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Post by Amanda Kerr on May 18, 2019 18:55:57 GMT
Hi there,
I have 4 of these batteries (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-group-gc2-6-volt-deep-cycle-golf-cart-battery-0102000p.html#srp) - brand new, flooded and wired in series/parallel. 1x 100W renogy mono panel and the 30A Wanderer charge controller.
I set it all up and for 2 weeks it worked great. One day I went to turn off the inverter and the batteries were boiling! I turned off everything, disconnected everything immediately. Funny thing is the charger controller was telling me everything was alright. The battery light was solid and the PV light had a slow flash. I have tried reconfiguring the batteries and also just charge 2 batteries wired in series - still boils.
According to the manual provided with the charge controller if the voltage was off I would be getting a different combination of flashing lights. But the controller says everything is fine?
Any thoughts/ideas on what's going on?
Thanks,
Amanda
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Post by jsb2000 on May 18, 2019 23:40:07 GMT
Just to be sure I'm understanding correctly: By "boiling," do you mean that the batteries are hot (and bubbling) or that they're cool and you're just hearing occasional bubbling sounds from them?
The former is DEFINITELY a problem, while the latter is (usually) a normal sign that charging is occurring.
If the former...disconnect everything IMMEDIATELY and recheck all your connections. Check voltage levels with a volt meter and pay close attention to polarity. Make sure you haven't accidentally cross connected or shorted any of the batteries.
Also check all the batteries individually to make sure you don't have a faulty one.
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Post by bupkis on May 19, 2019 0:33:58 GMT
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Post by tattoo on May 19, 2019 13:25:14 GMT
What was the voltage of the batteries when you say they were boiling?? Were the batteries full of water??
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Post by Amanda Kerr on May 29, 2019 19:12:59 GMT
Just to be sure I'm understanding correctly: By "boiling," do you mean that the batteries are hot (and bubbling) or that they're cool and you're just hearing occasional bubbling sounds from them? The former is DEFINITELY a problem, while the latter is (usually) a normal sign that charging is occurring. If the former...disconnect everything IMMEDIATELY and recheck all your connections. Check voltage levels with a volt meter and pay close attention to polarity. Make sure you haven't accidentally cross connected or shorted any of the batteries. Also check all the batteries individually to make sure you don't have a faulty one. Hi there, That's the thing. The batteries were cool to the touch, but the batteries were definitely boiling - all 4 of them were 'boiling' - they sounded like boiling water in a pot on the stove. The 'boiling' was consistent and the longer I kept them connected to the solar the louder it got. The longest I left it was about 5 hours just to see if it would eventually stop (it didn't). Even after 5 hours the batteries were cool to the touch, but still made bubbling noises. After 5 hours the water in the batteries had reduced significantly. I feel like I am going insane as having spoken to many experts they have never heard of batteries behaving this way. I am a battery novice so I am not sure what to think. Today I was able to get back to the store where I bought them and they had never heard of batteries boiling without the battery itself being hot to the touch. Their theory is the batteries are being slightly overcharged, but they're not sure. The batteries are currently off grid on an island so I will need to somehow get them back to civilization. I will take your advice and get them checked out back where I bought them. Thank you for taking the time to respond! Amanda |
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Post by Amanda Kerr on May 29, 2019 19:16:53 GMT
What was the voltage of the batteries when you say they were boiling?? Were the batteries full of water?? Hi there, Voltage was normal and the batteries had adequate water. Before testing a few times I made sure there was enough water as after about 5 hours of boiling the water had reduced quite significantly. I have spoken to a number of experts and they are perplexed about what the problem could be. The batteries never get hot to the touch, but they give off a sound like water in a pot at full boil when being charged by the solar panel. It's probably something super simple and I am just not knowledgeable enough to figure it out! I am bringing them back from the Island they are on currently and will take them to where I purchased them for testing. Thank you so much for your response! Amanda |
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Post by tattoo on May 29, 2019 19:45:21 GMT
Hi there, Voltage was normal Amanda That tells me nothing....
If you said the batteries were at 14.2 that would tell me something helpful............
Best of luck fixing your problem..........
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Post by bupkis on May 30, 2019 0:42:23 GMT
depending on battery make up, gassing voltage is generally in the 14+v (depending on temperature).
Charge controllers do not hold batteries at gassing voltage for 5 hrs.
simple voltage testing at rest over time will yield a bad cell.
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