Battery Explosion: Check your water level!
Don’t let this happen to you…
In my entire life thus far I’ve never seen a battery just explode. Just got back from a week long camping trip and had it plugged in at home. Come home to this. How in the world does this happen? - Jack
Hey Jack,
All I can say is WOW! And it’s time to carefully clean up the acid all over the frame of your trailer. As to what causes this, it’s mostly likely a converter that doesn’t have a battery maintenance “float” mode. If it only goes into trickle charge mode, then any FLA (Flooded Lead Acid) battery can easily boil out its electrolyte in a few weeks. I’ve also seen an MPPT Solar Charge Controller go bad and boil out the FLA batteries just from the solar panels.
This overcharging creates excess hydrogen and oxygen gas at the exact 2:1 ratio that’s highly explosive. Once the electrolyte level gets low enough there can be a spark between the plates, causing a hydrogen/oxygen gas explosion. And that blows Sulfuric Acid everywhere!
What should you do?
First of all, anyone with Lead Acid Batteries that are plugged into shore power should check their battery electrolyte level monthly and add distilled water as needed. And it’s also a great idea to do a monthly battery electrolyte level check anytime you’re camping. Yes, be sure to wear safety glasses when doing this…
And unless you have a converter/charger with a battery maintenance mode, it’s not a good idea to leave AC power connected to your RV for extended periods. If you do need to keep power on to your RV for storage, it’s best to use a Float Charger (Battery Tender is a great brand) instead of your converter to keep the RV batteries charged. Find out more about Battery Tenders HERE.
More on this later
Once it warms up a bit (it’s 29 degrees in Maryland this morning) I’ll show you how to properly check your battery electrolyte level and add distilled water.
Let’s play safe out there… Mike
How can you tell if you have a converter/charger with a battery maintenance mode or not? I use my camper constantly, so it’s almost always plugged in. I do check my water levels regularly, but want to make sure I’m not damaging anything. Thanks!
Lead acid batteries can explode when the electrolyte levels are correct too. From the photo provided with the article, I see a small black wire and alligator clipped to the negative battery cable of the negative battery terminal. An alligator clip is not a tight connection. Lose connections at either the negative or positive terminal if an arc or spark occurs can also cause a gassing battery to explode with a correct electrolyte levels, so keep those connections clean and tight too.