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| I had to leave for work a little early this morning and when I got home my daughter said she heard a loud noise out in the garage before they left for school like something fell, but she couldn't see anything. I got to looking around and there was an awful sulfer like odor. At first I thought it smelled like sewer or natural gas, but I couldn't find anything. My wife got home and as we are looking around down by the boat I thought maybe a battery even though I have never had that happen before. Sure enough when I looked in the battery compartment for the trolling motor batteries, one of the batteries had exploded. At the time it was plugged into the onboard charger which is a MinnKota two bank that is probably around 10 years old. The charger was in the boat when I bought it. I had just plugged the charger back in two days ago. Batteries are Farm and Fleet brand and 4-5 years old. I know they are not Interstate, but I have had good luck with them in the past.
Just wondering if any of you have experienced this and I am certainly not an electrician so any idea what may have caused it, bad battery or charger malfunction? Certainly cannot trust the charger now.
Craig
Edited by 4reukmuskies 4/4/2016 9:32 PM
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| Could be either, how cold has it been in the last week, how long have they been off the charger and when did you last check the water level? My guess would be something failed to turn the charger to trickle after it was fully charged.
Edited by Fishysam 4/4/2016 10:20 PM
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Posts: 1760
Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | Wow!!!! I've seen batteries boil over but never explode. Charger on runaway?
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| The battery may have been over-voltage? Normally when the battery charges up to a certain level the voltage supplied by a "smart or 3-stage_charger" drops off to trickle or float charge the battery. If it keep charging it with the higher voltage it may have overheated the battery. Just an educated guess. |
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| I had the same thing happen to my interstate battery. I am hoping it just popped during one of the cold snaps we had this winter and its not my charger! |
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Location: NE Ohio | i had the same thing happen to a smaller die hard battery on a home emergency 15kw generator with a built in constant trickle charger. battery was same age as yours and outside the house. they said that the battery just decided to go. put a new battery in and tested it and all voltage going in was correct. its been good now for 3 years. the bad side is even though i cleaned and hosed everything off with baking soda and water and dried thoroughly i still had metal that rusted. don't know what it will do to your compartment but that battery acid is some very nasty stuff. |
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| Two possibilities:
Batteries produce hydrogen gas when charging, and you should always make sure the hatch of the compartment they're in is open while charging, otherwise hydrogen can accumulate to concentrations high enough to explode.
Also possible is a charger malfunction which caused an over-charging of the battery, which made the electrolyte boil and cause an overpressure in the battery case...
I think the 2nd more likely, looking at the damage to the case. |
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| Thanks for the input fellas. My hatch was open and the floor panel wasn't all the way closed either but it was covered enough none of the chemicals came outside the hatch. JC, I am not sure what you meant when you asked if charger was on runaway? Also, I don't think it was the cold, boat has been in my basement garage all winter. It does get cold in there over the winter but things rarely freeze and it hasn't dropped below 40 in there for a while now.
Craig |
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Posts: 1760
Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | 4reukmuskies - 4/5/2016 10:30 PM
Thanks for the input fellas. My hatch was open and the floor panel wasn't all the way closed either but it was covered enough none of the chemicals came outside the hatch. JC, I am not sure what you meant when you asked if charger was on runaway? Also, I don't think it was the cold, boat has been in my basement garage all winter. It does get cold in there over the winter but things rarely freeze and it hasn't dropped below 40 in there for a while now.
Craig
Your charger malfunctioned, is what I meant by "runaway". The auto function may have failed causing your batteries to over charge as ChemI was referring to. I personally never leave my charger plugged in longer than necessary. Especially in extreme heat. |
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Ideally if you are not going to use your battery for some time you want to keep it trickle or float charged with a maintainer that can also sense if the battery occasional needs higher charge as well. Leaving batteries setting uncharged for extended periods of time can lead to self discharge and possible sulfation.
Edited by NPike 4/6/2016 6:30 AM
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Posts: 422
| Ok thanks JC, I thought that was what you meant but wasn't sure. NPike, I could be wrong but aren't those chargers maintainers as well after the batteries get to a certain level? Regardless, I will not be using that one again so can you guys recommend a quality two bank charger that will also maintain batteries?
Thank you,
Craig |
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Posts: 612
| 4reukmuskies - 4/6/2016 10:39 PM
Ok thanks JC, I thought that was what you meant but wasn't sure. NPike, I could be wrong but aren't those chargers maintainers as well after the batteries get to a certain level? Regardless, I will not be using that one again so can you guys recommend a quality two bank charger that will also maintain batteries?
Thank you,
Craig
Hi Craig,
Some are and some aren't. It really depends on the specific charger-maintainer. A maintainer will always maintain a trickle-float charge as needed, but often doesn't supply a lot of amps to a heavily depleted battery. Some charges initially charge the battery then float charge it for a while and then shut off after a period of time. I don't use a 2 bank device sorry. I have 2 charger -maintainers. BTW you may want to contact Minn Kota I know their customer service is good at least as far as trolling motors goes? |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | 4reukmuskies - 4/4/2016 9:18 PM
Just wondering if any of you have experienced this and I am certainly not an electrician so any idea what may have caused it, bad battery or charger malfunction? Certainly cannot trust the charger now.
Craig
OK Craig, here's my perspective. There are two things that happened to cause the explosion.
1. Evolotion of hydrogen gas during recharge (something that is a normal part of the process).
2. An electrical spark inside of the battery. Possible causes are cracked intercell welds or post welds or a short circuit between a positive plate and a negative plate (the plates alternate in sequence).
Its not clear if your batteries are wetcell's or VRLA's. The photo seems to show a wet-cell because of the battery cell filler holes. A VRLA doesnt have removable filler caps. It also shows that there is no electrolyte covering the plates. If these are wet-cells, then I would suspect that a major factor is a lack of periodic maintenance to replenish lost electrolyte with distilled water...the explosion itself will not force all of the electrolye out of the battery jar, its physics 101, the plastic top is the weak link, most forces are directed up & out.
The battery may also have been bad and drawing excessive current from the charger, even though the charger was operating as it should. A periodic check of electrolyte levels should provide a clue, e.g., one battery is using more water than the other.
The charger may be just fine. Its easy to check it. First make sure the other "good" battery is filled to proper electrolyte levels. Go to local hardware store/home depot/menards and buy a inexpensive "digital volt/ohm meter" - read instructions and set it for 20V DC .
1. Connect the meter red lead to positive & black to negative. Write down the voltage. With charger leads normally connected to that battery, plug it in and wait 5 minutes - check the voltage again.
2. Unplug charger and disconnect the charger leads, now connect the leads normally connected to the bad battery. Repeat the test 1 measurements. The voltage should never go above ~14.4 to 14.8V.
3. As for the electrical spark, its not unusual to have cracked welds from vibration or jarring in a boat or a ATV. The only way to lessen it is to put some type of cushion under the batteries, not likely in most boats.
4. Its also possible that what looks like a perfectly good battery can explode while being charged, e.g. because of a cracked weld. It can happen with VRLA's too.
A. Don't leave the charger plugged in over 24 hours. Even a fully discharged TM battery should be fully recharged in 24hrs.
B. Given your charger is 10 years old, I would not expect much from Minnkota if it is bad.
C. If you have wet-cells inspect the electrolyte levels periodically. If both batteries are at same levels, all is good. If one battery or individual cells have lower electrolyte levels than the other battery, something is wrong with that battery or charger. If all cells are equally low its probably a charger control problem. Always go through a recharge cycle after adding distilled water to any cells.
D. A digital volt/ohm meter is a good tool to have in the boat, etc.
Battery voltages after charging with battery charger off for 8 hrs or more (resting):
Discharged = 10.5V or less.*
Partially discharged = 11V-12V*
Charged to 100% 0f capacity = 12.7V
*something is wrong! Either battery failure or charger failure.
I'm glad you didn't come home to be welcomed by the local fire department....
Good luck!
Al
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| ESOX Maniac - 4/7/2016 9:45 AM
A. Don't leave the charger plugged in over 24 hours. Even a fully discharged TM battery should be fully recharged in 24hrs.
B. Given your charger is 10 years old, I would not expect much from Minnkota if it is bad.
Concerning A) If you have a charger that functions as a maintainer there is absolutely no reason to remove the battery from the charger when it’s not in use. I keep mine in the maintainer mode for the entire winter. Have been doing this for 12 years. This extends the life of the battery by preventing self leakage and prevents sulfation. Not all chargers work well as maintainers. You must know your device.
Concerning B) Of course Minn Kota is not going to make good on the charger after all this time but they know their changers better than you or anybody else. Why not ask?
Edited by NPike 4/7/2016 1:59 PM
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Posts: 422
| I am definitely going to call Minn Kota and talk to them about it. I am not expecting any type of compensation due to the age of the charger and batteries. It certainly could have been one or the other or a combination of both. I had not checked the electrolyte levels all winter. Battery acid got all over the charger and damaged the outside of it and because of what happened, I don't want to chance it.
Edited by 4reukmuskies 4/7/2016 8:34 PM
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | NPike - 4/7/2016 1:57 PM
ESOX Maniac - 4/7/2016 9:45 AM
A. Don't leave the charger plugged in over 24 hours. Even a fully discharged TM battery should be fully recharged in 24hrs.
B. Given your charger is 10 years old, I would not expect much from Minnkota if it is bad.
Concerning A ) If you have a charger that functions as a maintainer there is absolutely no reason to remove the battery from the charger when it’s not in use. I keep mine in the maintainer mode for the entire winter. Have been doing this for 12 years. This extends the life of the battery by preventing self leakage and prevents sulfation. Not all chargers work well as maintainers. You must know your device.
Concerning B ) Of course Minn Kota is not going to make good on the charger after all this time but they know their changers better than you or anybody else. Why not ask?
LOL! I suspect I know more about lead-acid batteries and chargers than anyone in this forum......Your battery maintainer is a risk! Anyone who says they aren't is a fool. 12 years, you're a lucky man!
Guess what? He will probably get same instructions from Minnkota or they may ask him to send it in..
https://www.linkedin.com/in/al-warner-55727952?authType=NAME_SEARCH&...
These folks actually have a lot of factual truth here.
"HOW LONG CAN I LEAVE THE BATTERY TENDER® PLUS BATTERY CHARGER CONNECTED TO A BATTERY?
In theory, you can leave the Battery Tender® Plus battery charger connected to a battery forever. That’s a really long time. Sales people like to say, “Just plug it in and forget about it!” However, practically speaking, it is a good idea to check on the battery at least once every couple of weeks. Strange things can happen. Sometimes a battery can have a weak cell that won’t show up until the worst possible time. Of course, that time is usually when the battery is connected to a charger, and you are out of town on vacation.
If something goes wrong, then you have to deal with the question of the chicken and the egg. Which came first? Did the battery fail because it was connected to the charger or did the charger fail because it was connected to the battery? Good luck sorting that one out.
With a battery and a charger connected together, it’s a much better idea to be proactive and anticipate problems, however unlikely they may be. In more than 99.9% of cases, nothing will go wrong. That still leaves about 0.1% where something might. Learn to respect electricity. A little common sense can go a long way.
Also consider this. No matter how good a product is, anything can break. In fact, everything will break, eventually. There are only 2 questions to be answered. 1) When will it fail? & more importantly 2) How will it fail? If a product is designed and built well, a manufacturer will set a long warranty period, usually several years, to support that notion. Deltran, and other responsible manufacturers, invest a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money to ensure that their products will fail in a relatively safe manner. For electronic products, at the very least that means no electrical shock or fire hazard.
The Battery Tender® Plus battery charger has a 10 year limited warranty, which is unprecedented among battery charger manufacturers. And it is listed with Underwriter’s Laboratories to comply with both US and Canadian electrical product safety standards for battery chargers used with engine start batteries. "
LOL! - a couple of weeks? It doesn't take weeks for strange things to happen. Really, don't you wonder why I don't use one? At the very least, leave your boat outside, that way you won't lose your home too..Oh, yeah I almost forgot, also get a good lightning surge suppressor for your battery charger outlet...
If you want to read the whole FAQ's ->
http://www.batterytender.com/Frequently-Asked-Questions/
Some practical advice about chargers.
http://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Selecting-a-Battery-Charger
Have fun!
Al
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | 4reukmuskies - 4/7/2016 8:32 PM
I am definitely going to call Minn Kota and talk to them about it. I am not expecting any type of compensation due to the age of the charger and batteries. It certainly could have been one or the other or a combination of both. I had not checked the electrolyte levels all winter. Battery acid got all over the charger and damaged the outside of it and because of what happened, I don't want to chance it.
Definitely something bad happened in the battery, e.g., because of the ignition spark. Cracked welds are not unusual where conditions of use include vibration or jarring/shock...entirely normal for a boat....
There's also another source road shock/vibration, e.g., while trailering your boat. Some of the roads we drag our boats down are not the best to say the least....crap happens, and if you expect it you won't be surprised and you may limit the damages. The batteries in my boat are a critical component for its performance, they are just big plastic boxes of lead & electrolyte. But they can be very dangerous too.. I said this in Muskies Inc article a long time ago "That battery didn't just die, it was murdered!"
Read this old thread.
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=98...
Good luck!
Al
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