Boom!

[Welder Dave]

I had dual batteries in my 5th wheel trailer and 1 of them decided it didn't like being there. Both batteries were new at the same time about 5 or 6 years ago. I wasn't staying in the trailer and finally got around to getting the battery door open. The lock was corroded from battery acid. It blowed up real good!

 

[Spud_Monkey]

It froze due to being low in voltage and expanded till what you see, fully charged lead acid battery can survive down to about -80 to -90° F

 

[Coaldust]

Shame on the mess. !

 

[Bumpsteer]

Stored a golf cart for a friend in poor health, he rememberedto keep it charged. Forgot to keep the batterys full of water.
Over the winter all 6, 6v batterys went dead and froze. No blow ups but all were junk, less than 2 years old.
Ended up being his sons problem.....

Ed

 

[Welder Dave]

Maybe it was low on water but the batteries were hooked up to a solar panel to keep them charged. Interestingly the 1st charge controller on the solar blew up too. I wondered if it got hit by lighting. Big black mark on the back of the solar panel. It was replaced on warranty and was working great but now I'm wondering if it might be what caused the battery to self destruct.

 

[Spud_Monkey]

Stored a golf cart for a friend in poor health, he rememberedto keep it charged. Forgot to keep the batterys full of water.
Over the winter all 6, 6v batterys went dead and froze. No blow ups but all were junk, less than 2 years old.
Ended up being his sons problem.....

Ed

Sulphated, I'm sure if you had a way you could knocked it off and saved at least 80% capacity.

 

[Spud_Monkey]

Maybe it was low on water but the batteries were hooked up to a solar panel to keep them charged. Interestingly the 1st charge controller on the solar blew up too. I wondered if it got hit by lighting. Big black mark on the back of the solar panel. It was replaced on warranty and was working great but now I'm wondering if it might be what caused the battery to self destruct.

That's not self destruction, that's I was too low of voltage and froze then expanded breaking the case off. What do you mean 1st charge controller, if you had two or more in line they better talk to each other or there will be a fight between the two of what to do. Not many CC's talk to each other.
Batteries only explode when a spark ignites the hydrogen sulfide gases in which you won't have a camper left and more damage based on the fact there wasn't enough air circulation for the battery to off-gas.

 

[Bumpsteer]

Nope, all of them ballooned out like an over-pressureized blimp. Tried every trick I had.

Ed

 

[Spud_Monkey]

Nope, all of them ballooned out like an over-pressureized blimp. Tried every trick I had.

Ed

Yeah that's frozen and plates shorted out against each other to not take a charge.

 

[Welder Dave]

That's not self destruction, that's I was too low of voltage and froze then expanded breaking the case off. What do you mean 1st charge controller, if you had two or more in line they better talk to each other or there will be a fight between the two of what to do. Not many CC's talk to each other.
Batteries only explode when a spark ignites the hydrogen sulfide gases in which you won't have a camper left and more damage based on the fact there wasn't enough air circulation for the battery to off-gas.

1st charge controller was disconnected. The battery didn't explode in the winter. May have been a problem with the construction of that battery as the other one that was identical showed no signs of damage. Internal short or something??? I've seen the tops of batteries blown off but this was a bigger explosion. The bottom of the battery compartment is completely open so lack of air flow shouldn't have been a factor. Also have read some people aren't fans of Interstate batteries. I might look at AGM batteries to replace them. They won't spray battery acid everywhere and are a lot less likely to explode.

 

[Truck Shop]

The weight of a battery tells the life of a battery in most cases, in any group. Cheaper the battery the
less it weighs. 4 things kill a battery, setting over long periods with parasitic draw, shock, extended
crank times, bad charging system. A battery that lasts 4 years is a good one because of parasitic
draw of new vehicles. If we get two years out of a set of four group 31HD's that's good, with all
the crap kept alive while parked. Common issue is internal short {loose plate}, swell up and boil.
Refer units are tough on batteries, constant vibration, a Delco battery doesn't last long in a refer.
As far as Interstate brand, my 84 Dodge 150 had two batteries in 23 years I owned it both Interstate.

 

[Welder Dave]

It was mostly Interstate RV batteries that got some bad reviews claiming they weren't true deep cycle batteries. Something had to go wrong for the 1 battery to have catastrophic failure and the other one show no issues.

 

[Spud_Monkey]

What is true deep cycle, there is no definitive line, all batteries put out so many Ah and there is nowhere a line saying a battery should have this many Ah to be deep cycle. All batteries in lead acid or AGM don’t like below 50%, so to say it’s deep cycle it means if you put it on this application it will run it longer than if you put a smaller battery on it due to Ah’s not a sticker saying Deep Cycle. A group 31 battery is deep cycle to a flashlight as it’s just a starting battery for a 6 cylinder diesel engine. More Ah’s the more lead plates there is and or the thicker they are to store and put out energy.

 

[Welder Dave]

What I've read is starting batteries deliver lots of amps in a short period of time and deep cycle deliver lesser amps but over a longer period and are designed to be drained and recharged often. Interstate apparently aren't true deep cycle but in-between a starting battery and a deep cycle battery. I don't need new batteries right away but when I do I'll try to get some info on good RV batteries that won't break the bank.

 

[Delmer]

Deep cycle batteries will have thicker solid lead plates, thicker seperators, and more room at the bottom of the cell to fill with trash before shorting it out. Most "deep cycle" RV, golf cart?, marine cranking batteries will be chunked pressed lead, and mid way between single cell deep cycle and starting batteries. Automotive starting batteries will be powdered lead with thin plates for maximum surface area, number of cells =volts, surface area of lead =amps.

Any overcharged lead acid battery produces hydrogen and oxygen, in the exact ratio required for complete combustion, amazing more of them don't blow up.

 

[Truck Shop]

I throw a soaking wet towel over boiling batteries before removing the ground.

 

[Pantano]

Maybe it was low on water but the batteries were hooked up to a solar panel to keep them charged. Interestingly the 1st charge controller on the solar blew up too. I wondered if it got hit by lighting. Big black mark on the back of the solar panel. It was replaced on warranty and was working great but now I'm wondering if it might be what caused the battery to self destruct.

The charge controller should have had a blocking diode in line. Doubt it was that.