House Battery on 5th Wheel Exploded
The 12 volt deep cycle marine battery on my 5th wheel exploded while my trailer was hooked up to shore power. The top of the battery had three holes in it, and there was some acid in the battery comp...
Forum Discussion
A very likely scenario.......
As batteries age the negative plates become poisoned with antimony transfer from the positive plate. Too high of float voltage is the #1 culprit but repeated sulfation is also not uncommon.
Batteries that are aged, mistreated, that have a lot of antimony transfer can electrolisize TWENTY TIMES the amount of water consumed when new.
Electrolyte level goes down. The battery cells fill two to one with oxygen-hydrogen which is a marvellous fuel/air explosive.
A cell strap (to plate connector) erodes or cracks, allowing a tiny spark.
Sounds similar to the discharge of a .410 shotgun.
Before you proceed it would be wise to match the battery charger to whatever battery you decide on. If you boondock a lot and rely on generator power to recharge then that issue must be resolved as well - the matching of a method of charging that is not measured by length of time by changes in phases of the moon. I.E. reasonable length of needed gen runtime.
As batteries age the negative plates become poisoned with antimony transfer from the positive plate. Too high of float voltage is the #1 culprit but repeated sulfation is also not uncommon.
Batteries that are aged, mistreated, that have a lot of antimony transfer can electrolisize TWENTY TIMES the amount of water consumed when new.
Electrolyte level goes down. The battery cells fill two to one with oxygen-hydrogen which is a marvellous fuel/air explosive.
A cell strap (to plate connector) erodes or cracks, allowing a tiny spark.
Sounds similar to the discharge of a .410 shotgun.
Before you proceed it would be wise to match the battery charger to whatever battery you decide on. If you boondock a lot and rely on generator power to recharge then that issue must be resolved as well - the matching of a method of charging that is not measured by length of time by changes in phases of the moon. I.E. reasonable length of needed gen runtime.
