No one likes to hear the dreaded click, click, click of a battery gone dead. Maintenance-free, you say? Just because it's sealed doesn't mean you shouldn't regularly inspect it.

When we see battery failure it is typically due to irregular maintenance, complete discharging after long-term storage, or improper recharging methods that boil off the electrolyte inside. Yes, even those maintenance-free batteries can be trouble. A maintenance-free battery with a built-in hydrometer eye isn't foolproof because it doesn't always tell you the whole story in regards to water levels in each cell.

The Battery Bug seems to be useful for knowing the life of your battery or when the battery will need to be replaced. It's a simple device that installs directly to the positive and negative terminals. It compensates for the size and temperatures of the battery and monitors charger and alternator performance for damaging conditions. The Battery Bug can be installed on all types of lead acid batteries or banks of batteries connected in series or parallel.

Beating The Sulfation Blues
If you've never heard of sulfation, that's OK. Most of us haven't. It happens inside the battery, specifically to the plates that conduct electricity. So the only way you would know about it is when you're battery doesn't hold a charge.

The typical 12V lead acid batteries used in most trucks and RVs are supposed to provide adequate cranking power for two to four years on average, and many do. But no matter what it says on the label, few batteries can live up to a process known as sulfation, which is caused by extended discharging and improper overcharging.

Sulfation is basically the crystallization of lead sulfate. Lead sulfate is the byproduct of a reaction from lead, lead dioxide, and the sulfuric acid in the electrolyte of your battery. It is what generates electricity. Some sulfation is normal. However, once your battery's plates get coated with crystallized lead sulfate, they can no longer conduct electricity-and poof! There goes the battery.