Community Forums

lowejug · 01-10-2018, 06:04 AM

was wondering for those of you who have wet cells house batteries if from time to time your carbon monoxide alarm gets triggered sometimes because of the gases ?
recently just outa nowhere my alarm will fire and it seems when I open my battery compartment door it goes off. just wondering if this is normal and if theres a reason this happens.. and also if these gases are harmful in anyway?
thanks in advance for any tips...

brobox · 01-10-2018, 06:15 AM

Having flooded batteries in the Travel Supreme, the CO detector never went off, but the CO detectors were much better quality back then. I am on my second CO detector on the Entegra for no reason than they are over sensitive. I am ready to try a different brand for that reason.

As for the gassing on wet cells, not harmful except for the corrosion that goes along with it. The constant clean of the battery trays, adding water every month no matter what settings I did to the inverter/charger, I was glad to move up to AGM's and will never go back.

Old Scout · 01-10-2018, 06:21 AM

.....older bats will tend to gas....bad/wrong inverter setting will cause bats to over charge and gas.....if you have older bats, try using 1-2 oz of mineral oil in each cell. M/O will create surface tension and reduce gassing, there are also special caps available but they are pricey!!!! bat vapors in low concentration probably aren't that big and issue but they are unpleasant....

wa8yxm · 01-10-2018, 07:30 AM

Not the CO but the Propane detector can trip from Hydrogen Sulfide.

You will smell Rotten Eggs when that happens,.

757driver · 01-10-2018, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowejug

was wondering for those of you who have wet cells house batteries if from time to time your carbon monoxide alarm gets triggered sometimes because of the gases ?
recently just outa nowhere my alarm will fire and it seems when I open my battery compartment door it goes off. just wondering if this is normal and if theres a reason this happens.. and also if these gases are harmful in anyway?
thanks in advance for any tips...

With regards to incorrect inverter settings what is your Charge Rate set to? Located under SET5. Depending on the flooded battery make (some can take more than others) most flooded batteries should be charged at 10-15% of the C20 rating. If you still have around 800AH total then this may represent a charge rate for both inverters of 50%. The factory default is 80% which in most cases would be too high and thus producing excess out gassing.

twinboat · 01-10-2018, 10:23 AM

I've had my CO alarm go off, charging wet cell batteries in my boat. They were failing and overheating.

I know this because I didn't have a propane detector at the time.

I wasn't present at the time, so my dock neighbor removed the batteries for me. He would also pull my plug and use my metered power, when he tripped the main breaker on his. Nice guy.

The gas conning off wet cell batteries is hydrogen gas. It can be explosive.

Hydrogen*gas*becomes explosive at a concentration of 4 percent. This would only be achieved if large lead acid*batteries*were charged in a sealed room. Over-charging a lead acid*battery*can produce hydrogen sulfide. The*gas*is colorless, very*poisonous, flammable and has the odor of rotten eggs.May 25, 2016

lowpasslew · 01-10-2018, 11:08 AM

I am on my third CO detector. Very annoying.

dennis45 · 01-10-2018, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Scout

.....older bats will tend to gas....bad/wrong inverter setting will cause bats to over charge and gas.....if you have older bats, try using 1-2 oz of mineral oil in each cell. M/O will create surface tension and reduce gassing, there are also special caps available but they are pricey!!!! bat vapors in low concentration probably aren't that big and issue but they are unpleasant....

All wet cell batteries will expel Hyrogen gas regardless of age as a result of the normal charging process.
The higher the charge rate, the more gas. The nominal battery voltage when plugged into shore power should not exceed 13.7 VDC. If it's higher, the converter setting needs to be checked.
As for mineral oil. This concept goes back to Thomas Edison's day.
Adding 4 Oz per cell to a 6V battery or 2 Oz per cell to a 12V battery will greatly reduce the amount of water required to maintain the batteries and will almost eliminate battery terminal and compartment corrosion.

My house batteries are over 8 years old. I added MO when they were new. I add water every 3-4 months and my batteries stay clear of corrosion.

Thor 37GT · 01-10-2018, 12:15 PM

I had a problem with both. The CO detector was bad and I had the settings for the batteries wrong.

brobox · 01-10-2018, 02:43 PM

I should have been more clear when I said the battery gas was not harmful.....meaning in their present mounting in an Entegra which is fully vented. However if you lay a lit cigarette on one while they are charging they are harmful. Close them up in an air tight room and the gas is harmfully as others pointed out.

lowejug · 01-10-2018, 05:10 PM

Where I am parking my coach it's a weak 110 outlet.. I have the shore power turned down to 5 amps or it blows breaker which I assume surely isn't over charging my batteries.. is there another setting to look for?
Thanks for all the input

dennis45 · 01-10-2018, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowejug

Where I am parking my coach it's a weak 110 outlet.. I have the shore power turned down to 5 amps or it blows breaker which I assume surely isn't over charging my batteries.. is there another setting to look for?
Thanks for all the input

1st thing, if you don't have a voltmeter, you need to get one and check the battery voltage when plugged in to shore power. Maximum you should see is 13.7 VDC.