This just posted on my RVelectricity by Mike Sokol group I check water level on my RV quite regularly both while in storage and on the road. Early in June I had to add water (distilled) to every cell in both batteries and the top of the batteries were wet. Pulling the covers off I noticed the batteries were boiling but the water still covered the plates. After a number of trips, both hookup and boondocking the batteries have done well but require water and I still need to wipe the tops. This occurs both with shore power and parallel 2000iS generators. what might cause this? -Verne
Not questioning the OP, but was he sure the batteries were boiling (which is possible - the batteries would be very hot) or was he seeing the normal charging off gassing you see as you charge a lead acid battery? Just asking.
It was boiling similar to when we had to add electrolyte ourselves to a new battery in the 1960's and charge them before installing them for a customer. Caps off, we had to watch for boil-over. As wet as the tops were, I am guessing they were seriously churning.
It should be noted that not all converters are multi stage as a Ike’s diagram illustrates. There are plenty of single stage converters still out there. My 2011 RV that had an MSRP of over $100K had a single stage unit (I upgraded it to multi stage).
Thanks Mike! Will check things after leaving the RV sit for a while and recheck voltage after no external power for a few days. How difficult is it to replace the converter if needed? My RV is a 2013 Keystone Laredo. I did check and found while on shore power, each battery was showing 14.9 volts and unplugged, showed 13.3 volts.
Most modern inverters are pretty simple to replace. You generally don’t have to change out g th he entire load panel, it’s just a circuit board module…
Not questioning the OP, but was he sure the batteries were boiling (which is possible - the batteries would be very hot) or was he seeing the normal charging off gassing you see as you charge a lead acid battery? Just asking.
It was boiling similar to when we had to add electrolyte ourselves to a new battery in the 1960's and charge them before installing them for a customer. Caps off, we had to watch for boil-over. As wet as the tops were, I am guessing they were seriously churning.
It should be noted that not all converters are multi stage as a Ike’s diagram illustrates. There are plenty of single stage converters still out there. My 2011 RV that had an MSRP of over $100K had a single stage unit (I upgraded it to multi stage).
True that. But a 2-stage converter/charger should not be left to charge batteries for extended periods of time.
Thanks Mike! Will check things after leaving the RV sit for a while and recheck voltage after no external power for a few days. How difficult is it to replace the converter if needed? My RV is a 2013 Keystone Laredo. I did check and found while on shore power, each battery was showing 14.9 volts and unplugged, showed 13.3 volts.
Most modern inverters are pretty simple to replace. You generally don’t have to change out g th he entire load panel, it’s just a circuit board module…