Battery Explosion

Thank you all for the suggestions and insights. GF
 
Okay, so things are getting hanky again. I went to the boat yesterday and pretty much found what I would expect: Consumed Energy on the Victron showed -39 Ah with SOC at 88% (house bank = 270Ah). I had left the boat the day before with no charging sources, the fridge ON, and the SOC at 98.5%. I decided to put some time on the generator while I did some cleaning on the topsides and charge up the batteries. Started the gen set, turned on the ProMariner and went about my business.

After periodic checks of the Victron monitor it finally showed 100% SOC and 0 CE. However, it also showed 9.19 amps still being pushed into the batteries at a voltage of 14.6. That seemed like to much amps and volts for a 100% charged battery.

The ProMariner display showed:
Amps Output = 11.2
Volts Output = 14.8
Charge Output = 3 of 5 lights ON
Charge Mode = Conditioning

Next I went to check the batteries with the Volt Meter and saw a fair amount of electrolyte on top of one of the house batteries - the same battery position and 3 cells that exploded before!

Comments/Questions:

1. I did see the ProMariner perform properly a couple of days before and go into Float mode with volts at 13.4. Why was it still in Conditioning (absorption) mode and not Float mode? I have a call into ProMariner and am waiting to hear back.

2. Before installing the new batteries I topped them off with distilled water by filling the cells up to the tube with two slits on either side until the water reflection puckered - this still left the slits open for gas to reach the caps. I thought this was the proper way to do it. However, upon reading the battery documents I got later from the manufacturer, their instructions were: make sure the plates are covered but do not top off! Charge fully to 100%, then top off and only bring the electrolyte level to 1/8" BELOW the bottom of the tubes - no puckering. Is this why electrolyte was expelled during charging? How do I remove the extra distilled water from the solution? Can I just leave all the caps open and let passive evaporation remove enough water to get the electrolyte solution down? Can I open the caps the next time I charge up and let the water gas out from electrolysis? I don't want to remove electrolyte directly as this will also remove acid and affect the proper concentration needed for battery performance.

3. Is it just coincidence that the battery leak is in the same position and same cells as the one that exploded? I have not changed any wiring on the boat since I purchased it a year ago and up until the battery failure everything has been working fine. The battery ground and hot cables to their respective buss bars are 1G. The 3 house battery grounds run to the Victron shunt and are all of the same length and the hots are same length as well. All connections are clean and tight.

All comments welcome. GF
 
An overcharging battery is nothing to take lightly. I personally have witnessed 2 battery explosions both caused by overcharging. The first was on a forklift, it blew the steel hood right off the machine. Battery parts went everywhere. It was like a bomb went off. I was in the seat. The other a fellow employee was blasted with acid in the face. Fortunately there was a wash station close by. He did not loose his sight but did have severe burns on his face. Proceed with caution.
 
To remove some of the water from the battery I would us a turkey baster or some type of large syringe. As far as the Promariner goes, I think you need to review this with them and see what they have to say. Have you tried charging while on shore power and not using the generator as the electrical source?
 
Yes, I've charged with Shore power and ProMariner. And it has gone to float mode. I did remove electrolyte from the batteries - close to two wine bottles worth across the four batteries. I'll use that to top them off when they need it. I wonder if the unexpected readings are a result of a now diluted electrolyte solution. In any event the season is winding down here and things are working nominally. I'll take it as a win. GF
 
Back
Top