Leisure Battery Chargers and Caravan Battery Chargers
Keeping your new leisure or caravan battery charged is a top priority as allowing it to remain discharged can cause permanent damage or even render it inoperable.
Sulphation
Sulphation is the process that occurs when a battery is left for a period of time in a discharged state. A coating builds on the internal lead plates of the battery which leads to the battery building up an internal resistance. This resistance means that the battery is resistant to holding a charge and untimately the battery is rendered useless.
Caring for a Leisure / Caravan Battery
To prevent sulphation, you need to ensure that you charge your battery after every use, and ensure that you regularly recharge the battery during long periods without use. There are two methods of achieving this... You can connect your battery to your charger monthly, or a more convenient method is to physically remove the battery from the vehicle and in the garage connect it to an optimising charger at all times when not in use.
An optimising charger is a modern technological development that keeps your battery in peak condition at all times when not in use. It does this by monitoring the state of charge of the battery at all times and topping up the charge when required. Two examples of these are the excellent CTEK XS3600 charger conditioner and the higher charge rate Numax 10 Amp Battery Charger.