[drive_angry]

My Exide Invatubular 150mh batteries paired with Su-Kam digital invertor are not holding the charge anymore. its already been 5 years and with summers knocking the door, I am thinking of getting them replaced. Any suggestions which brand I should go for? I have heard very good reviews of Amaron as well but mind says continue with Exide as it really gives trouble free backup through the course of its life (~5 years).

From a cost perspective, Amaron gives 3k back on the used battery per battery where as Exide gives 4k back. Amaron are ~1k costlier as compared to Exide of similar ampere rating. Your thoughts please?

[k.sumit]

Need some help with acid spillage from a new battery (still sealed in the box). I just bought Luminous Life Max 150ah tubular battery and on the way home, the battery leaked acid all over my car's boot carpet (since it was in horizontal position). The carpet was destroyed but what worries me is the effect on battery in future. The dealer says that they will bring in acid and replenish the lost acid but I wanted to check if there are any long term negative effects on the life of this battery. Thanks in advance.

[aim120]

Originally Posted by k.sumit

Need some help with acid spillage from a new battery (still sealed in the box). I just bought Luminous Life Max 150ah tubular battery and on the way home, the battery leaked acid all over my car's boot carpet (since it was in horizontal position). The carpet was destroyed but what worries me is the effect on battery in future. The dealer says that they will bring in acid and replenish the lost acid but I wanted to check if there are any long term negative effects on the life of this battery. Thanks in advance.

No, effect on battery life. As long as you didn't use the battery in that state.
The dealer will put acid and distill water and charge it.

But seriously why on earth would you keep a bettery on horizontal position, when its common sense and there are markings on the carton.

[k.sumit]

Originally Posted by aim120

But seriously why on earth would you keep a bettery on horizontal position, when its common sense and there are markings on the carton.

Thanks for the clarification. The battery was kept in a vertical position but on the way back home, it got tilted to a point where acid started leaking. I made sure it was stacked vertically but a pothole may have made it shift its position.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by k.sumit

The battery was kept in a vertical position but on the way back home, it got tilted to a point where acid started leaking...

Ouch, nasty!

You may be ahead of me on this (hope you are!) but have to taken steps to neutralise any trace of acid that may remain in the car, including what you can't see?

If it was me, I'd use copious quantities of strong sodium bicarbonate solution on everything in the area.

[k.sumit]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Ouch, nasty!

You may be ahead of me on this (hope you are!) but have to taken steps to neutralise any trace of acid that may remain in the car, including what you can't see?

If it was me, I'd use copious quantities of strong sodium bicarbonate solution on everything in the area.

Had little to no idea on how to deal with it so I carefully removed the carpet and threw it aside. Later took a dry cloth and wiped off what was left behind (very little of it). I wasn't wearing any gloves so a couple of my fingers turned white but I do not feel any burning sensation. I thoroughly rinsed my hand post that but I can only hope it wasn't a stupid idea.

The battery is still kept inside the box and I havent opened it. I've asked the dealer to send someone to take a look at it tomorrow.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by k.sumit

Later took a dry cloth and wiped off what was left behind (very little of it).

Please revisit those areas with a neutralizing agent. Even soap! Sodium bicarbonate has the advantage that it will bubble when meeting acid. Visual feedback.

Sulphuric acid attracts water, so it can, in untechnical terms (can't think of the right ones!) get wet again. And, as you know, it corrodes very seriously.

I wasn't wearing any gloves so a couple of my fingers turned white but I do not feel any burning sensation. I thoroughly rinsed my hand post that but I can only hope it wasn't a stupid idea.

Great idea.Diluted it as much as possible. Even better would to have washed with soap. You probably have done since then anyway.

The battery is still kept inside the box and I havent opened it. I've asked the dealer to send someone to take a look at it tomorrow.

These things are expensive: I hope all is set to rights.

[anks_at]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Sulphuric acid attracts water, so it can, in untechnical terms (can't think of the right ones!) get wet again.

Perhaps you mean "Hygroscopic". Absorbs moisture from air & starts reaction again.

[hellmet]

Guys, a few months ago, my parents topped up distilled water in our inverter battery a bit too much, to put it mildly. The result was overflowing of acid and the ruining of our floor.

That aside, the battery now stays more than warm to touch, and the distilled-water indicators have all dropped below "RED" even though there's sufficient water in all cells.

The inverter fan also comes on and off frequently, and it takes a long time to charge post power failure.

However, the battery is supplying power during a power cut.

Do these point to an imminent battery failure? Any hopes on having the acid topped up by the dealer or is it too late?

(This is an Amaron battery with Tribal inverter.)

Thanks!

[sinhead]

Do I need to disconnect the batteries to clean the terminal?

Should I clean it with Baking soda and water or wd 40 ?

Only one terminal has some greenish powdery formation. Rest are clean.

[gpa]

Charging woes of inverter

I have been using a Microtek 24x7 HB950 VA pure sine-wave inverter mated to a Powerzone AUC-PZ-INV1200MF flat plate battery since May 2017 with a manufacturing date of Dec 2016.

The area I live is doesn't really have long power outages since I installed it and I've followed regular checking and maintenance of the battery every 6-8 months since purchase.

However, since the past two days, the inverter seems to be charging all the time with the charging indicator being on continuously despite there being no power outages. I checked the charging voltage flowing to the battery with a multimeter and it indicated a steady 13.60 V. The battery surface is warm to the touch and showed a reading of 38°C

I called the technician from the shop where I purchased it and he came home to check. After turning off the main power and putting a full load on the battery for 10 mins - the battery voltage showed a steady 11.80V.

He mentioned that the inverter is fine and that I should keep an eye on my electricity bill for this month as this constant charging could be an indicator of a failing battery.

Since it has been just over 4 years since I installed it (4.5 years since the date of mfg on the battery), I have been using inverters since 1999 and have seen the technology evolve but this is the lowest service life I have got from a battery. Local brands have lasted longer (6-7 years) but I suspect that the lack of usage over the past four years is the reason for the low service life.

I have a couple of questions to check for inputs:

1. Does it make sense to go ahead an change this battery now?
2. Would a tall tubular battery of 120 AH perform better in terms of lifespan?
3. What are possible replacement brand I could consider? Going by what I've read on this thread, Exide seems to be a good choice.

Thanks,
gpa

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by gpa

However, since the past two days, the inverter seems to be charging all the time with the charging indicator being on continuously despite there being no power outages. I checked the charging voltage flowing to the battery with a multimeter and it indicated a steady 13.60 V. The battery surface is warm to the touch and showed a reading of 38°C

I suspect, overcharge protection is probably malfunctioning. In case of inverter failing to cut off charging, the batteries tend to heat up and eventually may get damaged, if overcharging prolongs.

Does it make sense to go ahead an change this battery now?

I doubt, battery needs replacement at the moment.

Would a tall tubular battery of 120 AH perform better in terms of lifespan?

Yes, tubular batteries generally fare better in this regard.

What are possible replacement brand I could consider? Going by what I've read on this thread, Exide seems to be a good choice.

Exide definitely is a top choice. You may also consider Luminous/Livguard.

[gpa]

Originally Posted by Emvi

I suspect, overcharge protection is probably malfunctioning. In case of inverter failing to cut off charging, the batteries tend to heat up and eventually may get damaged, if overcharging prolongs.

Thanks, for your response and help. Could you please elaborate a little more on this problem? Is this a problem that could occur suddenly?

I have another 1.6 kVA Microtek UPSSEBz1600 Pure Sine Wave inverter doing duty at my parent's place since Sept 2014 and we have not had any issues like this cropping up.

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by gpa

Thanks, for your response and help. Could you please elaborate a little more on this problem? Is this a problem that could occur suddenly?

Yes, it can occur out of the blue. Last Saturday our Microtek inverter went kaput just like that. That morning, smoke started emanating out of it without prior signs of warning. It was working perfect till that moment. Luckily, extent of damage wasn't too much. A couple of charred internal components were replaced. Inverter technician suspected voltage fluctuation as the possible reason for the problem. I am not fully convinced, though. Electronic/electrical appliances on occasions fail or malfunction without dropping a hint.

[gpa]

Originally Posted by gpa

Charging woes of inverter

Update

I called an inverter technician to check the inverter and based on the voltages being output (steady 13.6 V) when charging he also pointed out the fault being with the battery given the age of 4.5 years. I was on the verge of calling up the dealer where I bought this inverter and battery and ordering a replacement but decided to double-check if the inverter had a fault and so took the unit to my parents residence to check it.

The setup there is different so I told my folks to turn-off the mains supply and use the battery backup for 2 hours to simulate some level of discharge to the batteries.

Upon arrival, I unplugged the 1.6 kVA Microtek UPSSEBz1600 Pure Sine Wave inverter and hooked-up one of the 120 AH batteries to my Microtek 24x7 HB950 VA inverter to check if the charging circuit has a fault. Below are the stats of the voltage to the battery:
- Initial voltage- 12.60 V (after being in use for about 2 hours)
- Charging voltage- 13.6 V (on my Microtek 24x7 HB950 VA inverter)

The inverter took about 30 mins and then then stopped charging with the voltage of the single 120 AH battery reading 13.10 V with the inverter plugged in. This battery is one of the two 120 AH local Hiamps batteries (supplied by the FNG battery dealer in the area) that have been in use since August 2016 that have had no issues and only needed regular topping up of distilled water every two-three months.

This experiment proved two things:
1. Inverter was working fine.
2. Possible fault with the battery.

Having confirmed that the inverter was working, I decided to allow the battery of my setup rest for 24 hours without a charge and also to let the temp level come back to normal. I checked the battery this morning after it was at rest for over 24 hours and measured a static volts of 12.42 V and temperature of 26° C. This confirmed that after 4 years of low-moderate usage, the State of Charge (SoC) is about 80%.

Given the battery had cooled down, I plugged-in the inverter and it started charging the battery. After about 45 mins, to my surprise, the inverter stopped charging. The voltage at the terminals measured at 13.10 V with the inverter switched-on with power from the mains and no load on the batter. The temperature steady at 26° C.

I will keep a close eye on the battery over the coming weeks especially after power failures to see if this problem occurs again.