Battery Maintenance

[JimC]

I have a Hi Fase Marine 110 amp/hr (deep recycle) battery on my 2006 Lunar.It's stood in storage for 3 months so I thought I would bring it home and charge it. I found it was about 80% charged, so I topped it up on with my Fully auto charger.

My question is as I always use sites with electric hook up my battery pretty much stays topped up all the time.Should I allow it to discharge to about 50% from time to time by not switching on the charging unit in the caravan? Will this improve the life of the battery? I have had no problems so far, but something I read has promted the question.

Regards Jim

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Jim,

Basically no. Lead acid batteries can be recharged from any state without the memory effects associated (solely) with NiCad batteries.

In fact, the life of a lead acid battery is best if it's kept 100% charged. If you let a lead acid battery sink below 50% it starts to suffer irreversible sulfation of the cell plates, which becomes very marked below 25%. So even if you don't keep it 100% charged - make sure it never goes below 50%.

Robert

 

[VonRyan]

Hi Jim,

The other Rob(sorry Rob,no pun intended)is completley right,do not run you battery right down or it will be usless. Bring the battery up to 100% charge, this on a AVO meter is 12.7 volts or above. Take the reading at least 12hrs after fully charging to get a accurate reading.

Then go to some where that will suppy you a conditioning charger e.g Motorworld, Maplins, motorfactors or your local caravan dealer(normally the most expensive). These chargers will keep your battery at 100% charge and will not over charge the battery as long as it is stored correctly,that being off the floor in a well ventilated area,that is cool but not suspect to freezing, away from children and animals (and even the wife,s washing).

You will have to check the acid levels on a regular basis e.g every two weeks or there abouts and top up with distilled water as required. This has been proved by a freind that has had his leisure battery for nearly 7 years and keeps bringing it back into service every spring and it works and holds its charge.

I bought the Draper version and its called the battery master it gives out 300 milliamp at 12 volt and my battery is over 3 years old and it seems to be standing up to the job.Approx price is about