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Posts: 1451
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | My maintenance free starting battery froze..not cracked that I can see. It is thawing out. Will it hold a charge or should I get new? |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | If the battery froze, it has probably warped some of the plates inside and caused it to expand. The reason it probably froze was because it wasn't fully charged. It's time for a new one if your positive it froze completely. Otherwise, take it in and get it load tested if your not completely sure. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | One other thing, a frozen battery will have a bulged out case if it did freeze. |
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Posts: 49
Location: St. Croix River, Mille Lacs, | T.J.'s right it needed a charge. First off what kind of battery is it? I would let it thaw completely, bring it in the house if your sig. other will be ok with that, then charge it with no less than 10amps. Shocking it with a 40amp start/boost may not be the answer unless if after 6-8 hours of a 10amp charge the battery the battery is unresponsive and then ONLY with protective gear on, outside and for no more than 5-7 seconds one time. Check for case cracks and cracks around the posts. ALWAYS wear safety glasses and gloves around battery's, I prefer a face shield when they are charging. I have seen wwwaaaayyyyy to many blow up due to the instability of the battery. Be safe |
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Posts: 5874
| If it was fully frozen, it's probably DOA. Certainly if it bulged the case. I would never bring a battery in the house to charge. The only way a battery is going to freeze is if it was not fully charged. Now, it all depends on how completely it was frozen. Just the water above the plates, or worse, enough to break the plates, and bulge the case.
Try to charge it, and do a load test. It may still be OK, or it may have weakened the plates which will then break when you really need it. On the water. |
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Posts: 3479
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hi everyone,
I look at this and think: "Is it worth the risk?" A starting battery is not an extremely high expense, and knowing that it did freeze (to what extent is unknown) will you ever feel like the battery will be 100% reliable?
If you read "into" Shep's last statement, I agree with him...he knows his stuff!!
Steve |
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Posts: 2752
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | TJ's right; if it froze, it was not fully charged, it's probably toast. I would be very careful if trying to recharge it and load test the battery. The charging process generates hydrogen gas internal to the battery. If there is a cracked plate connector or inner cell weld, you could get a spark and a explosion.
A fully charged lead-acid battery can handle -92F. When a battery is discharged the specific gravity of the electrolyte changes because the ratio of water (H20) and sulphuric acid has been changed by the discharge process electro-chemistry. This effectively raises the freezing point of the electrolyte. If the battery is discharged to zero volts- the electrolyte is almost pure water. Check out the electrolyte freezing points on page #4 of 8 in this Trojan Deep Cycle Battery Mainetenance Manual. There is lot's of valuable information in this document.
http://www.backwoodssolar.com/newsletter/pdf/Trojan%20Deep%20Cycle%...
Have fun!
Al
"My advice to anglers who hold fish up vertically by the gills is to eat it." Dr. Colin Attwood, Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Roggebaai, South Africa.
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Posts: 1451
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | Thanks for all the ideas guys--I wound up bringing it inside--I feel pretty dumb b/c what I thought was ice inside the filler holes was not. The bat was not registering when hooked up to my 3 bank charger--only flashing--the marina where they winteriZed it said they had to jump it to get it going-- I noticed the water level was low so I filled it up evanthou it is maintenance free. Then when I put it back in the boat and hooked it back up it took a charge and I now have green light on charger again. |
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Posts: 743
| It's my understanding that if it froze it needed to be replaced anyways. A good battery will not freeze. |
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Posts: 2752
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Cowboyhannah - 12/30/2008 8:26 PM
Thanks for all the ideas guys--I wound up bringing it inside--I feel pretty dumb b/c what I thought was ice inside the filler holes was not. The bat was not registering when hooked up to my 3 bank charger--only flashing--the marina where they winteriZed it said they had to jump it to get it going-- I noticed the water level was low so I filled it up evanthou it is maintenance free. Then when I put it back in the boat and hooked it back up it took a charge and I now have green light on charger again.
Cowboy- you need to take it in and get it load tested. Adding water to an AGM VRLA battery dillutes the battery electrolyte specific gravity (SG) - you may have green charger light, but perhaps not a good battery for your needs. See table 1 of this document below. The new lower SG will impact the short duty performance - high rate discharge. You will likely see this in cold-cranking-amps (CCA) test, so if you're looking for high burst's of power like engine cranking etc. ->
http://www.engineersedge.com/battery/specific_gravity_battery.htm
Four things to do in getting it properly tested.
1. Make sure it's fully charged or what appears to be fully charged, i.e., make sure it's been charged within the last 24 hrs and off from charge/resting for ~8 hrs.
2. Check the open circuit voltage- before any load testing - see chart on page 3 of 8 in link from previous post.
3. Do CCA test - if OK and battery is for your trolling motor go to 4 below.
4. Capacity test. A 12V lead-acid battery is considered as 100% discharged when it reaches 10.5V (1.75Vpc) for low rate discharges. This test verifies/shows the deep cycle capacity. Normally this is also called the marine reserve capacity test. This test is usually run at 25A load. Timing starts when the load is applied and stops when the battery voltage reaches 10.5V
A brand new "good battery" can easily freeze. f.ex. you live in N. Minnestota, so you and a friend decide to escape winter for a week and go fish Cave Run KY. Last day there you fish real hard all day into evening- running the TM all day- end of day it's out of juice/discharged to 10.5V or less. You load up & hit the long road home-driving straight through. (no battery recharge) Start hitting snow in Chicago 10F with brutal wind, 10 hrs later by the time you hit Duluth you are in a raging blizzard with -35F temps and wind chills in the -50's. 3 hrs later you're finally home in Eveleth. I'll bet your new battery is a lead filled popsicle!
Al
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | If it froze you might get it to come back but it will Not last. Remember Murphys law if anything can go wrong it will,when you need it the most is when it will let you down. |
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