Boiling Battery

Andy Martin

Well-known Member
Brush hogging the other day with a tractor with no generator. Battery died pretty suddenly, cleaned terminals, nothing. Had SIL buy a battery on his way home, problem solved.

Put the battery on a charger and after a couple of hours noticed the battery boiling over. Never had that happen before. Let the battery sit for a few days, checked it today and it showed 12v, 11v under load.

Do you suppose the charger was not sensing battery voltage and overcharged it? It's an old Schumacher.
 
Unless the charger was set to the wrong voltage, or set for boost, probably not the charger. The old chargers were simply a transformer and rectifier, not regulated voltage.

Did the new battery feel exceptionally hot when it was on the charger? Or was it just pushing liquid out the top? If it wasn't hot, it may have just been over full with electrolyte.

Since the battery had some charge in it when you got it, I doubt there is a problem with the battery.

I would try it, see how it holds up. Keep your receipt!

If you don't want to repair the generator, a battery tender might be a better solution if the tractor sits several days or longer between uses.
 
Andy Martin,
My experience, when a battery boils it needs replaced. If you don't have the tools to check battery, take to any auto parts place and have them test it. Another clue is when it boils and produces a rotten egg smell, sulfur, good chance it time to replace it. Fast charging may cause boiling. So will the old manual chargers that won't shut off. Possible, but not likely your charger is bad. Get battery checked out.

Years ago, I only had a 12a manual charger. Put it on a truck battery, forgot it for a week. Cooked the battery. So overcharging can damage a battery. I Had to replace it. geo.
 
It depends upon the design of the battery charger.

Any such battery can be overcharged.

Is your battery charger designed to charge a battery for "a couple of hours?"

Dean
 
Hello Andy Martin,

A fully charged battery should be 12.6 volts at 80* F. The new battery either did not charge properly, or is defective. You did not say how it was load tested? with the initial 12 Volts reading, it would certainly fail a proper load test anyhow,

Guido.
 
(quoted from post at 19:21:04 06/12/16) Brush hogging the other day with a tractor with no generator. Battery died pretty suddenly, cleaned terminals, nothing. Had SIL buy a battery on his way home, problem solved.

Put the battery on a charger and after a couple of hours noticed the battery boiling over. Never had that happen before. Let the battery sit for a few days, checked it today and it showed 12v, 11v under load.

Do you suppose the charger was not sensing battery voltage and overcharged it? It's an old Schumacher.
Thanks for the replies, guys, I'll repeat my problem with the information provided.

1 The new battery fixed the problem with the tractor not starting so I verified it was not a tractor short, open, or bad connection or bad starter. I had already cleaned the posts and battery cables before calling for a new battery.

2 The old battery was put on an old 6 amp 6/12 volt charger set to 12 volts. I usually will leave it on a battery 6 to 8 hours. It has a timer on it but all the markings are gone. However I can hear the timer click so I know the timer is working.

3 The old battery boiled out of both sides, and the battery was warm, but no smell.

4 I tested it with an old Milton resistance load tester.

5 Battery in question measures a little less than 12.2 v on my tester. Marks every 0.2 v. Checked the new battery, and a "good" battery in a car and they all measure the same, about 12.18 volts.

6 Since I had never experienced a battery boiling over, I was curious of everybody's comments. The battery is old, I run lots of old tractors, some charge, some don't. this one has an alternator and I think it charges but it has never been wired right so I pull the positive terminal off to kill it. I plan to wire it right, but there are about two hundred other items ahead of it, and it has worked occasionally for four or more years with a batter I thought was bad but charged and could get the tractor to start. I'm a little surprised it lasted this long, and that is still measures over 12v.

7 Any more comments?
 
Hello Andy Martin,

A battery at !2.18 volts is about 50% charged at best. A "GOOD" battery is at least 12.6 volts when exhibits a potential of at least 12.6 volts @ 80*F. At 12.18 volts a battery may start some engines at that temp, but no more then once or twice. A proper test of a "FULLY" charged battery is as fallows: Load the battery at 1/2 its rated CCA-capacity. Hold the load for 15 seconds. Voltage should be at least 9.6 volts at the end of the test. The test parameters are for an ambient temperature of 80*F. Your 12.18 volt good battery will not pass this test,

Guido.
 
Take the guess work out of batteries. Forget old school load testers. Invest in a battery conductivity tester and a batteryminder 12348 charger. Money well spent. My oldest battery is a 2007 and still good. I give credit to the batteryminder or just luck. BTW, the 29.2v is the voltage spikes the battery minder puts out during the desulfating cycle. geo
a229385.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 13:08:03 06/13/16) Hello Andy Martin,

A battery at !2.18 volts is about 50% charged at best. A "GOOD" battery is at least 12.6 volts when exhibits a potential of at least 12.6 volts @ 80*F. At 12.18 volts a battery may start some engines at that temp, but no more then once or twice. A proper test of a "FULLY" charged battery is as fallows: Load the battery at 1/2 its rated CCA-capacity. Hold the load for 15 seconds. Voltage should be at least 9.6 volts at the end of the test. The test parameters are for an ambient temperature of 80*F. Your 12.18 volt good battery will not pass this test,

Guido.
Interesting. I wonder if my volt meter is reading low. I'll try it with a multi-meter. I'm pretty sure my car battery is well charged, and the new tractor battery can't be 50% discharged. My load tester says 10 seconds, and shows the CCA and corresponding voltage for that test point. My old battery, after boiling over, puts out 400 CCA in the ten second test. I really think it is OK but I can't explain the boiling over part.
 
George: Batteryminder 12248? Looks like that is obsolete, the replacement is only $180, and the Midtronics is $120. So I usually buy a couple of batteries a year, for all applications, that's ten tractors, three cars, three trucks. I usually get six to eight years' life, I think. You think I'd save enough on batteries to pay for the test equipment or just know for sure it was time to replace?
 
Hello Andy Martin,

That makes more sense. Having a 400 amp output, it is certainly fully charged and has the proper voltage.

A known accurate volt meter will tell the truth,


GUIDO.
 
Why do you say it's obsolete? I use it all the time, almost 6 years old. I have over 20 batteries. The conductivity tester takes all the guess work out of determining if the battery is healthy or on it way out. Even lets you know you have a bad cell. I feel it money well spent. I'll never be without both. Charger has never boiled a battery. geo
 
Andy,

Midtronics PBT 300 $200 on ebay.

Midtronics PBT 300

http://www.midtronics.com/shop/products-1/battery-and-electrical-system-diagnostics/pbt-series-battery-and-electrical-system-testers

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Midtronics-Pbt300-Advanced-Battery-Starter-And-Charging-System-Tester-/191842010016?hash=item2caaacc3a0:g:3yoAAOSwGOxXAp~N&item=191842010016&vxp=mtr

Batteryminder 12248 $140 off amazon. There are newer models around $250.

Review on batteryminder

http://bestbatterychargerreviews.com/batteryminder-12248/

https://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Volt-Amp-Battery-Charger/dp/B000JFLSL6?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=AKIAIQWHH4HRPK7LRQTQ&ascsubtag=c4064e1d849d-4713-abb3-11960c4b59c5&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000JFLSL6&linkCode=xm2&tag=c99-bd-20

Please post where my stuff is junk.
geo
 
(quoted from post at 18:05:28 06/13/16) Andy,

Midtronics PBT 300 $200 on ebay.

Midtronics PBT 300

http://www.midtronics.com/shop/products-1/battery-and-electrical-system-diagnostics/pbt-series-battery-and-electrical-system-testers

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Midtronics-Pbt300-Advanced-Battery-Starter-And-Charging-System-Tester-/191842010016?hash=item2caaacc3a0:g:3yoAAOSwGOxXAp~N&item=191842010016&vxp=mtr

Batteryminder 12248 $140 off amazon. There are newer models around $250.

Review on batteryminder

http://bestbatterychargerreviews.com/batteryminder-12248/

https://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Volt-Amp-Battery-Charger/dp/B000JFLSL6?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=AKIAIQWHH4HRPK7LRQTQ&ascsubtag=c4064e1d849d-4713-abb3-11960c4b59c5&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000JFLSL6&linkCode=xm2&tag=c99-bd-20

Please post where my stuff is junk.
geo
WOW! You're sensitive or I'm very insensitive. Obsolete was not my term, it was Batteryminder's term for that model. They no longer manufacture them. Straight from their web site. My intention was not to offend you, you were trying to help with my issue. I agree that generally obsolete is understood to mean that which is no longer useful but that is not the way a manufacturer uses the term. To the manufacturer it means it is no longer produced by them, when car parts are put in the "no longer manufactured" category by a company it is described as "obsolete" and it merely means they no longer find it profitable to produce and has nothing to do with it's utility.

My Farmall tractors are in the same category, as are all my machine tools. [b:3f3f964cc8]Please review my post to verify I never said anything about your stuff being junk.[/b:3f3f964cc8] Now, I do call my own stuff "old junk" because I take great pleasure in doing good work with ancient equipment.
 
I have a 40 year old schumacher, the only time I had a problem was with a bad battery.

I would bet your charger is fine.

I use my charger on everything except motorcycle, which I use tender on.
 
David, my batteryminder will work on small motorcycle batteries, small jells used on the electric brakes on implement trailer , agms, flooded, up to 4 batteries in parallel providing all batteries are healthy, and even 1000 cca battery. IT has never boiled a battery. It has a temp sensor. I've damaged batteries using other smart chargers. geo.
 
Hello ASEguy,

I know you can! Wish I can get trough some of the people at times, it was easy in the class room. Wish I had a penny for all the batteries, and starters, and generators, and electrical issues I dealt with since I started turning wrenches, some get it though, that makes it worth my time...........


Guido.
 

Dry charged battery Over filled with electrolyte . Why not repair the charging system? Deep cycling batteries shortens the life .
 

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