Even when you remove a load or charging source, the voltage won’t settle to a steady value for several hours. Īs you charge or discharge a leisure battery, the voltage temporarily rises and falls, giving you a false impression of the battery’s state of charge. Unfortunately, this method is pretty flawed: the voltage reading across a leisure battery is not a reliable indicator of its state of charge. Since the voltage of a battery will decrease as it is drained, people often incorporate a voltmeter display into their campervan electrics and use it as a method of checking their battery’s state of charge. Want to know more about lithium batteries? We’ve written a whole article about the pros and cons of lithium leisure batteries and whether they’re really worth the extra expense. This will improve its lifespan and avoid irreparable damage in the case of lead acid batteries. In short, keeping an eye on your battery’s state of charge will help you avoid discharging the battery too deeply. Most manufacturers still advise against discharging your lithium battery by 100%, so we’d recommend you plan to use around 90% of your lithium leisure battery’s capacity.

Deeper discharges do still affect a lithium battery’s lifespan, but a good-quality lithium battery can still achieve 1000s of cycles at 100% DOD. Lithium leisure batteries are becoming increasingly popular because they can be discharged much deeper than lead acid batteries. For an AGM battery, we’d recommend 65-80% as a sensible, regular depth of discharge. Most battery manufacturers will suggest a maximum DOD of around 50% for sealed lead acid batteries, but it’s also down to personal choice and consideration of how long you want the battery to last. In fact, there’s actually a direct correlation between how deeply a battery is discharged, and how long the battery will last for.

This is especially true of lead acid batteries, which can be irreparably damaged if they are fully discharged. Using a leisure battery without a battery monitor is like driving a car without a fuel gauge: it will work perfectly fine, until it doesn’t! And just like an engine, a leisure battery can be damaged if it’s fully drained. They’re an essential bit of kit for pretty much everyone, but especially anyone planning to steer away from campsites and rely on their leisure battery for power.

Installing a leisure battery monitor in your campervan will help you get the most out of your battery’s capacity and lifespan. If 50Ah has been drawn from a fully charged battery with a 200Ah capacity: This describes how much capacity the battery still has to offer, relative to its original capacity when it was fully charged. Different monitors will measure different parameters, such as temperature or voltage, but a basic, good quality battery monitor will measure and display the battery’s state of charge. A battery monitor does exactly what it says on the tin – it monitors your leisure battery.

Best bluetooth battery monitor