly have 240v energy.


How lengthy ought to a motorhome leisure battery final?

This can be a widespread query, with two doable solutions.

Do you imply how lengthy can you utilize electrical gadgets in your camper earlier than the battery ought to now not be used? That relies on the dimensions of your battery and the way a lot energy you’re utilizing. The extra you may have switched on, and the extra ‘power-hungry’ the equipment, the faster the battery will drain.

The quantity on the battery (for instance, ‘110’) refers to ‘Amp-hours’ (Ah) which is the capability of the battery- or how a lot energy it may retailer. In easy phrases, it may provide 1A for 110 hours or 10A for 11 hours.

Or do you imply how lengthy do you have to hold a leisure battery earlier than changing it for a brand new one? The lifetime of a leisure battery relies on a number of issues:

  • how incessantly it’s discharged
  • how deeply it’s discharged
  • how rapidly it’s recharged

To ensure that your battery to final so long as doable, you should hold it in an excellent state of cost. If it discharges to too low a stage and is left for weeks (and even months throughout winter) with out being recharged, then it’s going to most likely die. And also you want a brand new one.

With correct care, you’ll be able to anticipate a motorhome leisure battery to final round 5 years earlier than it ought to be changed. In fact, if issues go fallacious or aren’t maintained, you might find yourself shopping for a brand new leisure battery yearly!


Kinds of motorhome leisure batteries

There are numerous sorts of leisure batteries, and also you’ll hear all types of thrilling phrases thrown about like ‘lead-acid’, ‘moist batteries’ and lithium ion. Let’s take a look on the choices.

Lead-acid leisure batteries

The commonest type of leisure battery in a motorhome or camper is a lead-acid (though lithium ion is gaining popularity). These are additionally known as ‘moist’ batteries as a result of… they’ve liquid inside them.

Lead acid batteries will self-discharge over time. The pace of this relies on make, age and so forth. You want to have the ability to hold any eye on electrolyte ranges, and high up as vital.

You may get ‘open’ and ‘sealed’ lead-acid batteries. Open are the kind you must high up. Sealed are the ‘maintenance-free’ ones (extra on these beneath.)

Lithium ion leisure batteries

Lithium batteries are one other type of deep cycle battery. They’re absolutely self-contained (upkeep free) and have their very own cost supervisor. As a result of they don’t have lead, they sometimes weigh round half as a lot as an equivelant lead-acid battery- this will actually assist together with your motorome payload.

They can be discharged (absolutely) and quickly recharged whereas retaining a secure voltage stage. They’re nice for motorhome house owners who use their automobiles ‘off-grid’. They don’t self-discharge, are principally maintenance-free and work effectively alongside an inverter.

Nevertheless, they’re expensive- as a lot as 5 instances the price of an equal, good high quality, lead-acid battery

Motorhome touring in Spain- Cabezo Negro
How usually you discharge and recharge your motorhome leisure battery could make a distinction!

Different sorts of leisure batteries

  • AGM batteries – Absorbent Glass Mat batteries have matting between the plates that filter the sulphuric acid contained in the battery, making it extra resilient and capable of face up to a higher variety of charging cycles than a typical lead-acid. They can be utilized as each starter and leisure batteries. The draw back is that they’re much dearer to purchase.
  • Gel batteries – These are utilized in automobiles with a excessive danger of harm or crashing, corresponding to quad bikes or jet skis. They use gel reasonably than acid, which reduces the chance if they’re broken in an accident. Some international manufacturers of motorhomes or campers are actually fitted with these.
  • Upkeep-free batteries – Standard batteries have detachable caps to permit the acid ranges to be checked and topped up with deionised water. A brand new possibility is a maintenance-free battery, which is a sealed unit and can’t be topped up, however doesn’t must be, as a result of approach it’s charged.

Shopping for & Selecting a motorhome or camper leisure battery

If you end up needing to purchase a leisure battery for a motorhome, campervan or caravan, it may be slightly overwhelming.

As a tough information, the heavier the battery is, the extra lead it comprises= means to carry a bigger capability of cost. If you need a deep biking leisure battery (which you most likely do) a heavy battery is an efficient place to begin.

If you will be spending most of your in a single day stops on motorhome membership campsites with mains hookup, a cheap battery may be all you want. When linked to a mains provide, the battery is then solely there to ‘easy out’ the 12V output from the camper’s built-in charger.

Nevertheless, in the event you plan to make use of CS/CL websites with out electrical hook-up or need to keep off-grid, an excellent high quality, high-capacity battery is crucial. Additionally, in the event you like to remain in a single place for some time (and due to this fact the alternator isn’t recharging the battery), you’ll want an excellent leisure battery for that too. Solely purchase batteries which have been manufactured within the final 12 months- previous batteries may have already got sulphur corrosion.

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In addition to choosing the right mannequin, you additionally have to ensure you aren’t being offered a starter battery instead of a leisure battery.

The most suitable choice to make sure you get a leisure battery appropriate for a leisure car is to purchase one from the Verified Leisure Battery Scheme.


Nationwide Caravan Council Verified Leisure Battery Scheme

This scheme was arrange by the Nationwide Caravan Council to offer house owners peace of thoughts in regards to the high quality of their battery. In the event you purchase a leisure battery which shows the scheme’s brand, then it has been deemed dependable and match for objective by the NCC.

All verified leisure batteries will show the scheme’s brand in addition to which class it falls into.

NCC accreditation
NCC Caravan and Motorhome Leisure Battery Verification Scheme

How are leisure batteries categorised below the NCC scheme?

There are three classes of verified leisure battery:

  • Class A – Excessive storage capability batteries to be used by caravan and motorhome customers preferring to function away from {an electrical} hook-up level (individuals who do quite a lot of off-grid tenting)
  • Class B – Designed for customers who use electrical hook-up on nearly all of their journeys, but in addition require higher energy capability. Units corresponding to motor movers (for caravanners) are prone to require a Class B battery even when electrical hook-up is used
  • Class C – Verified batteries appropriate to be used when electrical hook-up is just not out there for a short while solely

Are all leisure batteries lined by the scheme?

At current, just a few producers are included. Extra are anticipated to hitch within the close to future, and the NCC will publish updates as and when acceptable. You’ll find out extra right here.


What impacts a leisure battery’s efficiency?

There are numerous issues which may have an effect on the efficiency and lifespan of a battery.

  • Age – Most batteries have a marked lower in efficiency after 5 years.
  • Measurement – Clearly, the larger your battery (in Ah, not bodily dimension), the longer you should utilize your home equipment for.
  • Consumption– Having mentioned that, in the event you’re working quite a lot of electrical home equipment without delay, you’ll drain the battery quicker and it’ll must be recharged sooner and far more usually. The extra you do that, the extra you degrade efficiency and lifetime of the battery.
  • Temperature – Batteries hate chilly. The colder the temperature, the more severe the battery goes to carry out. They actually do sulk. In the event you test your battery, you’ll see the ‘amp hours’ ranking can be based mostly on a loopy heat temperature of round 25c, with every diploma decrease inflicting a 1% drop in efficiency. For example, a 110Ah battery which is working in 15c temperature will really solely carry out as a 100Ah. If that’s not purpose sufficient to go spend your winters in Spain, I don’t know what’s!

The very fact of the matter is, you are able to do calculations all you want, however all the time err on the aspect of warning and assume you should recharge your leisure battery extra incessantly, and for longer, than you would possibly suppose.

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Taking care of your Leisure Battery

So, in addition to a bucket of water, consider your battery like a pampered canine. It desires to be heat (however not TOO heat), dry, given consideration, fed usually and given a number of time without work to sleep. (I’ve a cocker spaniel curled up on my lap proper now and consider me, the analogy is working!)

Listed below are some tricks to get essentially the most out of your leisure battery.

Do:

  • Cost your battery after buy. Keep in mind, they’re discharging whereas simply sitting there on the shelf in Halfords.
  • Ensure you set up the battery accurately, protecting it upright and correctly secured (most motorhomes have straps for this. Use high-quality clamps for an excellent connection.
  • Maintain the terminals clear and free from corrosion. Some folks add a light-weight coat of vaseline/ petroleum jelly- we don’t do that however we do test them frequently.
  • Ensure you know which home equipment are always drawing on the battery. Trackers, alarms or safety, rearview cameras, wifi dongles or the clock on the dashboard are all widespread culprits.
  • Usually test the water ranges within the battery. You do that by unscrewing the caps and ensuring the electrolyte stage covers the lead plates. If not, high up with deionised water as required. At all times put on full security gear when inspecting and sustaining the battery– that stuff is corrosive!
  • Be sure the gasoline aid tube stays securely in place.
  • Recharge the battery as soon as it reaches 50% energy. By no means enable a battery to utterly run down as this will kill the battery/ drastically scale back the lifespan
  • In the event you aren’t going to be utilizing the battery for some time, give it a correctly good cost after which retailer it in a cool setting with an acceptable charger. You possibly can go away within the van you probably have an clever charging system or a trickle charger.

Don’t:

  • Go away your battery in a discharged state for a chronic time period In the event you’ve been utilizing the battery, make certain it’s charged up once more earlier than you allow it in storage/ unused. In the event you don’t do that, a white deposit will kind on the plates and the battery can be unusable (that is known as sulphation)
  • Over-charge your leisure battery. A completely charged 12V battery ought to have a voltage of 12.7V. Overcharging could be simply as unhealthy as undercharging for killing off a battery.
  • Over-discharge your battery. If the voltage falls to 11.70V cost instantly! If it will get a lot decrease, you could not be capable to put it aside.
  • Reverse the polarity in your charging leads- this will harm the battery
  • Let something fall throughout the battery terminals. A 12V battery is unlikely to trigger electrocution, but when the terminals or the cables are shorted-out, it may trigger a hearth in your motorhome.
  • Neglect that the stuff in a lead-acid battery is ACID. I’ve seen it burn via denims when my husband by chance spilt some. Watch out and hold effectively away from children and pets.
  • retailer your battery wherever too heat, or purchase a radiator, or in direct daylight

Sustaining your leisure battery throughout Winter

Or, extra usually “My motorhome has been in storage for winter. Why is the battery now flat?”

Prepare RV motorhome or campervan for winter storage- winterizing tips for campers and leisure vehicles
Caring in your motorhome in winter- take care of your leisure battery

Sadly, most individuals solely uncover they’ve an issue with both their starter battery or their leisure battery once they return to their car after a number of months. Usually that is after winter (though on this age of worldwide lockdowns and pandemics, you’ll most likely not be utilizing your motorhome as a lot as you deliberate!)

The double-trouble is that you’ve got each lack of use (time whereas the battery quietly discharges) and chilly (which makes the battery depressing.) The 2 collectively imply that the battery discharges extra rapidly, and is much more reluctant to get better afterwards.

Listed below are some ideas for caring for and sustaining your leisure battery over winter:

READ MORE: Full listing of every part you should do to put together your motorhome for winter storage

  • Give it an excellent cost earlier than you set it away for winter
  • Go away it with some type of trickle charger, however leaving it plugged into mains for months would possibly harm the battery too. (The usual on-board charger in lots of motorhomes could cause over-charging)
  • When you have an clever battery charging unit (which screens the battery and adjusts charging voltage and present, you’ll be able to go away that plugged in all winter.
  • If you’re unable to connect a charger completely, both cost your leisure battery as soon as a month or take away it from the car, deliver it dwelling and put it on cost. In fact, watch out if this implies your alarm/ tracker turns into disabled- learn extra about motorhome safety right here
  • Be sure it doesn’t get too chilly. When you have inside battery storage within the motorhome, it ought to be okay except it’s REALLY chilly, however you probably have exterior storage you would possibly need to take away it to keep away from harm.
  • If you’re storing the van at dwelling and have an influence provide, you’ll be able to put it on a timer (4/5 hours a day) so it doesn’t overcharge
  • You need to use a photo voltaic panel to supply cost to your battery. Simply bear in mind that photo voltaic panels are much less efficient in winter (weaker daylight) and in addition in the event you use a motorhome cowl it could cowl the photo voltaic panel, making it ineffective.

Easy methods to cost a leisure battery on a motorhome or camper

Most motorhomes and campers have a number of methods of charging the leisure battery:

  • By way of the mains when on hook-up (battery charger)
  • Utilizing the engine (alternator) when on the road- that is usually known as ‘split-charge’
  • Photo voltaic panel
  • Generator
  • Wind mills (these are widespread on boats, however much less widespread on motorhomes or campers.)

Easy methods to cost a leisure battery from mains/ electrical hook up

This one is straightforward. Offering you may have a battery charger (extra on these beneath), you simply plug within the mains, flip it on if not already, and chill out. It’s that straightforward on most fashionable motorhomes and campervans.

Easy methods to cost a leisure battery whereas driving

Keep in mind, it’s going to take time to recharge a battery. Operating your engine for quarter-hour is just not going to be sufficient.

Additionally, the alternator was not designed for leisure batteries- it was designed for starter batteries and that’s its foremost focus. So you should enable time for the starter battery AND then the leisure battery to be recharged (it’s not linear like that, however all you should know is it wants time!)

Additionally, because the battery voltage will increase (it will get extra charged), the present offered by the alternator will reduce- because it must for the engine battery. So an alternator is unlikely to completely cost a leisure battery.


Discharge charges and maths. (DO NOT PANIC…)

For example, you probably have a 100Ah (amp hour) battery (let’s ignore the temperature and simply assume it’s working to 100), and also you discharge (use) 50%, you should change 50Ah

Let’s say the engine alternator has sufficient to offer 5A to the leisure battery. It’s going to take 10 hours to recharge. That’s 10 HOURS of driving. Continuous.

When you have an even bigger battery, or two leisure batteries, you will have even longer.

Fortunately, many motorhome on-board battery chargers can provide 15-20amps, so it takes loads much less time- 2 or 3 hours. Let’s take a look at these in additional element.

Motorhome leisure battery guide
Motorhome leisure battery information

Motorhome Battery chargers defined

Utilizing the mains to cost the leisure battery (and generally the engine battery) is widespread in most motorhomes, however you will have a battery charger. There are a number of sorts of charger available- they do totally different jobs.

Primary chargers

The only is a primary unit which provides a hard and fast output, normally round 13.8 volts. These primary chargers are not often utilized in motorhomes nowadays, as a result of multi-stage chargers will not be far more costly and are significantly better for the well being and lifespan of your battery. Primary chargers will not be designed to be left linked long-term.

Multi-stage charger

A multi-stage charger gives cost at totally different voltages and currents relying on the state of cost of the battery. These are additionally known as upkeep chargers, though not many are designed to be left linked permanently- you need to use a timer or disconnect and reconnect frequently.

Normally there are 3 phases:

  • Bulk cost mode: provides a most voltage and present to recharge the battery rapidly. This normally takes it to round 80% full.
  • Absorption: Provides a relentless voltage, however reduces present. Takes it to almost full cost.
  • Float cost: Provides decreased voltage and low present to maintain it close to absolutely charged with out harm.

You may get multi-stage fees with much more ranges, however the tough thought is similar.

Do not forget that a battery wants a charger with an output of at the least 10% of the battery’s capability. For instance, a 100Ah battery will want at the least a ten amp charger. Any much less will scale back the capability.


How massive a battery charger do you want?

The larger the charger (16A as a substitute of 4A), the faster it’s going to cost up your battery. In the event you keep in mind our earlier instance about needing to exchange 50% of a 100A battery, a 16A charger would do it in simply over 3 hours, whereas a 4A one would want 12.5 hours.

Photo voltaic Energy

Photo voltaic panels are available in two foremost varieties: monocrystalline and polycrystalline. The foremost distinction between the 2 varieties is dimension – a poly panel will sometimes be about 5% bigger than a mono for a similar quoted output.

Photo voltaic panels could be inflexible or flexible- for vans we advocate inflexible as they’re extra dependable and don’t usually must be walked on.

How massive a photo voltaic panel do I would like?

The reply to this has nothing to do with the dimensions of your motorhome leisure battery. It has to do with how a lot vitality you propose to make use of. A small campervan with just a few LED lights will want MUCH lower than an 8m motorhome with a fridge, heating, a 12v motorhome TV and who desires to cost a number of electrical gadgets. The commonest dimension of photo voltaic panel is 80- 100W.

Additionally, photo voltaic panels are not often nearly as good as they are saying they’re. For example, a 100W panel may technically produce round 8A, however in actuality it is going to be that good – 5 – 6 amps may be extra reasonable. On cloudy days it’s even much less.

Motorhome using solar power to charge the leisure battery
Motorhome utilizing solar energy to cost the leisure battery

Regulator for solar energy

When you have a photo voltaic panel, you will have a regulator to regulate the cost going into the battery.

A typical photo voltaic panel in full daylight may produce round 22 volts, which is simply too excessive for a 12-volt battery. The job of the regulator is to cut back this to a protected charging stage.

There are numerous totally different photo voltaic regulators out there. Cheaper choices embrace easy break up cost or primary mounted voltage charging programs; multi-stage charging is best in the event you can.

Some electrical models (corresponding to Sargent) are capable of take the facility from the photo voltaic unit and to up each the leisure and engine batteries as required.These programs usually have a most photo voltaic wattage that they’ll deal with, so make sure that the panel you select doesn’t exceed it.


Unhealthy scent when charging

Often, you would possibly expertise a ‘rotten egg’ scent when your battery is recharging. This normally signifies that the battery is being overcharged. The scent comes from gasses being emitted. These gasses may doubtlessly ignite and trigger explosions.

In the event you get this scent, test if the battery feels sizzling to the contact. If is does, the battery is being overcharged and may very well be irreparably broken. Even and not using a scent, pay attention to the temperature of your battery whereas charging as a sizzling battery usually means there’s a drawback.

At all times have a window open to permit gases to flee whereas the battery is charging.

DO NOT disconnect the battery from the charger whereas it’s plugged into the mains- this might trigger a spark. Disconnect the mains, then take away the charger.


How do you repair a battery which gained’t maintain a cost?

A trickle charger is the easiest way to attempt to repair a leisure battery that won’t maintain a cost. Except it’s been run too low, during which case, see beneath.

How do you revive a leisure battery?

In the event you’ve by chance run your battery too low, sluggish cost it for at the least 24 hours and see if it revives. You are able to do this through a battery charger or plugging the motorhome into the mains.

Take the battery out of your camper, join it to a good battery charger, go away it on trickle cost for a few days (3-4 amps),then test the voltage.

If it’s not rising, the battery might be unfixable and you will have to exchange it.


Checking a battery’s cost stage

Many motorhome leisure batteries have a light-weight or show to indicate the cost stage. They is probably not 100% correct, but it surely provides you with a tough thought.

A hand-held unit is mostly extra correct, however pointless in most conditions. In the event you use a hand-held meter, 12.7+v means absolutely charged, whereas 12v or beneath means discharged. 12.4v is about 50%

You can too use a hydrometer to measure the electrolytes within the cells. The studying ought to be between 1.1 (discharged) and 1.28 (absolutely charged).

Earlier than a studying, flip off all electrical home equipment, together with alarms, fridges and clocks that run off the battery. Failure to take action will lead to an inaccurate studying. Additionally, don’t do a check for 4 hours after driving or utilizing a battery charger- a lately used battery will give a better studying


Secure dealing with of a Lead Acid battery

Battery gasoline is explosive. If it ignites, it may trigger burns or extreme accidents. ies and flammable and lead-acid is corrosive. Earlier than you go wherever close to your lead-acid battery, do the next:

  • Put on acceptable protecting clothes, gloves and eye-wear. Be warned- the acid can harm clothes
  • At all times take away the damaging terminal first when disconnecting a battery
  • By no means smoke or have a unadorned flame close to a battery
  • Sparks can generally happen when connecting up a battery and good high quality clamps are wanted. Short-term crocodile clips, usually equipped with battery chargers, will not be appropriate for everlasting connections.

Different posts you would possibly discover helpful:

Got a motorhome, campervan or caravan? Want to know how to care for your leisure battery, how to charge it, maintain it and generally keep it going, especially in winter? Or worried about it losing or not holding charge? Here's everything you need to know about your motorhome leisure battery.

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