hi can any one give me some advice ,we have a eldiss typhoon 2000 model and we have a problem when we came home the other day to our van we noticed a strange smell and after looking we found out that the battery had been cooked and started to swell can any one tell me the reason for this our battery is about 2yrs old and has always been kept in the van in storage so has always been discharged till we get on site .our volt meter in the van says 14 volts even when i took the battery off and just ran off charger many thanks mike
battery overcharging
- Thread starter carp
- Start date
That is not really a good way to run a battery, sounds like it is knackered.
You are better off taking the battery off if you are not using it and charging it once a month for a few hours.
If you want to check your existing battery charge it once and see how well the voltage stays up over the next month - all of my good batteries will still show over 12.5V.
Also check that the electrolyte level has not dropped below the plates.
I am not sure if you should get it checked by an auto battery dealer as the high discharge method they use could possibly damage a leisure battery.
You are better off taking the battery off if you are not using it and charging it once a month for a few hours.
If you want to check your existing battery charge it once and see how well the voltage stays up over the next month - all of my good batteries will still show over 12.5V.
Also check that the electrolyte level has not dropped below the plates.
I am not sure if you should get it checked by an auto battery dealer as the high discharge method they use could possibly damage a leisure battery.
Damian
Moderator
Michael, if as you say your current battery has malformed, (ie swelledup) then you need to get rid of it immediately, it will be of no use whatsoever and trying to charge a faulty battery will only end in disaster.
It is the quickest way to kill a battery by leaving it discharged, or partially discharged over the winter.
It sounds as if your charger is outputting a constant 14 volts, which may or may not be right for the type fitted, but if it is, then it is simply overcharging and you should not leave it in the charge position for extended periods of time, as it will cause the electrolyte to boil and be lost as vapour, leaving your battery plates dry.
As Garry has said, the best storage over winter is at home, in a cool but frost free place and charged every couple of months, or left connected to a multi stage charger, as long as you check the electrolyte levels regularly.
It is the quickest way to kill a battery by leaving it discharged, or partially discharged over the winter.
It sounds as if your charger is outputting a constant 14 volts, which may or may not be right for the type fitted, but if it is, then it is simply overcharging and you should not leave it in the charge position for extended periods of time, as it will cause the electrolyte to boil and be lost as vapour, leaving your battery plates dry.
As Garry has said, the best storage over winter is at home, in a cool but frost free place and charged every couple of months, or left connected to a multi stage charger, as long as you check the electrolyte levels regularly.
Yeah, you shouldn't EVER leave a battery in your caravan during the 'winter lay up'.
Keep it in your shed or garage and give it a monthly top-up charge, and it will last you well. Incidentally NEVER charge a battery on a cold concrete floor, as it can destroy the cells.
I agree with the other posters here. If your battery has started to swell, then get rid of it. If it DID burst, the damage it would do to your caravan doesn't even bear thinking about. Remember, these things contain ACID!!
Keep it in your shed or garage and give it a monthly top-up charge, and it will last you well. Incidentally NEVER charge a battery on a cold concrete floor, as it can destroy the cells.
I agree with the other posters here. If your battery has started to swell, then get rid of it. If it DID burst, the damage it would do to your caravan doesn't even bear thinking about. Remember, these things contain ACID!!
Hi Mike,
Unfortunate experience, certainly the swollen case means an immediate replacement.
But it sounds like you killed the battery or was just unlucky:
If the battery was truly totally discharged when stored, then a process called "sulfation" happens - whereby the sulfate in the sulfuric acid permanently and irreversibly bonds to the lead plates. This will kill the battery.
You can also cause sulfation if you seriously overcharge the battery - and serious overcharging can cause a sealed battery to swell. This will also kill the battery.
Probably, the battery died whilst being left discharged - then died again from the overcharge because it is no longer a working battery and won't respond properly to a 14V charge.
One other common way for a battery to die is if a cell fails - usually a piece of lead drops off a plate and shorts the cell out - reducing the nominal 12 volt battery to a 10 volt battery - and this will immediately overcharge.
It's best to store the battery in a fully charged state - as close to 100% as possible - or between 75% and 100% if you only recharge on a monthly basis.
100% charged battery = voltage of 12.9 volts
75% charged = 12.5 volts
50% charged = 12.2 volts
25% charged (effectively discharged) = 12 volts
External voltage required to fully charge a battery = 14.4 volts
So your charger looks like it is producing the correct voltage.
Robert
Unfortunate experience, certainly the swollen case means an immediate replacement.
But it sounds like you killed the battery or was just unlucky:
If the battery was truly totally discharged when stored, then a process called "sulfation" happens - whereby the sulfate in the sulfuric acid permanently and irreversibly bonds to the lead plates. This will kill the battery.
You can also cause sulfation if you seriously overcharge the battery - and serious overcharging can cause a sealed battery to swell. This will also kill the battery.
Probably, the battery died whilst being left discharged - then died again from the overcharge because it is no longer a working battery and won't respond properly to a 14V charge.
One other common way for a battery to die is if a cell fails - usually a piece of lead drops off a plate and shorts the cell out - reducing the nominal 12 volt battery to a 10 volt battery - and this will immediately overcharge.
It's best to store the battery in a fully charged state - as close to 100% as possible - or between 75% and 100% if you only recharge on a monthly basis.
100% charged battery = voltage of 12.9 volts
75% charged = 12.5 volts
50% charged = 12.2 volts
25% charged (effectively discharged) = 12 volts
External voltage required to fully charge a battery = 14.4 volts
So your charger looks like it is producing the correct voltage.
Robert
Keith you said "Yeah, you shouldn't EVER leave a battery in your caravan during the 'winter lay up'." I confess that I was propsoing to leave mine in the caravan connected up as normal and then "trickle" charged by the solar panel on the roof. Isn't that OK? What damage could I do by this method?
Thanks for explaining this to me.
John
Thanks for explaining this to me.
John
Thanks for pointing that out - the bit about swelling did not register.
Do not charge the battery - if it is knackered it will effectively be overcharging the good cells and this will produce an explosive and poisonous gas, if you are not letting the gas escape by undoing the fillers than this could cause a build up and the swelling in the case.
For the sake of peace of mind around
Do not charge the battery - if it is knackered it will effectively be overcharging the good cells and this will produce an explosive and poisonous gas, if you are not letting the gas escape by undoing the fillers than this could cause a build up and the swelling in the case.
For the sake of peace of mind around
J.I.S.
If you are going to leave it for months the best thing would be to remove it and charge as discussed.
If you were leaving it somewhere where you might need the alarm and it could run off of the solar panel without discharging than it should be OK, although batteries do not perform as well in extreme cold.
You might need to check the voltage occasionally during the colder weather and darker days to make sure.
I run 2 batteries and take them both home for a charge after each rally in the cold weather, mind you they are mostly green field rallies and they need to be topped up or rotated even during the summer.
My oldest battery is over 3 years old (came with my last s/h van) and is still good after c.50 rallies.
If you are going to leave it for months the best thing would be to remove it and charge as discussed.
If you were leaving it somewhere where you might need the alarm and it could run off of the solar panel without discharging than it should be OK, although batteries do not perform as well in extreme cold.
You might need to check the voltage occasionally during the colder weather and darker days to make sure.
I run 2 batteries and take them both home for a charge after each rally in the cold weather, mind you they are mostly green field rallies and they need to be topped up or rotated even during the summer.
My oldest battery is over 3 years old (came with my last s/h van) and is still good after c.50 rallies.
many thanks to all for replying it looks like i need a new battery thanks for all the advice many thanks mike
Since I bought my 'van 3 years ago I have never removed it over winter, never charged it except when on site (I mean with the 240 volt supply switched on), never disconnected it, and yet all electrics work fine, and yet everyone says to remove and charge it over winter! My 'van is now laid up for winter, under covered storage, in France with the battery in its usual place undisturbed. Why is it still working then?
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