House battery boiling! Emergency

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BlakeLinda
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:07 pm

House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by BlakeLinda »

Emergency request
Preparing to leave on a trip tomorrow. Our motor home has been plugged in (in RV garage] for weeks and One house battery got dry. I filled with distilled water and half the battery is now boiling. I cut the 12 volt main off but battery continues to boil. Afraid to leave it boiling. Would appreciate any suggestions!

10:05 pm Update: I was able to disconnect the battery. Boiling stopped and cooling down. Hope a replacement is the fix.
Blake & Linda
2010 RSK
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whemme
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Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by whemme »

You provided so little information making it very hard to help you.
#1 - what make an model is your motorhome?
#2 - do you have 1 or 2 house batteries?
#3 - is your motorhome equipped with the single-stage 9345 converter/charger?
#4 - if so and you leave your motorhome hooked up to shoreline power for long periods of time, that 9345 will after bringing up your house battery(s) to full charge will then proceed to overcharge the batteries leading to boiling out of the battery acid and destroying the batteries.
#5 - your motorhome is most likely equipped with a house batteries ON/OFF master switch which you should have shut off when you noticed the battery boiling - no need to actually disconnect the batteries to stop the over-charging problem. Also if you keep plugged into shoreline power for long periods of time, shutting off this master switch once the batteries are fully charged is highly advised.
#6 - there also the possibility that your converter/charger has failed and putting out a too high charging voltage. Check the actual charging voltage at the battery terminals with a good digital voltmeter and the charging voltage should be +13.8 vdc.

Please report back what you find.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
BlakeLinda
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:07 pm

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by BlakeLinda »

Emergency averted! You are so right Bill, I suppose we didn’t provide enough info, we panicked!
#1- 2010 RSK
#2-2 house batteries
#3-do not know (didn’t find in any of our manuels]
#4-for the 10 yrs we have owned, we plug in to shore power and have never had a problem.
#5- we turned the master switch off and it continued to boil and steam and so hot could not touch (this was in an enclosed garage)
#6- we installed new batteries the next morning , started the motorhome and meter read 13.6. Cut engine and started generator, meter read 13.8, cut generator and plugged into 110, meter reads 14.3. Left plugged in for two hours with no change. Is 14.3 too high? It never got over 14.3
Why did cutting the Master switch NOT stop the boiling?
It only stopped when I disconnected the ground cable.
We’re on the road and stopped for the night. Everything appears to be working.
Appreciate you asking and offering help!
Blake & Linda
2010 RSK
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whemme
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Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:05 pm

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by whemme »

Well if you are equipped with the common Parallax 9345 charger/converter you should be able to tell by flipping the brown down and inside that lid it should say 9345. If it is that charger/converter then it is a single stage unit putting a constant charge voltage of +13.8 vdc. That charge voltage is high enough to cause over charging once the batteries reach full charge and then start boiling out the acid slowly. Leaving your coach hooked up to shoreline power for long periods of time causes this over charging an as a minimum would cause you to need to add water to the batteries frequently. Why shutting off the master switch did not stop the boiling is a puzzle to me - the result is the same as disconnecting the battery cables. Have you experienced that!? Yes +14.3 vdc is too high if you have the 9345. Also the charge voltage should be the same rather plugged into shoreline power or running your generator. Are you sure the two voltages are different?

If you coach does have the 9345, I would highly recommend it be replaced with a modern 3-stage charger/converter that will allow you to be plugged into shoreline power year around with no over charging problems. There is a procedure for doing this posted in the Coach Modifications section on our website’s forum area.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
BlakeLinda
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:07 pm

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by BlakeLinda »

Thank you for info Bill. We are on the road today but will research more when we stop. Not sure what “brown down” is or where to look for that model number 9345. (In the metal boxes under the sink?)
Blake & Linda
2010 RSK
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whemme
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Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by whemme »

Sorry for the typo, I meant brown door down. Also, the charger/converter I was referring to is the Parallax 7345 not the 9345 - also my mistake.

A photo of the 7345 is attached below. This is your power center generally located somewhere around your bathroom sink area. The top half i a door that you can flip down and inside that door you should see a sticker showing 7345. Let me know if this is the charger/converter that you have.
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Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
ebaron
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Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 7:37 am

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by ebaron »

Bill, thanks for the continued info. I think in my ‘08 I have had similar issue with boiling batteries as I left RV plugged in too long. My converter / charger is mounted under a shelf under bath sink. The model is a 7445. Is that of similar vintage that would be best to replace with a better charger?

Also, thanks for the tip of turning off master switch when plugged in after batteries are charged. I assumed switch was to be left on when using RV. Learn something new everyday!
Ed
2008 27RSB
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whemme
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Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by whemme »

ebaron,

Are you sure that your charger/converter section is a 7445 not a 7345.

If it actually is a 7345, would highly recommend it be replaced with a Progressive Dynamics PD4655V Charger/Converter. Procudure to do that is contained in the Coach Modifications section on this forum. After to make that conversion you can leave your coach battery master switch turned on all the time while connected to shoreline power without causing overcharging of your batteries.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
ebaron
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 7:37 am

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by ebaron »

Bill,
Just double checked it, model # is 7445.
Ed
2008 27RSB
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whemme
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Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by whemme »

Sorry but a Progressive Dynamics PD4655v can’t replace a Parallax 7445. The chassis details are totally different. The attached photo below shows a 7445.
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Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
ebaron
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 7:37 am

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by ebaron »

Thanks for the info Bill, I’ll need to do a little research on other possibilities.
Ed
2008 27RSB
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whemme
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Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by whemme »

Suggest going to the website http://www.bestconverter.com and contact Randy. He is an expert in this field.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
BlakeLinda
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:07 pm

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by BlakeLinda »

Hi Bill & Ed
Our two new batteries have been plugged in all this time and are not low on water and show a charge of 12.8. Our model is Progressive Dynamics #PD4045K.
I was told the reason it boiled, was the plates had broken and fell against each other. Our master switch did not stop the boiling. I had to make a cardboard shield and disconnect the cable and it stopped boiling.
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Blake & Linda
2010 RSK
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whemme
Posts: 2110
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:05 pm

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by whemme »

[quote="BlakeLinda”]I was told the reason it boiled, was the plates had broken and fell against each other. Our master switch did not stop the boiling. I had to make a cardboard shield and disconnect the cable and it stopped boiling.[/quote]

Shutting off the coach battery’s master switch has the same result as disconnecting the cables from one of the battery posts. If disconnecting the battery cables stopped the boiling then shutting off the master switch should have also stopped the boiling. Where exactly did you place that cardboard shield?

Click on the following link to view the installation/operation manual for your PD4045K:
https://www.progressivedyn.com/wp-conte ... nglish.pdf There is an Output Mode Switch that should be in the LA position. If somehow that switch got changed to the LI position, then the unit will output a constant +14.6 vdc charge voltage that will if left that way long enough will seriously overcharge your batteries and cause boiling.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
BlakeLinda
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:07 pm

Re: House battery boiling! Emergency

Post by BlakeLinda »

Hi Bill,
First, the reason we posted this about the battery was the “Master Switch” did NOT stop the battery
boiling. It was getting more and more hot.
I made the shield out cardboard to put between me & the battery, in case, it blew when I tried to take the cable off! As soon as the cable was off, the battery cooled down & stopped boiling. That’s the mystery. We have our RV inside a garage plugged in and have never experienced such.
The next day we installed 2 new batteries. They’re working fine & charging properly.
Thanks for you reply.
Blake & Linda
2010 RSK
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