Last season, I purchased a new Canyon Cat 28RBS and it had the single low amp hour battery. I talked to a few people who convinced me to upgrade to a dual battery system. I purchased 2 Duracell 6V Model SLIGC125 batteries and cases. I wired them up correctly and went all season without an issue. And my 12V system lasted for days without a recharge. Now, I am getting the camper ready for this season and pulled the batteries to recharge them and found one that had a split top and leaked out one of the cells. I exchanged it at Battery Plus for a new one (Great place to get batteries) and returned home to find the other one leaking from the rim at the top all the way around. So, my questions are, did I do something wrong with them while in storage? And are they supposed to leak from the rim like that for any reason? When i wiped it down after settling for a bit, it didn't seem to leak as much. Very concerned since they were a couple hundred dollars each. Thanks.

Dead or low batteries can freeze and split. Did you keep them charged over the winter?

hawkeye-08 wrote:Dead or low batteries can freeze and split. Did you keep them charged over the winter?My thoughts also. A charged battery won't freeze. I am surprised they would warranty a frozen battery.

As previously stated split battery maybe sign of freezing - but it's just about impossible to freeze a decently charged battery. If you went through a season then your must have hooked them up correctly. Defective product would be high on my list but I would check whether your converter is working properly.Also - no offense intended but Battery Plus isn't known for great prices and I doubt many experienced RVers buy coach batteries from them - don't think Duracell coach batteries are well known either.

Did you fully charge the battles in the fall and either kept the trailer plugged in or used a battery disconnect so the draw was off the batteries. I bring my battery in the house for the winter. Use to have a golf cart with 6 bat ties and we would charge them on the last day and hope for the best over the winter. In 11 years we only lost 1 or 2 batteries.

My Remedy :AGM BatteriesThese are the kind that you can mount sideways because they are gel .AGM construction batteries on my trailer and my truck . I paid $ 140 each for exide edge AGM batteries at bimart / Oregon . Do a google " AGM " for the reasons to do AGM . AGM are maintenance free , do not leak , do not off gas , have faster recharge , will take more abusive deep discharging than conventional battery construction . My main reason for switching was the acid leakage from my conventional lead acid batteries .EXIDE EDGE AGM batteries are made in the Carolinas USA as I recall .

Leaking Batteries | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

beemerphile1
Explorer
Apr 16, 2015
firefightersink wrote:
Thank you all, I feel kind of stupid. I am used to sealed gel batteries and when I switched, I didn't realize they contained water. I froze them. New point on the checklist to remove batteries. Also found water in my battery cases. Added to the mayhem. Thanks again for the info and replies. Always valued.

Sometimes we learn from others mistakes and sometimes we make our own mistakes. Hopefully someone else will see this and avoid making the same mistake.

The key is to keep the batteries charged and they won't freeze in normal winter temperatures.
Lowsuv
Explorer
Apr 16, 2015
beemerphile 1 is correct.
AGM = Absorbed Glass Mat
They are not gel
It has been a while since I made the switch to the Exide Edge AGM batteries .
When I was making the switch out of the conventional lead acid batteries I was a student of the different battery choices .
Low Suv regrets the error .
The AGM batteries solved my leakage problem .
No more conventional batteries for me in the cars, boat , or trailer.
ewarnerusa
Nomad
Apr 16, 2015
firefightersink wrote:
Thank you all, I feel kind of stupid. I am used to sealed gel batteries and when I switched, I didn't realize they contained water. I froze them. New point on the checklist to remove batteries. Also found water in my battery cases. Added to the mayhem. Thanks again for the info and replies. Always valued.

It is the discharged state that allowed them to freeze, not just because they have water. A fully charged lead-acid battery will not freeze under typical winter temperatures.
http://www.progressivedyn.com/battery_basics.html
Can my batteries freeze?
If your battery is partially discharged, the electrolyte in a lead acid battery may freeze. At a 40% state of charge, electrolyte will freeze if the temperature drops to approximately -16 degrees F. When a battery is fully charged the electrolyte will not freeze until the temperature drops to approximately -92 degrees F.

Although maybe the battery cases filled with rain water over the camping season and THAT water froze during winter and crushed the batteries within them? My old 12V cases didn't have any way to drain and I did find one filled to the brim with water once. I drilled drain holes in the bottoms of my 6V battery cases so that wouldn't happen again.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Apr 16, 2015
Lowsuv wrote:
My Remedy :
AGM Batteries
These are the kind that you can mount sideways because they are gel .

AGM construction batteries on my trailer and my truck .
I paid $ 140 each for exide edge AGM batteries at bimart / Oregon .
Do a google " AGM " for the reasons to do AGM .
AGM are maintenance free , do not leak , do not off gas , have faster recharge , will take more abusive deep discharging than conventional battery construction .

My main reason for switching was the acid leakage from my conventional lead acid batteries .
EXIDE EDGE AGM batteries are made in the Carolinas USA as I recall .

AGM batteries and gel batteries are two different things.

I do have gel batteries in my Aliner but they are actually wheelchair batteries.
firefightersink
Explorer
Apr 15, 2015
Thank you all, I feel kind of stupid. I am used to sealed gel batteries and when I switched, I didn't realize they contained water. I froze them. New point on the checklist to remove batteries. Also found water in my battery cases. Added to the mayhem. Thanks again for the info and replies. Always valued.
ewarnerusa
Nomad
Apr 15, 2015
Were the batteries left hooked up to the camper all winter and the camper left unplugged? If so, small parasitic loads from the camper (propane detector, stereo clock, etc.) drained the battery completely. Then, as pointed out, it was able to freeze from winter exposure which was their death sentence. Remove batteries or fully disconnect them when in storage. Or install solar.
Lowsuv
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
My Remedy :
AGM Batteries
These are the kind that you can mount sideways because they are gel .

AGM construction batteries on my trailer and my truck .
I paid $ 140 each for exide edge AGM batteries at bimart / Oregon .
Do a google " AGM " for the reasons to do AGM .
AGM are maintenance free , do not leak , do not off gas , have faster recharge , will take more abusive deep discharging than conventional battery construction .

My main reason for switching was the acid leakage from my conventional lead acid batteries .
EXIDE EDGE AGM batteries are made in the Carolinas USA as I recall .
GaryWT
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
Did you fully charge the battles in the fall and either kept the trailer plugged in or used a battery disconnect so the draw was off the batteries. I bring my battery in the house for the winter. Use to have a golf cart with 6 bat ties and we would charge them on the last day and hope for the best over the winter. In 11 years we only lost 1 or 2 batteries.
ksg5000
Explorer II
Apr 14, 2015
As previously stated split battery maybe sign of freezing - but it's just about impossible to freeze a decently charged battery. If you went through a season then your must have hooked them up correctly. Defective product would be high on my list but I would check whether your converter is working properly.

Also - no offense intended but Battery Plus isn't known for great prices and I doubt many experienced RVers buy coach batteries from them - don't think Duracell coach batteries are well known either.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
hawkeye-08 wrote:
Dead or low batteries can freeze and split. Did you keep them charged over the winter?

My thoughts also. A charged battery won't freeze. I am surprised they would warranty a frozen battery.