Battery swelling ?

[Muskrat]

Anyone had an experience or know about...battery swelling ? My trolling motor all of a sudden seems to be swelling on both ends ? It sounds a little dangerous - huh ? What's it about ready or capable of doing - exploding ? I feel like I need to be wearing a pair of goggles around it. It's maybe a little over two years old and seems to still be holding a charge well. I paid quite a bit for it but sure don't want to keep using it if it has the potential to blow up in my face or something ? Any advice ? emoConfused Thanks.

Jeff

 

[clutch442]

If it's swelling it could indeed explode. I have seen several do this and it's not pretty. Does it smell like rotten eggs or sulphur real bad when you charge it? It may be under warranty and you could swap it out, but I would definitely not continue to use it.

 

[stumpanic]

Overcharging is probably the reason for the swelling. A battery that is swelling is producing a hydrogen gas and is dangerous, any spark could set it off.

 

[Muskrat]

As a matter of fact it does smell like rotten eggs and seems to get "very" warm to the touch while it's being charged. It's possible I might have been over charging it at one time as I had an older battery charger that didn't shut off like my new one does once the battery is charged.

Btw - I mean't to type my trolling motor "battery" was swelling on both ends. My trolling motor is not swelling - now that would be strange. emoGoofy

 

[Bbowen]

is it a wet cell battery or gel

 

[Muskrat]

...wet.

 

[Bbowen]

you need to top it off with distilled water just above the cells and put them back on charge and maybe this will fix your problem

 

[stratos21xl]

yep, Check the fluid in the battery. Damage may have already been done though, when it gets low on water the plates get exposed and they basically cook from the inside out, hence the rotten egg smell. Unplug it and let it set for a while, at least over night before removing the covers on the batteries and put on safety glasses before you remove the covers for safe measures. Don't over fill the battery, all you want is just a little above the inside plates on the battery, too much water can make it boil out when charging.

 

[Bbowen]

if possible charge them out of your boat bcause if something happems i would hate for that acid to get all over the place. like stratos21x said ware glasses. if it has ben to long with no water you might just have to by more but mayb not

 

[spnplgr]

If it ruptures, sulphuric acid will be everywhere. That would not be good in your boat. At the very least, I'd put it in some kind of container to catch the sulphuric acid should it spring a leak. And yes, I'd take it out of the boat to charge it, at least until I got some history with it that proved it to be safe.

 

[clutch442]

If it were mine and it was swollen and smelling bad, I would just move on. I wouldn't even mess with it, not worth the risk.

 

[TOMMY 20RXD]

THE BATT. IS SULFATED, NEED TO REPLACE !

 

[Muskrat]

Thanks for the advice and help. It was lower on water than I thought and I added some distilled water but I doubt if that's going to do the trick. I charge it at home and it's in a place where it can't do much damage unless I'm standing over it. I probably just need to face the facts that it's nothing but a ticking time bomb. emoDoh

 

[Basshopper]

I noticed smelling the rotten egg smell while fishing several times late fall. I noticed my trolling motor didn't have the zip it once did. It was one of those things that you put off checking out until it becomes a real problem.... I checked the water level several times but seemed to be okay. The boat sat through the holidays until a couple of weeks ago and I decided to go down to Guntersville for a little fishing. I charged the batteries overnight but they only lasted until mid afternoon which cut our trip short. When I returned home I took the oldest trolling battery out for inspection. Soon as I removed it I found that the bottom of the tray was half full of pure battery acid water. I also noticed the battery was swollen.

I took the battery to Autozone and swapped it for another D27 to match the other trolling motor battery that I purchased last spring. Hopefully this solved my problem. If your battery is swollen or giving off that sulfuric smell then I suggest replacing before it becomes a problem. I can imagine that the clean up from a exploded battery would be much less than fun.

Good Luck