wires to battery corroded through
My trailer serves as our guest home so it’s been parked for about 12 months. Always plugged in, fridge runs, etc. I filled the batteries monthly. I went out last month and 2 wires hooked up to one ...
Forum Discussion
rvshrinker wrote:
there's no way to tell how much life is left on these batteries, right? I'd hate to be somewhere and have them die on me. We don't live in a hot climate but the first few years I didn't care for them as well and they dried once and completely discharged once or twice.
Not so fast. There are many ways to tell how much life is left in your flooded cell deep cycle batteries.
1. At six years of age, you are on borrowed time.
2. The fact that you must add water monthly, and when charging, also means you are on borrowed time. Do you use distilled water?
3. The fact that they are off gassing (when charging) enough to damage the cables also tells you that you are on borrowed time.
4. Fully charge and equalize the batteries. Let them sit disconnected for several weeks. How well do they hold a charge?
5. Are the cases bulging at the exterior on the sides?
6. Does the specific gravity vary (as the batteries charge/discharge) relatively consistently, or, do one or more cells (usually the end cells) vary substantially from the others?
7. Does the fully charged voltage remain at/above about 12.8 volts for at least a day?
The above are all simple checks you can do today to decrease the chances that you are "surprised" on your next excursion.
Chum lee
