Voltages at this stage are typically around 14.2 to 15.5 volts. It is during this stage that the charger puts out maximum voltage. Absorption Charge: (The 2nd stage of 3-stage battery charging.) Voltage remains constant and current gradually tapers off as internal resistance increases during charging.There is no “correct” voltage for bulk charging, but there may be limits on the maximum current the battery and/or wiring can take. Voltages at this stage typically range from 10.5 to 15 volts. Bulk Charge: (The first stage of 3-stage battery charging.) Current is sent to batteries at the maximum safe rate they will accept until voltage rises to near (80–90%) full charge level.Lead Acid Battery Charging Stagesįor lead-acid batteries, the charge process takes place in 3 different stages: Bulk, Absorption and Float. Solid-state 3-stage chargers, on the other hand, work great with generator power, are lighter and more efficient and will monitor the battery bank to provide the proper voltage and current to quickly bring your batteries back to 100%. This is a significant problem for boondockers. This has to do with the AC power factor difference, but the end result is that converters don’t play well with generators. In fact, a 40-amp converter will struggle to produce 10 amps when powered by a generator. It is common for a converter to boil a battery dry in a month or two.Īnother significant disadvantage to the converter is that most units aren’t capable of delivering their rated amperage to the batteries when powered by a generator. If you plug your rig into A/C power for months at a time, you must keep a close eye on your battery’s electrolyte level. This will cause most non-AGM lead-acid batteries to boil off electrolyte. Also, after it has succeeded in partially charging your batteries, it will hold them at a “float” voltage that is too high. Since the converter is designed to not exceed a voltage of about 13.6 volts, it will never fully charge your batteries. It’s main purpose in life is to provide 12 volt power for your rig while you are plugged into an A/C outlet. Converters are bad because the converter in your RV really isn’t designed to be a decent battery charger. If you intend to boondock, you really need to be able to charge your battery bank quickly and efficiently. If, instead, you see the voltage at the batteries increase to 14V + for a while, then it falls back to 13.5 or lower, that pretty much indicates that you have a 3-stage charger. If it is reading a steady 13.5 or so, and doesn’t change over 30 minutes, you’ve got one of those inefficient converter chargers in your RV. Now, plug the RV into AC power and check the voltage again. You should be reading something under 12.5 volts if you’ve discharged your batteries enough to test the converter. Then, using a digital voltmeter, measure the voltage at your battery bank. It can be hard to determine what kind of charger you have by looking at the RV manual or at the device itself, but there’s an easy test: Simply unplug your RV from AC power and run some 12V loads for a few hours to partially discharge your house batteries. Often called “converters” these devices are intended to produce 12VDC power to run your lights, fans and appliances when you plug in the RV, and most converters are very poor battery chargers. Many RVs come with very low-tech chargers for this purpose. You’ll be using whatever built-in charger your RV came with to recharge your house batteries. If you plug your RV into AC power via an outlet at a campground or run a generator to provide AC power, the battery charging path is essentially identical. How to Recharge Your RV Batteries Method 1: Plug into AC Power Most RVers will charge their house batteries using one or more of the 4 methods below. Now, let’s talk about ways to recharge your batteries. In the previous article, I talked about your RV house batteries and ways to improve capacity. Without further ado, let’s hear from Mark!
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