As with anything caravan related, the better you can suit your battery to your application, the better performance you will achieve. But with so many caravan batteries on the market, how do you identify the one for your set up? Well we are here to help!
Our caravan battery guide lays out the information you need to keep your gadgets running while you're off the grid - along with some information you never knew you needed.
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Deep Cycle Batteries:
There are three main types of Deep Cycle Batteries used for running appliances in a caravan, RV or Camper Trailer. These are: Gel, AGM and Lithium.
Lead Acid Batteries:
Gel and AGM are both Lead Acid caravan batteries. These are a traditional type of Deep cycle battery, with a typical size being around 100 to 120 amp hours.
A lead acid battery can be charged down to about 50% of its capacity before it needs to be recharged. This is referred to as "Depth of Discharge" So, a typical 200Amp hour lead acid battery bank contains 100 usable Amp Hours.
A 200 Amp Hour Lead Acid Battery bank weighs around 50Kg, which is quite heavy compared to the latest in Lithium.
Lithium Batteries:
Lithium Batteries are gaining serious popularity in modern caravan power system installations. A lithium battery has a Depth of Discharge of almost 80%. So, A 200 Amp Hour lithium battery provides 160 usable amp hours before it needs to be recharged.
Lithium batteries are half the weight of Lead Acid Caravan Batteries and take up a much smaller foot print.
The range of ePower B-TEC lithium batteries from Enerdrive all come with a built in Smart Phone monitoring system.
If you are limited for space you can check out the new Enerdrive B-TEC 200Ah Slim Metal Case Lithium Battery. This newly released design are great for the space saver or avid 4WD driver that is looking for off grid power at a fraction of the space.
By Downloading the app, you can monitor the critical status of your battery in real time. You can monitor the following:
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Battery Capacity
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Battery Voltage
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Individual Cell Voltage
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Battery Current (Amps)
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Battery Event Information
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The Battery Status
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Battery Cycles
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Battery Alarms
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Temperature of the Battery
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Battery State of Charge (SOC)
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Battery State of Health (SOH)
The Btec range also comes with an internal Battery Management System or BMS. The BMS will monitor each cell within the battery and is designed to protect the battery from over charge, over discharge, over temperature and short circuit.
-If you are looking for a more affordable lithium battery, check out the Enerdrive eLITE 100Ah Lithium Battery. This model was designed as an entry level lithium battery, with less bells and whistles so customers can get into the lithium market without spending big.
The only difference between this model and the Enerdrive 100Ah B-TEC Lithium Battery is that the eLITE battery does not come with Wireless Battery Monitoring Technology. Instead, you will require a battery monitor to monitor the health of your battery.
The main reason to choose a Lead Acid caravan battery is price. They are extremely affordable. A good quality, sealed, 100 Amp Camec AGM batteries will cost under $300 each. If weight and space are not an issue, you can keep connecting batteries in parallel to increase the overall battery capacity.
Anyone towing a Caravan, Camper Trailer or Boat is going to want to minimize battery weight and size as much as possible. So that is why so many people are pulling out 3 or 4 lead acid batteries and upgrading to one 200Amp ePower Btec Lithium Battery from Enerdrive.
At My Generator, we provide a wide of smart chargers available to charge AGM or Gel batteries.
Lithium Caravan Batteries will require a special lithium charging profile. So to make life easier, the right size charger has been bundled up with the right size battery.
But our bundle offerings don't stop here, we also offer bundles with inverters, solar panels and battery monitors for the ultimate setups! Check out our full range of lithium caravan battery bundles here.
Another good lithium caravan battery option is Invicta. Invicta have quite the range, from options as small as 9Ah through to 300Ah in size!
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What Will My Caravan & Camping Battery Run?
When choosing a caravan battery that is right for you, you not only need to understand the difference between Gel, AGM and Lithium batteries, but you will also want to understand what your battery will run - read our article on this HERE, and see this video:
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Need help choosing a caravan battery for your setup? Visit our RANGE OF CARAVAN BATTERIES HERE, or give one of our experts a call on 1300 400 122.
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DISCLAIMER* Please note, this advice is general in nature and we strongly recommend consulting the product manual and where relevant, a professional installer.
