Battery Explosion, The Sequel

[Jim Becker]

The low electrolyte level and subsequent warped plates described in that article is clearly a factor that could have played in with my battery. I know that there was a lot of electrolyte in my battery when it exploded because I saw a lot run out the bottom of the battery box. The adjacent cell was still holding and at a proper level after the explosion. That suggests the destroyed cell was adequately filled as well, but certainly doesn't prove it.

I have previously thought that running a charger on a bad or suspect battery was fairly harmless. After all, step one of testing a battery is to charge it. I don't think so any more. A common way for a battery to go bad is a short inside of one of the cells. In that case, I think that a charging voltage that is normally reasonable is then split among the remaining active cells (in this case 2 cells) rather than the full set (3 cells). That puts the voltage on each cell too high, potentially causing heat, excess loss of electrolyte, and an increased chance of an internal spark.

In any case, I'm going to try to be quicker to declare a battery bad when it becomes suspect, quit expecting a charger to cure one that is junk.

[Clemsonfor]

As far as manufacturers, it's hard to beat anything made by East Penn. I get an average of 5 years out of my 6v batteries and that's letting them sit for months at a time with no maintainers.

Al

5 years dont seem like enough!

This is the 21 century, a $100 battery should last 15 years!



I dont complain (too much) if I get 10 years outa a battery!

Yeah......not so much. It would probably last longer if I maintained it better. Some of my stuff is not stored close to electrical power and I'm too busy/lazy to take batteries out and bring to the shop.

The whole topic is sort of like gas caps: easy to over-think and start feeling like the sky is falling.....

Al

They make solar maintainers that are like $15 from ebay or Harbor Freight or Amazon, whatever you use. They work and will keep a battery maintained...now there 12v so if your talking about a 6v you might have to do some electrical wizardry to make it work but they work and will keep a battery float charged. My last battery on my other tractor made it 10 years due to one of those and luck of the battery draw I guess.

[SamsFarm]

I bet just about all of us has saw a unusually low electrolyte level in a Individual cell at some point of checking a battery.

I am NOT saying that one cell is the guilty one, but the possibility probably exists to it being.


Not Cub related, but I just changed the batteries in my 2001 F350 diesel this week.

Original Motorcraft was replaced fall of 2009 with another set of Motorcraft.

Those Motorcrafts was replaced with Deka this time!

8.5 years for the first set.
11.5 years for the second set.

I sure hope these Dekas last as good (or better)!

[Gary S.]

ATT at one time had the largest vehicle fleet outside of the government. Our garage mechanic alone was responsible for over 100 cars and trucks. He only used Motorcraft batteries after trying many others. But that was 10 years ago - who knows now......

[Clemsonfor]

Who makes Motorcraft batteries? Ford does not have a battery plant, someone makes them for them. Maybe decades ago they may have made their own? As said before there only like 3 manufactures of batteries.