Boiled Battery

[Carl2500]

So I go out into my camper last night, and hear my battery rapidly boiling

It felt warm but not hot by any means.

It was plugged into an Iota DLS-45 charger, I don't know if that was from the manufacturer, or the previous owner.

The manual I downloaded on the charger says it's supposed to stop charging and only maintain the battery once charged.

I gotta feeling the battery is toast, but I'll test it tomorrow.

Any thoughts? What's the best way to test the charger? Would hate to buy another battery and fry it, they can get pricey.

 

[LACamper]

That happened recently to a client of mine on his boat batteries. Cost him two marine batteries to find out it was the charger. The good news is that the charger had a five year warranty so within two weeks he had a new charger. Call the manufacturer and see what they say.

 

[Carl2500]

Well I tested the battery today, measured 10.2 volts, and said it had a bad cell.
I'm inclined to believe it's just a bad battery, but I'd sure like to be able to tell if my charger's working properly.

Not sure how old the battery is, it wasn't marked when it was purchased.

LACamper, that's exactly the kinda situation I'm trying to avoid. We sell batteries where I work, and on more than one occasion, somebody would bring in an old battery to replace, and I'd offer to test it, and surprise them with the fact their 'old' battery isn't the problem at all. Saves a lot of headache for 'em down the road.

 

[LACamper]

So ship your charger back to the company and let them check it out for you. If not you're out shipping, which beats a battery any day.

The other choice is to head to the nearest junk yard and pick up a used battery from a totaled car to play with. Try charging it and see what happens.

 

[wrcsixeight]

A shorted cell is fairly common.

10.2 basically says 5 cells are nearly fully charged, one is dead, so whatever voltage your charger had them upto, it was not enough or did not have enough time to bring the other cells upto their maximum Specific gravity.

Check the charging voltages before condemning the charger or sending it back.

 

[dwh]

Does your Iota have an IQ/4 control module? (It can be had as an extra that plugs into the dongle plug, or Iotas can be ordered with the IQ/4 built in.) If it does, a timer will trip after 7 days at float and cause it to run through the 3-stage charge routine from the top.

Without the IQ/4 module it's just a 2-stage charger that will bulk to either 14.4v or 14.6v depending if you've got the dongle loop plugged in, and then drop to 13.6v float. Of course, every time you plug it in, it will run through the bulk cycle before it drops to float.

That's just FYI - from what I see, I think you've got a bad cell in the battery and probably not a charger issue.



Next question: Is your battery rated to handle a 45a charge rate?

 

[Carl2500]

Does your Iota have an IQ/4 control module? (It can be had as an extra that plugs into the dongle plug, or Iotas can be ordered with the IQ/4 built in.) If it does, a timer will trip after 7 days at float and cause it to run through the 3-stage charge routine from the top.

Without the IQ/4 module it's just a 2-stage charger that will bulk to either 14.4v or 14.6v depending if you've got the dongle loop plugged in, and then drop to 13.6v float. Of course, every time you plug it in, it will run through the bulk cycle before it drops to float.

That's just FYI - from what I see, I think you've got a bad cell in the battery and probably not a charger issue.



Next question: Is your battery rated to handle a 45a charge rate?

I don't have the IQ/4 module, but do have the little jumper wire taped in front by the port it plugs into. The label on the charger says it's just used for a quick charge. As far as the battery, there were no labels other than a general warning label found on most batteries, no cranking amp or amp/hour ratings anywhere. Are most deep cycle batteries ok with a 45amp charge? Seems a little high as I know my red top optimas I use for starting recommend 2amp charging.

I've got a small automatic battery maintainer, maybe I should just use that when it's not used for extended periods.

 

[dwh]

Deep cycle charge rates are specified as "C divided by <something>". The most common would probably be C/4, which would be a 25a charge rate on a 100 amp*hour battery.

But it varies a LOT between different batteries. For instance Odyssey batteries can accept insanely high charge rates. Their tech manual shows a quick charge to 100% full in 30 minutes using a charge rate of C*3.1 (that's C times 3.1 or a 310a charge rate on a 100ah battery).

(page 17)

http://www.odysseybattery.com/documents/US-ODY-TM-001_0411_000.pdf


Personally, I'd hesitate to exceed C/8 (12.5a for a battery with 100ah capacity) for any battery that I didn't have written specs for. I might push it to C/4 for a flooded deep cycle where I could keep an eye on specific gravity and water levels.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Those red tops you use for starting, and Optima's 2 amp recommended charging amperage....

What do you think would happen if you inadvertently drained those red tops to 50%. They'd still have more than enough juice to start the vehicle, but then they would also ask for every single amp your alternator could deliver and only taper once the regulator's voltage limit was reached.

I have a new pair of flooded group 27 deep cycles. When Depleted, the pair can suck over 100 amps from my alternator for a short while before the amps taper. AGM's have much less resistance and could in theory suck even more amps from an alternator if the cabling is adequate.

The Iota will likely taper too as the battery determines how much it can accept at a certain voltage.

I think ( my opinion)the low and slow method of charging always being best is an old wives tale. Get the batteries back to full charge quickly as soon as you get the chance, then use the low and slow maintainer to keep them there.

Battery manufacturers are changing recommended charging currents (bulk, acceptance and float) all the time. While best to follow their recommendations as to recharge currents, they might change them in 2 years leaving one to scratch one's head.