Sunday, Sep 15, 2013 at 19:03
Now this raises a couple of issues.
Firstly, people need to understand that batteries and chargers fail.
SO
We have this failed battery...." and the smell went throughout the van"
HMMM so is this battery mounted inside the van...and is it vented to outside air....betya it isn't......if it was properly installed and vented the smell should not be in the van.
The smell is probably the least of ya worries.....good thing you are not a smoker or turned a light on.
There was very likley a high concentration of hydrogen in there...very real chance of an explosion.
If that battery was left longer continuing to be charged, getting hotter and hotter, there is a very real chance that it would have exploded all by its self.
then there is the slightly lesser problem of acid fumes.
I have had many arguments on line about proper installation and ventilation of batteries in 4wds and camper/caravans.
I don't care how
well you think your battery is sealed or how good you think ya charger is.....batteries and chargers fail, when they do fail, all batteries will vent explosive gasses and corrosive fumes......if they did not vent those gasses they would explode very early on.
But still we all too often see batteries installed inside caravans, boats and vehicles and not properly vented to the outside air.
Secondly..batteries require supervision.
Leaving a battery continuously on charge day after day unattended is not a clever idea.
Yes in industry we do have batteries on charge 24/7/365, but they are in specific situations and using particular chargers...AND..they should be looked at regularly.
These digital chargers we are seeing are known to get confused, they are known to over charge batteries for no apparant reason.
If this is spotted early, there should be no problem.
But when we have a battery that has been chronicaly stewed like this ..it can get very, very nasty.
Lots of people seem to think that their batteries need to be continuously on charge when they are not using them.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
If your battery is in good condition, it should sit there happily by its self and hold charge for 2 or 3 months.
so giving it an overnight charge once a month should be plenty.
Another issue that may or may not be a problem here.
There are lots of people running with mutiple chargers connected to a battery at the same time....sometimes this works...sometimes these multiple charges confuse each other.....unless you have a charging system specifically designed to run multiple sources of charge safer to run one charger at a time.
SO please.
think about how your battery is installed...if it is not clearly isolated from the interior of the vehicle and obviously
well vented to outside air...plenty aren't....seriuolsy ...do something about it.
If you are going to run some sort of battery system....pay attention to it.
When you are actively using the system
check the battery daily..at least read the voltage.
When the system is not being used, don't just leave it there stewing.....ya not doing the battery any good.......
Best to give the system a days charge once a month.....if ya battery wont hold charge that long ya battery has had it.
Be very careful with these modern chargers.......nothing will stick charge to a battery better and look after a battery better than one of these modern chargers..when they are running
well.....but they can and do get confused.
AND
Only run one source of charge unless you have a system specifically designed otherwise.
OH and as a final shot.
If you have a battery that gets hot...be very very careful.....turnoff the charger or disconnect the charge somewhere away from the battery if you can...and walk away..and stay away for at least 20 minutes.
Batteries on the verge of distruction can blow up in your face with the slightest disturbance.
If you have a 12 volt battery reading in single figures...less than 10 volts.....its shot...forget it.
Don't try putting it on charge it may very
well blow up
Sorry to be so upity about this......but I have seen the results and know the reasons all too
well.
cheers
AnswerID:
518206