Battery queston

[Justin2729]

Hey. just threw my trolling batt on charge and its making a hissing noise and water is coming out anyone know what's wrong the battery isn't even a year old.

[Rolling Tide]

I haven't a clue but it sure sounds bad to me.

[egolfer]

I wouldn't worry about it as I hear it sometimes and I do not have any battery issues. The batteries might have be too full of water so what you hear is the gas escaping.

[Justin2729]

that's what i was thinking i put water in it bout 2 weeks ago so i guess that's what it is ill keep a eye on it just in case lol thanks guys

[bamabassman]

This can lead to a problem later on now guys. Leaking water mixed with acid ain't good ya know. I sudjest if it is still under warranty, return it for another.

[nofearengineer]

Your battery should only bubble when it's being overcharged. This is not always a bad thing, as it is sometimes intentional, i.e. when it is being equalized.

Your 12V battery is really six 2V batteries (cells) connected in series. And no cell is exactly the same as the others. When you equalize a battery, you "boil off" excess electrolyte until the very last cell begins to bubble. At that point, all of your cells will be at the same voltage, and your battey's capacity will be maximized. You then test the concentration of the cells that have boiled off some of their electrolyte, and refill with acid and/or distilled water in the right proportion to bring the cell back to the proper concentration.

If your battery is off-gassing violently, that could be a sign that you are charging it too fast. Also, if one cell simply refuses to bubble, and you're causing the other batteries to run dry, you could have a bad battery which needs to be replaced.

Most flooded lead-acid battery manufacturers recommend you equalize your batteries once in a while. This really can't be done with most of the modern "smart chargers" we have in our boats...they don't charge at a high enough voltage. However, they maintain the batteries better, so it presumably doesn't need to be done as often.

[Justin2729]

well i don't know if it fixed it self or what but it held great charge i fished all day long yesterday and just used a small percent of the battery and it isn't hissing anymore.

[nofearengineer]

Justin, I would expect it to have been fully charged, from a voltage standpoint. However, any time you boil a battery...make it hiss...some of the liquid inside is lost, and the total capacity is reduced. That is why it needs to be filled back up with the proper concentration of sulfuric acid.

Not saying you did any damage...you just might want to look into re-filling it.

[Justin2729]

alright i don't know that much about them thanks for the info ill look into it.

[woody]

I have also heard that the battery should be fully charged before filling, in order to avoid over filling.


-Mark

[Voodoo526]

You should check to make sure you dont have a crack in the battery. Gassing of wet cell batteries is result of over-charging, but over-charging is bad. It will eventually warp the plates and cause premature failure of the battery. DONT increase the voltage of charge (if you can do it). Some battery technologies can handle higher volatges (i.e. AGM), but can destroy wet or gell cell batteries. Batteries equalize, if charged independently. They do not need to be over-charged for equalization to occur. The only time to increase the voltage on a battery is IF, that wont accept any charge. Then you can apply a higher voltage to kick-start the charge process, then go back to regular charging. Smart battery chargers are your best option for keeping your batteries fully charged. Also, check your voltage on your AC line. The voltage could be higher than 117VAC. Most chargers can not compensate for this increase and overcharge batteries. Not sure which chargers can and cannot do this, but check out NOCO Genius. Their website is www.geniuschargers.com. They have all of these features.