Maybe you’re doing a bit of reading about sundry RV maintenance just to ensure you’re taking care of your rig. Perhaps you’re just deep into a rabbit hole and reading about electrical oddities and curiosities.
Then you come across this: RV battery watering systems. That’s right, watering, not warning. Do as many double-takes as you want. That’s what it says.
You pause for a moment. Can it be? Are RV batteries like precious houseplants that will wither under the noonday sun without the TLC of a bit of drink from the old watering can?
Well, not quite, but there is more fact than fiction here. Let’s make a quick inquiry into the idea.
Why Do RV Batteries Need to Be Watered?
If you’re used to the relatively-low maintenance batteries used in other vehicles, you’re going to have to retrain your brain when you’re working with the deep cycle batteries that are often used to power the interior of recreational vehicles.
These are often lead-acid batteries that contain porous lead electrodes suspended in a sulfuric acid electrolyte solution. These batteries typically have caps that enable you to access these compartments.
Over time, through charging cycles, the moisture in the solution in the battery cell will evaporate away, lowering the level of the sulfuric acid solution and exposing the lead electrodes. The water will also evaporate naturally over time even if the battery does not undergo a charge-discharge cycle. All the same, the main loss of moisture in the cell comes from the charge cycle.
If the electrolyte level gets too low, your RV battery life (and power) will be adversely affected through a process called sulfation which changes the chemistry of the lead electrodes.
At the same time, overwatering an RV battery can be very dangerous, too. Either overwatered or underwatered batteries will not perform at peak and in specific situations, can even overheat and cause fires.
Consequently, RV batteries’ water levels must be maintained at the optimal level, which is why RV battery watering systems are so beneficial.
What in the Blue Blazes Is an RV Battery Watering System? Where Can I Get One?
Simply put, an RV battery watering system is a system that makes it safer and easier to maintain the solution levels in your RV batteries. They make it much more practical than filling the cells manually.
For instance, Flow-Rite’s Qwik-Fill RV Battery Watering Systems enable safer, more accurate (which is vital) filling of RV batteries when compared to conventional methods. They consist of a fill tube and a simple hand pump and can work with any distilled water container.
These systems install and enable you to fill your batteries in minutes, without the use of tools. They do not require you to remove the battery caps and distribute water only to low cells without overfilling.
As these systems are very accurate and do not require operators to remove the batteries caps while filling, they protect users from dangerous gasses generated during charging and remove many of the concerns associated with over and underfilling electrolyte cells.
Moreover, Flow-Rite systems are available in single and double-battery configurations, suitable for multiple different batteries, including 12V, 36V, and 48V batteries.
They represent the affordable, yet safe and practical solution to watering batteries.
To learn more about these RV battery watering systems to find a system suitable for your RV, visit RV Upgrades online at RVUpgradeStore.com. They carry a huge range of RV accessories at great prices.
You can also reach out to them with questions or concerns at 866-332-7881 if you want to learn more about RV battery watering before purchasing.
