House Batteries and corrosion buildup?

[bclinton]

Since I took ownership I have always checked and filled my 2 lead acid house batteries every 3-4 weeks. Lately I started seeing corrosion buildup more and more after I clean it off. Was curious what causes this? They are at least 3 years old. I plan on removing the hold down bracket and cleaning it up good but was curious if this a sign of batteries going dead? Was hoping to get a couple of more years out of them....

[Iggy]

Sprinkle water on it and sprinkle baking soap will neutralize the acid.
Then wash away with water after the bubbling stops.


Read more...
https://www.wowwoodys.com/how-to-cle...%20to%20handle.

[TitanMike]

With your filling schedule are you sure you aren't over-filling? Water should only be to the BOTTOM of the well where you fill. Properly filled the ring at the bottom of this "well" will form a meniscus when the electrolyte touches it. Usually around an inch or so below top of battery.

Any electrolyte that makes it's way to the top of the battery will form the corrosion you pictured. A HUGE source of electrolyte escaping the fill caps is over-charging. Too high a voltage for too long. When a battery is fully charged (Lead Acid) the converter should switch to a low Float voltage, around 13.25 volts. If higher when battery is fully charged, it could be a defective converter.

Give the terminals and cables a good cleaning with baking soda/water solution. I've found a good corrosion inhibitor is the red spray most auto parts stores sell to prevent corrosion on terminals. in years past a LIGHT coating of regular motor oil worked well too. LIGHT, not so much it causes a mess.

[TheWolfPaq82]

X2 on over charging. Needing to add that often tells me it's bubbling out.

[NXR]

I checked our house batteries before we left for the winter trip. I rechecked them two months later and none needed water. When we got back in March I checked them again and one cell needed a bit of water.

We didn't use the batteries and we have a four-stage converter.

Ray

[bclinton]

Thanks guys! I'll give these suggestions a try!

[DouglasReid]

First Disconnect Every cable attached to the battery and the hold down clamp and lift out the battery to check its mounting base. If the base the battery sits on is corroded, include it in the cleaning processes I am described below.

Clean all the acid off the battery posts, cable clamps and the terminals of ALL wires attaching to the battery and the hold downs (including the bolts and threaded rods) as described with the baking soda that is a good first step.

Then clean all the above again with this product or something similar. Not expensive, $5 or so:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b...ry+spray&pos=3

Lastly coat all of the above with this product BEFORE reconnecting everything:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b...ry+spray&pos=1

You may be afraid the electriicity will not pass through the coating, have no fear it will not inhibit the connection in any way. What this will do is prevent corrosion in the future.

Once you have them cleaned all you need do in the future is respray the protector on any time you disconnect anything. Your battery and its surrounding metal will all appreciate your efforts.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Give the terminals and cables a good cleaning with baking soda/water solution. I've found a good corrosion inhibitor is the red spray most auto parts stores sell to prevent corrosion on terminals. in years past a LIGHT coating of regular motor oil worked well too. LIGHT, not so much it causes a mess.

Put on a set of nitrile gloves and then smear some chassis grease on the terminals. It lasts much longer than other solutions.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by bclinton

Since I took ownership I have always checked and filled my 2 lead acid house batteries every 3-4 weeks. Lately I started seeing corrosion buildup more and more after I clean it off. Was curious what causes this? They are at least 3 years old. I plan on removing the hold down bracket and cleaning it up good but was curious if this a sign of batteries going dead? Was hoping to get a couple of more years out of them....

One thing I do that helps prevent corrosion from coming back after I clean the batteries is to stir some baking soda vigorously into some water in a cup and then, before it settles out of the water, pour the mixture around the bases of the batteries. It makes a little bit of a white mess but it keeps the corrosion neutralized for months.

When want to replace the baking soda, rinse the old soda out with a water spray first. Be careful, though not to pour any of the mixture on top of the batteries as it could seep down into the water fill ports and neutralize the acid.

[camaraderie]

I'm with Titan Mike on this one. Overfilled is my guess too ...especially since they rarely need refilling if the electrolyte is not being boiled off by overfilling or excessive charging voltage.
If you are keeping your unit plugged in...even when not in use...Suggest you Unplug after a 24 hour charge and DISCONNECT the black battery wire. The battery will be fine when you come back to check on it 2 months later for sure.

[TriGlide]

You can use good ole Coca Cola straight out of the can to clean off the corrosion... Used to use it back in the 60's and it works great...Just think what it does to your stomach... baking soda works too though.. But coke is more fun when it fizzes...

[mnoland30]

X2 on axle grease to keep the corrosion off. i use Vaseline instead, because it seems a little cleaner. Works like a charm.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by mnoland30

X2 on axle grease to keep the corrosion off. i use Vaseline instead, because it seems a little cleaner. Works like a charm.

Another thing that I found that helped was using stainless steel connectors to attach the ends of the battery straps to the steel battery tray. The old ones not made of stainless kept corroding away even when I cleaned them and coated them.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by hikerjohn7

Another thing that I found that helped was using stainless steel connectors to attach the ends of the battery straps to the steel battery tray. The old ones not made of stainless kept corroding away even when I cleaned them and coated them.

That will be my next step. I removed them and painted them a few months back and the paint was eaten off in a few months.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

I'm with Titan Mike on this one. Overfilled is my guess too ...especially since they rarely need refilling if the electrolyte is not being boiled off by overfilling or excessive charging voltage.
If you are keeping your unit plugged in...even when not in use...Suggest you Unplug after a 24 hour charge and DISCONNECT the black battery wire. The battery will be fine when you come back to check on it 2 months later for sure.

I use one of the battery filling jugs that has a spring loaded fill nozzle that is supposed to shut off
the water when not needed in the cell.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by bclinton

I use one of the battery filling jugs that has a spring loaded fill nozzle that is supposed to shut off
the water when not needed in the cell.

Those usually work well. Still should visually check to make sure it didn't have an air leak where dispenser cap is screwed on to jug. If air gets into jug, water will flow even if tip is covered with water/electrolyte.

They're great for places that are somewhat difficult to reach. Even better, consider a "battery water system" where you only have a single fill point for all cells.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by mnoland30

X2 on axle grease to keep the corrosion off. i use Vaseline instead, because it seems a little cleaner. Works like a charm.

Vaseline is OK as it doesn't stain clothes as bad

I used to have a large boat with batteries everywhere. Hated grease as it became a magnet for all kinds of "gunk" and made a nasty mess.

Tried the anti-corrosion washers for a while but finally settled on the battery terminal spray.

Some boat owners I knew would paint the terminals and connectors, Red for + and Black for -. Only did this after carefully cleaning both of any corrosion and scraped mating surfaces so connections were "shiny metal to shiny metal. Once tightened the paint was THEN applied. Sure looked neat but I think it was re-done ar regular intervals.

It's also very important to keep the top of a lead acid battery clean. Regular washing with a Baking Soda/Water solution (careful to keep solution out of cells) will greatly reduce any discharge across the electrolyte fouled surface of the battery. People might be amazed at how much discharge across the surface of a battery is possible. To see how much, connect one lead of a Multimeter to either terminal then put the other lead on the surface of the battery. Start close to the terminal the lead is attached to and drag other lead across the surface toward the other terminal. A perfectly clean battery top should show ZERO volts as you approach the remaining terminal.

This discharge may not be much when you check but just remember that it's discharging 24/7/365 and even small amounts can add up over time.

Regular cleaning will also make all the surrounding hardware last longer too.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Vaseline is OK as it doesn't stain clothes as bad

I used to have a large boat with batteries everywhere. Hated grease as it became a magnet for all kinds of "gunk" and made a nasty mess.

Tried the anti-corrosion washers for a while but finally settled on the battery terminal spray.

Some boat owners I knew would paint the terminals and connectors, Red for + and Black for -. Only did this after carefully cleaning both of any corrosion and scraped mating surfaces so connections were "shiny metal to shiny metal. Once tightened the paint was THEN applied. Sure looked neat but I think it was re-done ar regular intervals.

It's also very important to keep the top of a lead acid battery clean. Regular washing with a Baking Soda/Water solution (careful to keep solution out of cells) will greatly reduce any discharge across the electrolyte fouled surface of the battery. People might be amazed at how much discharge across the surface of a battery is possible. To see how much, connect one lead of a Multimeter to either terminal then put the other lead on the surface of the battery. Start close to the terminal the lead is attached to and drag other lead across the surface toward the other terminal. A perfectly clean battery top should show ZERO volts as you approach the remaining terminal.

This discharge may not be much when you check but just remember that it's discharging 24/7/365 and even small amounts can add up over time.

Regular cleaning will also make all the surrounding hardware last longer too.

Does disconnecting batteries while in storage help reduce terminal corrosion?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by hikerjohn7

Does disconnecting batteries while in storage help reduce terminal corrosion?

Yes and no. Disconnecting will make sure that batteries aren't overcharging (which boils out electrolyte) but so will just unplugging power source. Corrosion is a chemical action that's caused by electrolyte (Sulfuric Acid and Water) that's escaped the inside of the battery.

For best battery life I'm a fan of keeping a maintenance charge on Lead Acid batteries to prevent sulfation. A small solar "battery maintainer" panel or a shore powered "battery minder" are good options as are the onboard converters if they have a true float charge mode (short way of saying "the converter works properly and doesn't boil the battery dry over long periods of time")