Your RV relies on your RV battery, regardless of what voltage they use and how you charge them. We’ll discuss how to charge your RV battery in 7 simple steps.
Step 1: Make things safe.
We’re going to discuss how to charge the RV battery with the engine off. This is the safest method. And before you do anything else, make it safe to charge. Turn off the RV. Set the emergency brake.
Make certain there are no ignition sources. This means no smoking around the batteries, and don’t turn on a gas grill. For getting more updates, consider a visit to https://rvside.com/.
Step 2: Get the batteries ready.
Find the RV batteries. Do an inspection. For example, if there is a cracked battery body, it shouldn’t be charged. Clean the exterior of the battery. Do any maintenance, though you probably should add water after you charge it than before.
However, you want to check the water level in lead acid batteries, since you don’t want to charge batteries where the plates are exposed to air.
Step 3: Remove the cables.
Wear heavy gloves while you remove the battery cables. Use a wrench to remove them. Always remove the negative side cable, the black one, first. Then remove the red cable.
At this point, you can clean the connectors. You can use a mix of water and baking soda to make a paste to remove any corrosion before you dry it. Then you can move to the next step.
Step 4: Attach the charger to the battery.
Attach the power source or battery charger to the battery. Always connect the positive side of the power source to the red battery terminal. Then attach the negative side of the power source to the black connection point or battery terminal.
The alternative is to connect the black terminal to metal that isn’t connected to the RV or battery to ground it. Then turn things on, be it a charge controller, generator or other power source.
Step 5: Let the charger completely charge the battery.
Whether you’re running solar power through a solar charge controller, charging the battery from shore power or using an inverter, let the charger charge the battery completely. This helps ensure that the battery chemistry doesn’t reset such that you cannot completely recharge it 100 percent.
The battery will also last longer if you fully recharge it and avoid discharging it than if you partially recharge and mostly discharge it. (It will last twice as long or longer with full charges and never fully discharging.)
Step 6: Disconnect so you don’t overcharge.
You don’t want to overcharge the battery. That will damage it and can destroy it. This is why you want to unplug the battery charger or power source once it is fully charged. You may know this needs to be done when the charge controller tells you the battery is charged.
Ideally, you have a charge controller or battery monitor that switches to a float charge or trickle charge when the battery is fully charged. If you don’t have this protective maintenance mode, then unplug the charger and remove the connections.
Step 7: Return the battery to service.
Reconnect the battery to the RV. Replace the positive cable first, then reattach the negative cable. Tighten them both before you close everything up. If you have other batteries in the battery bank, you can move on to the next one to be charged.
Conclusion
We’ve outlined the general process for recharging your RV battery. This process is true no matter what type of batteries you have or the power source you use.