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Slight bulge in Trojans


jenevers

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13 minutes ago, Nut said:

I would be concerned if its just appeared are the batteries a normal temp?

 

Yes. But my batteries were reading 14.5v on my solar controller display and “gurgling” every now and then. I disconnected the solar controller and the reading went down to 13.6v?

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Keep an eye on them, especially the cell temperatures. They are very near the end of their life.

 

It is caused by the active material escaping from the plates and pressing against the sides, usually due to overcharging.

 

It will also be escaping between the plates and WILL eventually short them out, possibly resulting in an explosion.

 

I would change them ASAP.

 

Edited by cuthound
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26 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Keep an eye on them, especially the cell temperatures. They are very near the end of their life.

 

It is caused by the active material escaping from the plates and pressing against the sides, usually due to overcharging.

 

It will also be escaping between the plates and WILL eventually short them out, possibly resulting in an explosion.

 

I would change them ASAP.

 

Would this not cause bulging of the sides, rather than the ends?

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1 hour ago, nicknorman said:

Would this not cause bulging of the sides, rather than the ends?

Assuming the normal sense for a rectangle that "ends" = "short sides" and "sides" = "long sides" then because of the way the rectangular cells are arranged to make up the battery, the sides of the cells are the ends of the battery. IYSWIM.

 

MP.

 

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The last thing I'd want is an explosion throwing acid all over the engine (battery stowage) area.

 

I think I came within minutes of having one when the CO alarm went off - the battery was so hot I couldn't even touch the case and just had to quickly disconnect the cables from the teminals. The next morning when it had cooled down it had expanded so much I struggled to get it out of the battery box (which is built into the hull - not just a thin plastic box)

 

It is going to 'go' soon, and with the aditional charging / discharging beacuase of the time of year, it could be sooner than later.

 

REPLACE IT NOW.

 

Why wait - what's the difference between replacing it now and replacing it in a week or two (when you may not be in a position / location where you can easily get a delivery) ?

 

 

 

You Know It makes Sense.png

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I think I came within minutes of having one when the CO alarm went off - the battery was so hot I couldn't even touch the case and just had to quickly disconnect the cables from the teminals. The next morning when it had cooled down it had expanded so much I struggled to get it out of the battery box (which is built into the hull - not just a thin plastic box)

 

We had similar though not with Trojans.

 

After a long days cruise we were packing up to leave the boat and I flicked the charger on which booted up but immediately shut down. Thinking it was just a 'glitch' I tried again with the same result. On checking the Mastervolt manual the LED combination displaying was 'Battery over heat error'.

 

Delving into the locker revealed one battery very hot and bulging and the others were also slightly distorted but not particularly hot.

 

Luckily the one battery that was clearly about to blow was the sole battery with the overheat sensor attached.

 

If it had been one of the others then likely it wold have blown under charge, and whilst the boat was unattended too.

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This is not unusual as the batteries get older. Keep a close eye on them for other signs of trouble such as getting hot or excessive loss of water etc.

 

Are they located in a water tight box to catch any acid if they do fail?

 

.............Dave

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1 hour ago, MoominPapa said:

Assuming the normal sense for a rectangle that "ends" = "short sides" and "sides" = "long sides" then because of the way the rectangular cells are arranged to make up the battery, the sides of the cells are the ends of the battery. IYSWIM.

 

MP.

 

Oh yes, I do see what you mean.

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On 21/10/2020 at 08:55, Tony Brooks said:

Sulphate takes up more room that the oxide it formed from so bulging case ends often indicate badly sulphated batteries. In the old days the individual cell caps would rise up in the pitch sealant at the negative end.

Can anything be done to reverse sulphation? Before I shell out for a new set.?

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10 minutes ago, jenevers said:

Can anything be done to reverse sulphation? Before I shell out for a new set.?

How old are they?  Can you measure/estimate the current capacity?

 

Recent sulphation can be reversed by an equalisation charge, but if its a long term well established thing then maybe not, accepted wisdom is that the sulphate crystals harden over time.

 

I would not ditch the current batteries due to a bit of case bulging if everything else is good. If the plastic was going to fail (and it isn't) it would have done so, as long as its not getting worse don't worry, just monitor it.

 

................Dave

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