mark lambert Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Hello, this subject has probably been covered but it is sometimes alot quicker to ask than to search all the threads again, so here goes. On our recent trip we had a knock on the van door at 1am, a chap telling me there was avery strong smell coming from the van, on inspection i realised the smell was from the battery box, opened up the door and could here one of the 90ah varta batteries bubbling and hissing and looking about ready to pop. I disconnected the power, switched off all 12v appliances incl main cut off. what could cause this? we have 2 90ah varta batteries, one seemed ok the other boiled. Its an 07 burstner and has a battery auto cut off at 10.4ah. to prevent the batteries from going dead flat. Are the fumes that enterd the van dangerous or do they just leave an awful taste in the mouth? the carbon monoxide test patch turned black which indicates danger mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 A comment on CO patches. As you have now found out there may have been high levels of CO or similier in your van that turned patch black, the patches give no warning unless you happen to look at them, as someone who's life was proboly saved by a CO alarm I allways advise get a proper alarm do not rely on a patch, if the CO builds up while your asleep you will have no chance to look at patch, even if it builds up when you are awake it is unlikly you will look at patch just drift off to sleep never to wake again, I feel these patches give a false sence of security, I'd like to see them banned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I have to agree with Colin. I recently found a fridge in a motorhome that was so badly sotted up and blocked jets/air holes that it sent my gas analyser off the scale for CO, quite worrying when you realise that it reads up to 40% and concentrations of less than 1% for 1 hour can kill you! More worrying was the obvious signs of fumes entering the wardrobe (above the fridge) and thence to the habitation area. Having said that I don't know that a battery will produce CO, more likely that Sulphuric acid fumes have attacked it I'd have thought. Still not pleasant but not as fatal as CO and it would account for the nasty taste. As for the "boiling" battery its most likely to be a duff un. I'd be inclined to check the charging voltages being applied via the charger but in all honesty if that was the culprit I'd expect both batteries to exhibit similar problems. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 The following link may prove useful: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080123121229AASxiqp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 You mentioned two 90 ah Vata habitation batterys and only one was "boiling". My suggestion is that the boiling battery has a short circuit cell and because of this it is effectively a 10 volt battery with 5 effective cells. The upshot of this is that the "good" 12 volt battery will try and overcharge the "bad" 10 volt battery which is connected in parallel with it causing it to overcharge and generate hydrogen and oxygen gasses in a perfect ratio for an explosion together with sulphuric acid vapour which sticks in your nose and gives the characteristic smell. This is 1 reason why I always recommend that when an increased battery bank is required that two bigger 6 volt batteries are fitted and connected in SERIES so the scenario above cannot happen. Having said that when driving or connected to a mains hookup a system with one shorted cell will still gas like hell unless the fuse blows first. Hope that helps. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark lambert Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 thanks for the replies chaps. Another question: how long would one think 2 90ah batteries should last with a full charge. Nothing switched on. van has a thatcham alarm. WE are lucky to get 4-5 days before we have to plug in. The van does have a cut off switch that cuts in when the batts get down to 10.4 v. then a little warning light flashes to tell us to charge the batts asap before any damage is caused to them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Hi, I agree with Clive over what has happened. Regarding life of batteries, if you are taking then well down in charge, say 50% you may well only get about 100 cycles so life could be in terms of under a year rather than a few years. Its too big a variable to pretict how long a battery should last as it depends on depth of discharge, charge rate and type of charger and temperature. You say your batteries last 4 or 5 days befor eneeding charged, which implies you are taking them down to very low voltage and charge, in this case you cannot expect long life, added to the fact when new and left sitting in van before you got delivery (2007) they could well have been left discharged reducing their life to a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Apologies, just read you post again re how long they should last - sitting apprently doing nothing. I thought you meant life and did not read properly. This come up a lot in these forums and usually turns out there is some load discharging them quickly like alarms etc but even with say 50mA they should last a month or two before needing charged if you have 180Ah. It could have been your faulty battery had a duff cell for a while and has been shorting to some extent for a long time before going full blown short cct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Investing in a solar panel has dividends on several fronts, it extends your wild camping capability, sometimes indefinately in the summer but also maintains your batteries in a charged state when the vehicle is otherwise laid up without access to hookup. My recomendation would be for an 80 watt panel minimum and a regulator without doubt. To keep the vehicle battery charged as well then its either a simple bridging fuse (http://www.motts.dsl.pipex.com/BRIDGING%20FUSE.htm) or if you like spending money a Battery Mate will do something similar. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 No coments on batteries venting to inside of van? cause thats another of my bugbears. I have noticed that a lot (if not most) vans have habitation battery inside living quaters of van with no outside vents, I don't like this. My batteries vent to outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Internal habitation batteries have a vent tube attached which leads outside, usually through the floor. If not then they should have to make them safe (or should that be safer!). Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Thats what I would expect Jon, but this doesn't seem to be case, at least not that I've noticed, and in Marks case for whatever reason fumes seem to have entered (or not left) living area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark lambert Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 My batteries are vented to outside and can only be reached from an outside locker , i just think that the venting couldn't cope with how much fumes were being made from the battery overheating, it was literally boiling like a kettle! Would both of the batteries have to be changed or do they just have to be the same ah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tp002c784tp002c784tp Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Hi Mark It's recommended that you replace both batteries when one goes faulty but in your case looking at the date of your Motorhome ( 2007 ) I would just get the good one tested and take a chance just buying one if the test is ok also they recomend you renew with a battery of the same capacity as the the good one. I have just had a solar panel fitted at Peterbourgh show ( 80 ) watts and this is the third van that I have had this size fitted and irespective of what they say I think they are good value for money, I also have a VanBitz battery Master fitted and when I left home to go to Peterborough my batteries read 11.8 on the Master panel, They now constently show 13.8 to 14.00 all the time. As the Solar panel charges the leisure battery any surplus is directed to the main van battery hence the steady reading most of the time. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark lambert Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 thanks for the help. I will be looking for prices for a solar panel to keep the batteries topped up, in the meantime i shall be waiting to find out from the dealer what went wrong with the batteries. I will let you all know the outcome. thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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