RV Batteries-important-please read

Why check your RV batteries?

(written by somebody)

A friend of ours, a new-to-RVing fellow, called in the other day. Had a weird problem, he said. We like weird problems--what was his? When he tried to extend his landing gear to raise the RV high enough to hitch up, he only got a "groaning noise" from the landing gear--but no movement. Could something be wrong with his landing gear?



It had been a number of months since he'd last used the gear, and it had worked perfectly at that time. The likelihood of the gear failing seemed pretty remote--but it did ring a bell. We stepped over to the next possibility--what was his battery condition?



Since Ray didn't have a volt meter (digital tester) we casually inquired about the water level in his RV "house" battery (the battery that supplies voltage to inside lighting, water pumps, etc). The answer spoke volumes. "Water water?" To fix the case of the groaning landing gear, Ray was off to the battery supplier to replace his house battery.



So-called "maintenance free" batteries have lulled many people into a complacent state. Having to fork over nearly $100 for a new battery (or batteries) is a real wake up call. Even "maintenance free" batteries really aren't. Unless your battery is a completely sealed battery (like a gel battery) you'll find caps that can be removed, even if it takes a screwdriver to get them off. Happily, most RV house batteries are more obvious, and easy to open.



In Ray's case, he'd been living in the fifth wheel for several months, plugged into shore power. His old-style battery converter, which is supposed to keep his house battery charged, had done more than charge it--it boiled it dry. When Ray took the caps off the battery cells, he couldn't even see the electrolyte. By the time the level drops below the top of the plates in the battery, the damage has already been done.



Our advice to Ray was--after installing a new battery--to make frequent checks to ensure the electrolyte level was kept up--check every two weeks until he got a handle on how often he'd need to refill the battery with d-i-s-t-i-l-l-e-d water. NOT tap water--which can contain chemicals and minerals that can damage a battery.



How do you fill your batteries? Looking down into the battery through the cell you'll see a ring built into the battery top. That ring will have a split in it. Fill the cell with distilled water just to the ring, and replace the cap. It's not a bad idea to where eye protection whenever you work with a battery, and BE SURE to TAKE OFF your jewelry before you get close to the battery. A ring or watch fried to a battery connector gets really, really hot.



Make sure the wrench you use isn't long enough to drop from one battery post to the next--or if it is, insulate it with a few wraps of electrical tape. The potential energy inside a deep cycle battery (or even a starting battery) can weld a wrench to the posts with a potential disaster at hand--I know--I almost did it once.



If you find a build up of gunk around the posts--corrosive looking stuff, carefully clean it away with a rag dampened with baking soda and water. But be careful! Don't get baking soda or baking soda containing water into the battery cells.



Another thing Ray found quite interesting. In the small town where he bought his new battery, the "core charge" for the battery was practically as much as the new battery itself.