Batteries Submerged

[ROBENDOG]

Are my batteries stuffed????????????

Boat in for repair today and the repairer was not aware that my battery box is not water tight (she is covered @ home). Pissed down rain all day.

Picked up the boat got her home and looked in the battery box to see that both batteries were submerged (see picture).

Got rid of the water ASAP, have hit all cables and connections with WD40. Batteries out and hooked up a fluro light..... it lit up full strength on both batteries. Had a look in the cells and they do not seem to have taken on any water.

Anybody got a clue what is next???

Will the batteries be stuffed (working ok now)?

How long till I can hook it up and test??

Anything I should be doing??

Thinking of putting batteries on a trickle charger (been sitting a while), hitting all submerged terminals and connections with WD40 and see how we go?

Heading up to 1770 for fishing hol next week and dont want it all to shit itself while we are away.

Any advice apprecitiated.

Ben

[Chimo]

Get a crew like Battery World to load test them and see what happens IMHO

Cheers
Chimo

[finga]

I'd be more worried about acid contamination (if they filled up with water) to the alloy and the rest of the boat.
If the cells have not risen in level they should be right.
Were they flat after the submersion??
If they were flat I'd be worried but if they held their charge it should be right. But as Chimo said...better to get them load tested.

[ROBENDOG]

Just the battery compartment....would have been 4 hours max.

Ben

[finga]

Just the battery compartment....would have been 4 hours max.

Ben

Great.
I wonder who's going to put a drain hole in their battery box this week-end??

[Kero]

If the battery levels hadn't changed, and they still have good charge in them, then all should be well. I'd give the batteries and battery compartment a good scrub with soapy water, in case of any acidic residue (though this will be unlikely as the batteries appear to have been water tight), clean all terminal/connections and give a coating of vaseline once reconnected. Also, like others have said, get a load test done for peace of mind. You should have no safety problems connecting them to a charger! Have fun at 1770!

[ROBENDOG]

I cleaned the batteries up and put them on trickle charger over night.

Took them up to Battery World who did a load test and both batteries are operating just above their rating. Super pleased cos they are both 2.5 years old.

Hit all connections with WD40 and have left it out in the sun all day.

Hook batteries back up tonight. Finger crossed.

[Kero]

Happy days!

[Chimo]

Thanks for the update.

I find the B W mob pretty helpful on the Gold Coast, similar for you too I guess.

Cheers
Chimo

[NTMID8]

Dont stress water is not going to harm the batteries at all, there is nothing to harm in them! give them a clean and they will be fine, If they are sealsed units (which they appear to be) then your battery levels wont/cant change, if they are not sealed make sure your levels are correct and be on your way.

At the end of the day batteries make there charge through a chemical reaction, not because of some wiz bang circuitry, the chemical charge is created within the water and acid is the by product. Adding more water will just slow this reaction.

[GBC]

You're not worried about keeping lead acid batteries in a watertight ergo airtight box in the bottom of your boat along with the isolator?

Just strikes me as a bit strange that the compartment can't vent.

[banksmister]

If they are 2.5 years old they will most likely to be getting to the end of there life
[yeh some will say i have had mine 10 years]
Do yourself a favor and get 1 new one
It will be 1/2 the cost of a tow
And have it that way 1 new 1 old

[ROBENDOG]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

GBC - plenty of ventilation at the top (hence the 50 odd litres of water in the battery box!!!!)

[NTMID8]

If they are 2.5 years old they will most likely to be getting to the end of there life
[yeh some will say i have had mine 10 years]
Do yourself a favor and get 1 new one
It will be 1/2 the cost of a tow
And have it that way 1 new 1 old

Why????

People stress so much about batteries, 2.5 yrs is not nearing the end of its life! By the time you buy a new car from a dealer most of those batteries have been in the car for 6 months plus, aslong as the battery has no collapsed cells then there is nothing wrong with it.

Simplest test (other than a load test which will only show a batteries CCA - Cold Cranking Amps) is to use a hydrometer, it is important to ensure that the plates do not remain exposed to air and allowed to dry and oxidise.
The state of charge of each cell can be measured with the hydrometer to determine the specific gravity of the electrolyte (specific gravity is its weight compared to water).

As long as your engine is supply charge back to the batteries (which cause the chemical reaction to occur) and there is no collapsed cells then you battery wont just fail midway through a trip (given there is no other elec fault causing a massive drain on your system)

[banksmister]

Why????

People stress so much about batteries, 2.5 yrs is not nearing the end of its life! By the time you buy a new car from a dealer most of those batteries have been in the car for 6 months plus, aslong as the battery has no collapsed cells then there is nothing wrong with it.

Simplest test (other than a load test which will only show a batteries CCA - Cold Cranking Amps) is to use a hydrometer, it is important to ensure that the plates do not remain exposed to air and allowed to dry and oxidise.
The state of charge of each cell can be measured with the hydrometer to determine the specific gravity of the electrolyte (specific gravity is its weight compared to water).

As long as your engine is supply charge back to the batteries (which cause the chemical reaction to occur) and there is no collapsed cells then you battery wont just fail midway through a trip (given there is no other elec fault causing a massive drain on your system)

THIS IS WHY

as quoted by Robendog
Heading up to 1770 for fishing hol next week and dont want it all to shit itself while we are away.

The answer is all about the question

A holiday like this costs a lot of time and money [approx 400k drive each way for Robendog, getting boat serviced , time off & accommodation] just to get there and then if you’re lucky u might get some good weather and be 70ks out to sea so why chance being out in a foreign place with the possibility of dead batteries which then means no radio and trying to get in touch with someone to then somehow try to get towed back and losing a day on the water only then to top it all off by paying up to twice as much for a new one as u are in a small town
Batteries are consumables like Impellors, fuel filters, spark plugs, tires & wheel bearings on your boat you don’t wait till it breaks up, blocks up, breaks down, and blows out till you change it do you ?
The trip in question is not a river run where u may chance it
You say batteries don’t just fail well I am a jinks its happened to me 2 times in a work cars and once was after getting it load tested 2 days before, and then a few weeks ago I helped a person get his car of the ramp after he reversed his car down stopped it only for it not to start [there is more times but I wont go on]
As I have been on quite a few remote trips like north west, stanage bay, fraser island you soon learn the importance of upkeep
I chose to change my batteries at 2.5-3yr mark at aprox $150 if you decide to keep yours 6 yrs that is your decision but for the extra $25 a year it costs me this is small price for insurance for me as even if u have a 500k boat without working batteries u might as well be sitting on a couple of 44 gallon drums if u cannot use it
Robendog may get away with using them but is it worth the price
Your maintenance can save u a lot of heartache and maybe your life

Ps: You said in your first post it looked like a sealed battery your next one said test it with a hydrometer you forgot to tell him what size hammer & chisel he should try to open it with