Exploded Battery!
Last night around 9 PM, we heard what sounded like a gunshot. Went out and looked around. No clues. This morning I see that one of the two 12V batteries on the tongue of my 20 ft trailer had exploded!...
Forum Discussion
To answer all the questions raise since I answered.
Many more boats use a pair of GC2s for the house bank because they work better and last longer. If the boat can manage the weight, it is a good idea.
As to "Marine" batteries, they are just a compromise between a deep cycle (that they are not) and a good starting battery (that they are also not). If is a house bank and you want to run 2 each 12V Jars (old battery talk from when they were just "jars", (but I am old too, so it fits and it is a shorter word), and strap (meaning connect them - we used to do this with copper straps) them in parallel, then you should also be aware that unless they came off the line one after the other, you will never get capacity X 2. If you are lucky you might get 1.75. They do not play well in parallel.
I have only ever seen one explosion in a bank of 6Vs. That one actually burned a terminal when the owner cross to the house bank onto the main engine battery to try to start an engine that really needed the fuel system bleed correctly.
A very big advantage to me with the paralleled 12V set up is that if one cell in one jar goes bad, an explosion is almost certain and I get paid good money to clean up the mess.
Matt
Many more boats use a pair of GC2s for the house bank because they work better and last longer. If the boat can manage the weight, it is a good idea.
As to "Marine" batteries, they are just a compromise between a deep cycle (that they are not) and a good starting battery (that they are also not). If is a house bank and you want to run 2 each 12V Jars (old battery talk from when they were just "jars", (but I am old too, so it fits and it is a shorter word), and strap (meaning connect them - we used to do this with copper straps) them in parallel, then you should also be aware that unless they came off the line one after the other, you will never get capacity X 2. If you are lucky you might get 1.75. They do not play well in parallel.
I have only ever seen one explosion in a bank of 6Vs. That one actually burned a terminal when the owner cross to the house bank onto the main engine battery to try to start an engine that really needed the fuel system bleed correctly.
A very big advantage to me with the paralleled 12V set up is that if one cell in one jar goes bad, an explosion is almost certain and I get paid good money to clean up the mess.
Matt
