RV FEATURE
There ’ s many options for house batteries but charging requirements can differ between them
It can be a little confusing when RV house batteries and / or deep-cycle batteries come in many shapes , sizes , capacities and chemistries . Historically , the majority of the market has been made up of the lead-acid type . These include traditional flooded batteries as they ’ re a good entry level , affordable solution . But there ’ s also other styles , like calcium , maintenance-free AGM ( absorbed glass mat ), and gel .
However , technology is advancing at a greater rate , and today the use of various lithium chemistries is becoming a more popular and affordable proposition .
Now that we ’ ve touched on the types of batteries , let ’ s look at how to go about charging them and keeping them in peak optimum condition .
CRANKING VS HOUSE BATTERY
First , there ’ s a difference between maintaining your cranking battery and your house battery . A well setup system should be able to recharge your batteries without relying on a 240V battery charger plugged into mains power . For example , your vehicle ’ s car battery is designed to deliver a high current in short bursts and will recharge rapidly via your vehicle ’ s alternator .
But you can ’ t solely rely on the same charging circuit to recharge your RV ’ s house batteries . So other charging methods are needed for house batteries , which we ’ ll cover next .
HOW BATTERIES CAN BE CHARGED
While there are multiple ways to keep RV batteries charged , not all methods deliver a perfectly full charge , but apply some form of current into a battery ( known as amperage or amps for short ). Here ’ s a look at some of the methods :
1 ) In-vehicle charging : the vehicle ’ s electrical system is the battery charger when your RV is connected to your vehicle via a dedicated Anderson-type connector , but this will typically only be a trickle charge and only effective if the voltage in the house battery is less than that of the vehicle ’ s electrical system . Modern cars now lower their alternator output when not needed in the vehicle and thus this will provide nothing to the house battery .
2 ) Solar panels coupled with a regulator : there are many different types and these can work differently , but essentially the sun is the charger via the solar panel setup .
3 ) DC to DC chargers : these use an input source such as solar or a vehicle alternator setup and they will will boost the voltage to a usable level and thus enable the battery to charge .
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