Tech Tip Tuesday: Battery Lifespan & Your Converter

Strumming my pain with his fingers

Singing my life with his words

Killing me softly with his song

Did you know your converter is probably killing your batteries with its song? Most of the time, you are only enjoying part of the lifespan of your batteries. They die a premature death. You probably never suspected that your smart RV converter is killing your batteries before their time. But it is true all RV converters, even the smart ones, are taking years of life off your batteries. There are several ways they kill your batteries prematurely. First, the smart converters never really shut down; they are always charging. Second, they don't monitor the temperature of your batteries—this causes gassing in your batteries, killing them before their time. Third, they are not smart enough to efficiently charge your lithium batteries.

If you have an Inverter/Charger with a temperature probe, your batteries have a better chance of surviving their entire life span.

However, we have the perfect solution that will save the life of your batteries, therefore saving you money and the hassle of underperforming batteries. Batteries don't die suddenly; it is a slow process over time. So before they die, you will battle the issue of not having as much power as you think you should. The solution is a battery charger made by Victron.

It is the Phoneix IP 43 Smart Charger with the following features:

Bluetooth Smart App.

The Bluetooth app lets you set up, monitor, control, update, and synchronize Phoenix Smart IP43 Chargers.

Automatic voltage compensation

The charger compensates for voltage drop over the DC cabling by slightly increasing output voltage when the DC increases.

The Phoenix Smart Charger features our well-known "adaptive" battery management system that can be preset to suit different types of batteries. The 'adaptive' feature will automatically optimize the charging process relative to how the battery is used. It will ensure the battery is fully charged but keeps it from being overcharged.

We stock this battery charger. Maybe it is time to stop killing your batteries and give them some love with a new Victron charger.