How to Charge a Deep Cycle Battery?

The life of a battery depends on the charging method. This is because certain types of batteries require different settings when it comes to charging. And, unfortunately, many people don't know the exact details about deep cycle batteries charging and maintenance to extend their efficiency and life.

This article will detail everything you need to know about charging rechargeable deep cycle batteries.

What is the Capacity of Your Battery?

Battery capacity is measured in ampere-hours (Ah) or milliampere-hours (mAh). A battery's capacity is the maximum amount of power it can accept in Ampere-hours (Ah). For example, if a 50 Ah battery is fully discharged and then charged at a rate of 2 amps, it will take 25 hours to fully charge. If you have a 5-Ah battery that is fully discharged and charged at a rate of 1 amp, it will take 5 hours to recharge.

Medium Charging

Most people will choose the medium load or charge method: plug the RV into a 110-volt, 15-amp outlet and let the battery charge while you sleep. In this case, charging a deep cycle battery is easy because you don't have to worry about overcharging the battery or blowing a fuse.

The key consideration here is the charge rate: your RV converter will trickle charge the battery at about 1% per hour, so it could take up to 100 hours (almost four days!) to recharge a deeply depleted deep-cycle battery.

Heavy Duty Charging

Heavy duty chargers are designed to handle applications where batteries are deeply discharged and slow to recharge. This type of charger is typically used by fleets, municipalities and the military. It uses different methods at different stages of charging. When the battery is low, it uses voltage and amperage to quickly bring it back up to about 80% of capacity.

It then goes into a trickle charge phase that brings the battery to full capacity without overheating or damaging the poles. The best heavy-duty chargers monitor each battery individually during this phase, allowing them to charge the battery more efficiently than other chargers.

Battery Charging Cycle

During its lifetime, a deep cycle battery can be charged to full capacity several times. It can go a long way and then be fully charged many times. It usually starts with a 100% capacity battery and then drains it to between 20% and 50% of its capacity. Then recharge back to 100%.

The normal depth of discharge of batteries also affects their life span. To make a battery last longer, it needs to be recharged to 50% of its capacity, and often. Repeated shallow discharges (5-10%) of deep cycle batteries will shorten their life.

If you want to know more information about deep cycle batteries, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.