Power & electrical
Treat the house batteries right
The house batteries are what make a parked Airstream livable, and how you treat them decides whether they last two years or ten. The rules change with the chemistry, so know which kind you have.
Lithium (LiFePO4): the rules are different
- Use the whole pack, but mind the cold Lithium can be run down deep without the lead-acid penalty, which is why it is the upgrade that makes real boondocking work. The catch: most lithium will not accept a charge below freezing, so a self-heated battery or a warm bay matters in winter.
- Store it half charged and switched off For a long layup, leave lithium around 50 to 70 percent and disconnect it (or flip its switch off). It does not sulfate, and it does not want to sit at 100 percent or on a float charger the way lead-acid does. Charge it, disconnect it, check it every month or two, done.
Lead and AGM: stay above 50 percent
- Depth of discharge is everything Flooded and AGM batteries hate being run down. Every time you drop below about 50 percent you cut into their life. Treat half a tank as empty and recharge promptly.
- Check the connections, and never store them low Every 30 days or so, check terminals for corrosion and a tight connection, and on flooded batteries top low cells with distilled water. Over the off-season keep them full on a maintainer (or pull them and store them charged above freezing), because a lead-acid battery left discharged sulfates and dies.
Helps to have on board
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