New TT battery in the works

[Jagiven]

Well I guess I will not get a full 9 years out of my TT battery. I did not plug in after labor day, as we were having major landscaping work done, and I would be pulling the TT out of the driveway the following morning. Thursday evening, noticed the lights were a bit dim, and I could hear the tell tail chirp of the CO2/Gas detector when the battery is low. Even thought the battery was plugged in the night before. When this batter was strong, I could go about 3 weeks just sitting and disconnected before any possible low battery issues.

Every night I would park back in the driveway, some nights I plugged in, some nights I did not. Landscapers finished up Saturday. I went to move the truck when they arrived Saturday. Truck was DEAD (8.1 volts). I left the 7 pin connected all night, and the TT disconnected from shore power. TT Battery read 7.7 volts. Jumped truck, got it out of the driveway.

Saturday night, I parked back were the TT belongs. Disconnected the 7 pin. Tossed the trickle charger on the truck. Plugged the TT in. Sunday, I decided to disconnect, as I had the rest of the driveway cleaned up. I could smell the sulfur smell of a cooking battery. Put my had on the battery box and it was HOT. Pulled the battery cover and steam was coming from one of the cells. Pulled the inline fuse. By each cell vent was dark in color. I have not looked at the fluid levels yet. 2 weeks ago one cell was low just above the plates (think it was the one I saw steaming) the rest were full.

Guess I will be buy a new battery this coming week. Just have to decide if I upgrade to a group 31 or dual 6 volt. Problem I don't want to add any more weight up front. We do not boondock as much as I would like. But my CPAP does like its power, for when we do.

[JFlightRisk]

One steaming cell usually means a short, and it's won't come back to life. Ours is 8 years old too, and am wondering how long it'll last. It's been down to 11.2 volts a few times, when I've forgotten to plug it in after a month or so. My fault entirely, but they won't last forever. 8 years isn't a bad run.

[TCNashville]

My Excide battery is 8 years old as well. It's almost becoming a challenge to see how long I can keep it going. I have noticed that in the last couple of years it seems to need distilled water more frequently. During the camping season while at the storage facility, I keep it charged with a 7.5 watt solar charger. It spends the winter in my garage on a BatteryTender which desulfates it, whatever that means.