OOPS! Dry house batteries

[ezgoin]

Looks like I messed up. Checked my 2 6v house batteries and they were dry. Filled them with distilled water and hooked up shore power and letting the charge up now. My question is, WILL they charge up and hold it? Can I run my slides and other 12 volt items when on shore power even though they run off 12 volt? Or am I doomed to buy 2 new ones?

Thanks,
Bill

[oldusedbear]

On switching over to AGM batteries - - AGM's are fussy about how they are charged, and more expensive if you DO overcharge them. When I switched over to them in my motorhome, I had to buy a different charger system that was compatible with the AGM technology. Just a thought.

[dstock50]

Nah, two Wal-Mart deep cycle marine in parallel, save $.

[Searching_Ut]

I've often been amazed at what you can get away with when it comes to lead acid batteries. At the same time, they are sometimes destroyed by the simplest of things. It can seem almost random at times.

As others have mentioned, charge them up good, run a desulfator on them if possible, and see what happens. You might also want to check out your charging system as you shouldn't have to add water very often if they aren't overcharging. Also, if you do purchase new batteries and they are AGM type remember that AGM are much more susceptible to damage from overcharging so you'll want to check your charging system out well no matter how things work out with your batts.

[ezgoin]

There has been no bulging or heat during charging, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Well, that all just changed. One battery has a slight bulge on one side and might have a small leak. The only "charging" I'll be doing now is on my credit card. 😞

[Chum_lee]

After recharging, check to see if the battery cases are bulging on the sides or ends. If they are, there's a good change your wet cell batteries are through, or, soon will be. Good luck. Anything can happen depending on the battery manufacturer (initial quality) and the severity of the water loss. The wet cells are usually not truly dry unless the case is cracked. Only the water boils out, not the acid. But, the acid precipitates out of solution on the plates.

Chum lee

[2oldman]

ezgoin wrote:
t I don't know yet how long they'll hold it or handle a load, such as slides or jacks.

If you have an inverter you could run something off that to get an idea. If you get in trouble you can jumper from any good 12v battery.

[ezgoin]

Follow up-- they do charge up, but I don't know yet how long they'll hold it or handle a load, such as slides or jacks. I'm afraid to try either in case the voltage drops so much voltage the slides or jacks go out halfway and stop.

Also, they must have been nearly completely dry. I had to put nearly a 1/2 gal of distilled water in each one. That sounds bad to me.

Bill

[crasster]

If they don't charge desulfate them. Battery minder is the way to go.

[Matt_Colie]

Bill,

"Dry" is one thing.
Low is another.

If the electrolyte level was so low that the dividers were exposed, no big thing. The bank is probably unharmed.

If the actual plates were exposed, the bank has probably lost some capacity and there is no way to determine how much with some testing.

Just put aside some money and keep your fingers crossed.

Matt

[Jim]

Huh, 3rd time in 3 days I've had the opportunity to give this advice regarding batteries...

Add 2 oz of mineral oil (3-in-1 oil) to each battery cell, even if you have to turkey baster remove some water. This helps prevent water from being boiled out too quickly and reduces the corrosion present on the tops of most wet cell batteries.

If your converter is going bad though, make sure you get it fixed or replaced. Meanwhile, the oil will help get extra life from the batteries.

Mineral oil has been used for this purpose in wet cell batts for over 100 years now.

[Tinstar]

Buy a good desulfator and let it work on them for a few months. I'm a believer in desulfators and have used them for 10 or more years.

[rdmike]

I did the same in my learning years. Filled and 2 days later 1 was leaking, big split along side of the battery. Replaced all 4 batteries. Now I check once a month faithfully.

[KD4UPL]

If they truly were dry then I would say they are destroyed.

[timmac]

pianotuna wrote:
X2

2oldman wrote:
This is a good excuse to get AGMs. No water worries, no problems at all... with the possible exception of overcharging. I'd be looking at your converter to see if it's overcharging.

X3

I went to AGM for this very reason