My house battery blew up

dengraham · 06-06-2006, 07:30 PM

I came home and saw a puddle under my RV.I checked and it was battery acid. One of my house batteries actually blew up. It whole sides were blown off. So who do I call? Winnebago (still under one year warranty) or Interstate? It is a marine RV model SRM-24. I check the cells every month. The other batteries seem to be fine. One cell on the blown battery still has plenty of water.

dengraham · 06-06-2006, 07:30 PM

I came home and saw a puddle under my RV.I checked and it was battery acid. One of my house batteries actually blew up. It whole sides were blown off. So who do I call? Winnebago (still under one year warranty) or Interstate? It is a marine RV model SRM-24. I check the cells every month. The other batteries seem to be fine. One cell on the blown battery still has plenty of water.

MrTransistor · 06-06-2006, 08:55 PM

Hi Dennis & Trish,

Winnebago first, then after the one year basic warranty is up, go to Interstate. Replace all of the coach batteries at the same time with batteries of the same lot number if at all possible. The one that blew was probably the good one and the ones that survived may have shorted cells. Have the charger output checked before and after the replacement batteries are installed.

resqguy · 06-08-2006, 03:48 AM

I've had great service from Interstate. All my coach batteries (used) were bad on my new motorhome. Interstate replaced them with new ones at no charge.

Two Bit · 06-08-2006, 04:10 AM

What to do immediately while waiting on warranty decisions .... buy several boxes (10 or more) of Arm & Hammer baking soda and dissolve in water and liberally coat all areas exposed to the acid with the water/soda mix. Let is sit awhile and rinse with plain water. Do this repeatedly. Use straight damp baking soda where you can. The acid will continue to eat away at anything it touched, even after it dries, until it is neutralized. Baking soda is a good acid neutralizer if used in enough quantity. Your biggest worry and long term damage will be the acid spillage and what it will eat up.
*Wear safety glasses, blue rubber gloves, and old clothes (long sleeves,long pants) while doing the cleaning. When you think you have gotten rid of all the acid, do it again. THe soda will fizz as it neutralizes the acid and will become used up, needing new soda to continue killing the acid. Continue to sprinkle dry soda all over the area for days. Soda will not harm anything in the battery bay.

CaptBill · 06-08-2006, 04:07 PM

Seems to me that I remember something about an Interstate battery recall of certain models, but not sure. I would call them and see what they do.

JD Allen · 06-08-2006, 07:42 PM

I just picked up my Winnebago this evening. My Winnebago dealer, Poulsbo, replaced both of my house batteries under warranty. My one year warranty runs out in about two more weeks. One of my house batteries was heating up to about 180 degrees F. when I was on shore power.

I asked why they replaced both batteries and they said both batteries had bad cells. Now that my one year warranty is almost over I guess I'll either foot the bill or talk to the manufacturer of whatever fails.

When my dealer replaced the batteries they also changed the way the batteries were wired. I sent an e-mail to Interstate Batteries and they sent back wiring diagrams saying the most batteries are wired incorrectly, placing most of the load on one battery.

Here is the reply I received from Interstate Batteries:

Sketches would not print. The sketches show the batteries connected together + to + and - to - the normal way two 12 volt batteries are connected in a 12 volt system.

In the traditional method the coach + and - leads are connected to the same battery.

The preferred method is coach + lead is connected to one battery and the coach - lead is connected to the other battery.

Here is the text part of the Interstate Battery e-mail:

Above you have the traditional method of connecting batteries when you have resistance in the cables or connection battery one bears the entire load when charging or discharging, and battery two just sit back and enjoy the ride not having to work as hard. So, in saying that it is possible that may have resistance in you cables or connection.

On the preferred method of connecting your batteries both, share the amount of charging and discharging equally.

Respectfully,

Charles R. Brown

Technical Service Specialist,IBSA

JD Allen · 06-08-2006, 08:09 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Capt.Bill:
Seems to me that I remember something about an Interstate battery recall of certain models, but not sure. I would call them and see what they do. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I remember this also so I went back and read the old posting about Interstate Batteries. The problem was with Series 31 batteries. dengraham says his batteries are SRM-24, which are not Series 31.