Seneca House Battery Explosion

[tjbroussard]

Had just returned from work, opened RV to put away supplies, closed it up and walked away. Heard loud explosion, returned to RV and saw water dripping from battery compartment. I de-energized the circuit (50 amp breaker on my home RV connection) and carefully opened battery door to find number one battery had exploded. Too dark for pictures, but will take some upon day light.

2014 Seneca 37FS with Oct 2014 Interstate SRM 27 green top batteries. I do leave it on AC power most all of the time while in the driveway.

Questions:

1. Does the battery charger analyze and trickle?
2. Was this just a result of old batteries?

I plan on replacing all four.

Thoughts, tips, advice?

Thanks....

[Grumpy]

Yes, it has the "smart charger" built into the converter. With that said, it could have malfunctioned. Are the other batteries dry or very low?

When we had our SENECA I rarely had to even top off the batteries and we had it for 6 years, plugged in 24/7.

[tjbroussard]

I routinely check the batteries, clean contacts, and add distilled water. I will check the other tomorrow.

I'll also check that controller.

Thanks.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by tjbroussard

I routinely check the batteries, clean contacts, and add distilled water. I will check the other tomorrow.

I'll also check that controller.

Thanks.

If you are adding water regularly it may be overcharging.

[Robbbyr]

First advice would be to go back out and carefully and thoroughly wash the entire compartment out with a gentle stream from a hose. Wear eye and skin protection please! Sulfuric acid just got sprayed everywhere and corrosion has already begun. I fear anything that got sprayed may be damaged, problems likely will occur sooner or later.

The battery likely had a hydrogen buildup and somehow an ignition source caused it to explode.

[tjbroussard]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

First advice would be to go back out and carefully and thoroughly wash the entire compartment out with a gentle stream from a hose. Wear eye and skin protection please! Sulfuric acid just got sprayed everywhere and corrosion has already begun. I fear anything that got sprayed may be damaged, problems likely will occur sooner or later.

The battery likely had a hydrogen buildup and somehow an ignition source caused it to explode.

Did that right after I de-energized the system. Surprised that the compartment door held. It was towards the middle of the four pack of batteries. Probably would have had guests jumping had they been on the couch.

Thanks!

[bansai]

Originally Posted by tjbroussard

Did that right after I de-energized the system. Surprised that the compartment door held. It was towards the middle of the four pack of batteries. Probably would have had guests jumping had they been on the couch.

Thanks!

Did you put a volt meter on your other batteries yet to see where they are at?

Is your battery box / area vented? I've always heard about batteries being able to explode, but this is really really rare unless something failed (like your converter).

Baking soda solution may be in order too if you have any doubts on the cleanup side. Curious to hear what you find out.

[abarkl]

We had one of the two in our first generation Seneca explode last year shortly after buying the RV used from a previous owner.
We asked the same questions here and also searched and read lots of other sources. It seems to be a rare occurrence and there's not much solid, reliable, information as to why it happened in our configuration.

We have the exact same Progressive Dynamics (PD) 80 amp converter/charger in the Seneca that we had in the previous two motorhomes, never a problem. We call PD support and they said as long as it was outputting 13.1 volts it was working correctly and they couldn't explain it either.

We took the exploded battery to many battery stores and they claimed they'd never seen anything like it.

So we bought a new battery, installed and connected as you normally would, run the charger as needed and have not had another problem since (fingers crossed).

This picture doesn't say it all but essentially the entire top cover exploded into several pieces.

[Robbbyr]

You might consider washing out the area with a solution of water and baking soda to neutralize the acid spray. Do this after you have removed the batteries, you would not want to get the solution into the open (damaged) battery. A violent reaction could take place!

Might be a good time to consider a switch to four 6-volt true deep-cycle batteries. I agree a check of the converter/charger is in order, our units do have a 3-stage charger that should prevent overcharging, but like many things mechanical or electronic they can fail.

I have 4 Trojan T-105s in my Seneca, I also installed a single-point watering system so topping off the batteries is super easy and it prevents them from being overfilled. My Harris dual-purpose batteries did not even make it a year but I think they may have gone dead and froze before I bought my unit.

Best of luck.

[tjbroussard]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

You might consider washing out the area with a solution of water and baking soda to neutralize the acid spray. Do this after you have removed the batteries, you would not want to get the solution into the open (damaged) battery. A violent reaction could take place!

Might be a good time to consider a switch to four 6-volt true deep-cycle batteries. I agree a check of the converter/charger is in order, our units do have a 3-stage charger that should prevent overcharging, but like many things mechanical or electronic they can fail.

I have 4 Trojan T-105s in my Seneca, I also installed a single-point watering system so topping off the batteries is super easy and it prevents them from being overfilled. My Harris dual-purpose batteries did not even make it a year but I think they may have gone dead and froze before I bought my unit.

Best of luck.

Can you tell me the model of the T-105s? I see a few varieties. No local dealer, so this may be a challenge.

Thanks....

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by tjbroussard

Can you tell me the model of the T-105s? I see a few varieties. No local dealer, so this may be a challenge.

Thanks....

I installed T-105 Plus ELPT (embedded low-profile terminals) batteries. Slightly taller than the original Harris batteries, but not so much as to cause any issues rolling them in or out on the slide tray. I also put in the Trojan Hydrolink watering system. Worth the money IMHO.

Trojan has a distributor link on their webpage (Trojan Battery Company), but if you have golf courses in your area they might be able to point you to a local sales outlet.

[tjbroussard]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

I installed T-105 Plus ELPT (embedded low-profile terminals) batteries. Slightly taller than the original Harris batteries, but not so much as to cause any issues rolling them in or out on the slide tray. I also put in the Trojan Hydrolink watering system. Worth the money IMHO.



Trojan has a distributor link on their webpage (Trojan Battery Company), but if you have golf courses in your area they might be able to point you to a local sales outlet.

Perfect. Thank you.


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[Robbbyr]

Correction - went back and looked at my paperwork. I do not have the Plus version, just the regular T-105 batteries. I think since I wanted Hydrolink the Plus batteries would not work.

[tjbroussard]

Checked Costco which is right next door to my office, and they have both Interstate Group 27 ($75.00) and a 6v battery ($85). Seems there are two camps on these on the forums, but for the price I think Im leaning to the 6v Costco. May get a little bump in longevity off the grid.

Thoughts?

[abarkl]

We have always used the Costco 6 volt deep cycle golf cart batteries over many years in multiple motorhomes and no complaints here.

[Robbbyr]

There are some pros/cons to different battery setups. Your original batteries were likely "dual-purpose" batteries, not actual deep-cycle batteries. Actual 12-volt deep-cycle batteries are harder to find than 6-volt versions. Likely more expensive to put four 12-volt deep-cycle batteries back in versus 6-volt deep-cycle batteries which tend to be more readily available.

A drawback to 6-volt conversions is that if you have one battery go bad, you have to take another out of service to keep 12-volts flowing to your coach. Not a death blow since we have four batteries total. So we keep 1/2 our capacity until we get a new battery. Much more of an issue where you only have room for two total batteries and go the 6-volt route! But if you have four 12-volt batteries and lose one, you still have 3/4s of your capacity.

You may get slightly more amp-hour capacity with four 6-volt batteries compared to your current setup. But another benefit is that likely you will get longer service life and more charge/discharge cycles from "real" deep-cycle batteries. Proper maintenance is essential, as well as not excessively discharging the batteries.

If you do convert to a 6-volt battery system you obviously need to reconfigure your battery connections. I was able to do mine with the cables my unit came with. Just rearranged things.

[tjbroussard]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

There are some pros/cons to different battery setups. Your original batteries were likely "dual-purpose" batteries, not actual deep-cycle batteries. Actual 12-volt deep-cycle batteries are harder to find than 6-volt versions. Likely more expensive to put four 12-volt deep-cycle batteries back in versus 6-volt deep-cycle batteries which tend to be more readily available.

A drawback to 6-volt conversions is that if you have one battery go bad, you have to take another out of service to keep 12-volts flowing to your coach. Not a death blow since we have four batteries total. So we keep 1/2 our capacity until we get a new battery. Much more of an issue where you only have room for two total batteries and go the 6-volt route! But if you have four 12-volt batteries and lose one, you still have 3/4s of your capacity.

You may get slightly more amp-hour capacity with four 6-volt batteries compared to your current setup. But another benefit is that likely will get longer service life and more charge/discharge cycles from "real" deep-cycle batteries. Proper maintenance is essential, as well as not excessively discharging the batteries.

If you do convert to a 6-volt battery system you obviously need to reconfigure your battery connections. I was able to do mine with the cables my unit came with. Just rearranged things.

Rob

Great info. Do you have a post of the battery after you rerouted the wires? (I've located graphics, but pictures are best.) This will be tomorrow nights project. Plan on adding the Flow-Rite Watering system as well later.

Thanks again.

[Robbbyr]

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures and my unit is at Jayco Service in Middlebury (long story)! So I cannot get you any soon.

I do know that the pair of batteries located closest to the cab in the tray are connected in series (to make 12-volts). A single cable connects the positive terminal of one battery to the negative of the other. The second pair of batteries towards the rear of the coach are connected to each other the same way. In essence you can imagine it like two large 12-volt batteries, one pair close to the front wall of that compartment, the other to the rear wall.

All four batteries have their positive terminals oriented towards the center of the chassis. To tie the two (now 12-volt) banks together I connected a cable between the two positive terminals on the batteries located closest to the framerail, and a negative connection was made between the two negative terminals close to the compartment door. That creates a "parallel" connection between the two pairs of batteries doubling the amp-hour capacity of the bank. Now it behaves like one big 12-volt battery.

Then the positive leads (mine had two large cables) to the motorhome were connected to the positive terminals of the batteries closest to the framerail, and likewise the (also two) negative cables from the motorhome were connected to the negative terminals of the batteries at the other end closest to the compartment door. I made sure there was slack in all the cables so that the tray could roll in and out without hanging up, stretching, or pinching any of the cables.

Just to emphasize, there are no additional connections made to the center connections of the two banks, a cable merely goes from one battery's positive terminal to its partner's negative. All connections to the motorhome itself are made at either the inboard (+) end or the outboard (-) end in my installation. Nothing connected to the motorhome in the middle; just a connection to the "partner" battery.

Do be very careful to ensure you don't confuse the connections and create an over-voltage situation. Our units would likely react very badly to 18 or 24 volts being introduced into their systems!

[tjbroussard]

Just an update. Using the great advice here, I went with six volt batteries. (Costco, adding Flow-rite RV fill system). Attached are pics of the exploded battery, and the following conversion.


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[tjbroussard]

PS Flow Rite system on order.


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