Forum Discussion

TugCamp's avatar
TugCamp
Explorer
Apr 26, 2014

Battery Corrosion

When prepping for our spring family trip I opened to battery compartment to check the water levels on the house batteries and found severe corrosion on the fastening brackets that secure the batteries to the tray. I removed the brackets, cleaned, sanded and painted them. When we got back from the trip after cleaning and parking, I opened the compartment to connect the float chargers and found the corrosion starting again. These are the original (2012) Napa batteries, the corrosion is only effecting the house batteries not the starting battery. I know this is probably because the starting battery is a sealed unit vs. the vented house batteries but I'm looking for any tips or tricks to stop the corrosion other than using sealed batteries. The corrosion is only effecting the brackets the terminal posts are clean...any help is appreciated.
Class A
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Apr 28, 2014
    Well being as I'm in my 60's I recall when there were no Maintenance free batteries and corrosion of the battery compartment was a given.

    Keep cleaning, wash with baking soda then rinse well with plain water.. Paint I suggest an epoxy type paint or a very good rust control (ACME for example).

    DO NOT OVERFILL

    And what converter do you have.. Some tend to encourage boil over more than others.
  • Sully2's avatar
    Sully2
    Explorer
    Apr 28, 2014
    Pass42 wrote:
    after the Vasoline has been on for a while, take your multi-meter.... one contact on the positive terminal, drag the other contact across the area where the vasoline is... you will see a voltage reading, because the normal slight venting of the battery will deposit some acid, which will adhere to the vasoline, creating a current path across the battery. This will accelerate standing discharge of the battery's state of charge. Better choice is to use a commercially available battery cleaner, with leak detector, followed by a commercially available battery protector spray......


    Horsefeathers...You are scraping thru the Vasoline and making contact with the bare terminal under it.

    It beats the red terminal protection stuff you can spray on...and never get off! Sticks to your skin...shop rags...tools and instruments...everything. Such a mess.
  • Pass42's avatar
    Pass42
    Explorer
    Apr 28, 2014
    after the Vasoline has been on for a while, take your multi-meter.... one contact on the positive terminal, drag the other contact across the area where the vasoline is... you will see a voltage reading, because the normal slight venting of the battery will deposit some acid, which will adhere to the vasoline, creating a current path across the battery. This will accelerate standing discharge of the battery's state of charge. Better choice is to use a commercially available battery cleaner, with leak detector, followed by a commercially available battery protector spray......
  • crasster's avatar
    crasster
    Explorer II
    Apr 27, 2014
    Sully2 wrote:
    Coat any and all exposed surfaces with thick coat of VASOLINE or equiv.


    X2

    Works great!
  • Sully2's avatar
    Sully2
    Explorer
    Apr 27, 2014
    J-Rooster wrote:
    Sully2 wrote:
    Coat any and all exposed surfaces with thick coat of VASOLINE or equiv.
    I agree with this post and just fill your battery with distilled water until you see a cat eye in the water.


    YUP!
  • Westenthal's avatar
    Westenthal
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2014
    I use a bicycle chain lube in a spray can. It is a petroleum based product that is sticky and will stay on the terminals longer.
  • J-Rooster's avatar
    J-Rooster
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2014
    Sully2 wrote:
    Coat any and all exposed surfaces with thick coat of VASOLINE or equiv.
    I agree with this post and just fill your battery with distilled water until you see a cat eye in the water.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Apr 26, 2014
    Battery corrosion is also attributed to venting of the battery fluids due to OVER-VOLTAGES feeding the battery bank. The normal DC Voltage should be around 13.6VDC in NORMAL CHARGE MODE, 13.2VDC in STORAGE CHARGE MODE, 14.4VDC in BOOST CHARGE MODE and some systems have around 15.0VDC doing a SHORT DURATION 15 MINUTE MAINTENANCE CHARGE MODE every 21 hours...

    If you are reading higher DC VOLTAGES for extended times may be the cause of VENTING OUT battery fluids.

    Roy Ken
  • Sully2's avatar
    Sully2
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2014
    Coat any and all exposed surfaces with thick coat of VASOLINE or equiv.

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