HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

7 posts / 0 new
Last post
How2
Offline
Last seen: 16 years 4 months ago
Joined: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - 21:16
Points: 6
HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

hi all... I received some 'new' batteries today that were prewired in series to be 36v 12ah and I also have a 36v 1.5a charger that turned from green to red when I plugged it in (like normal)

Within about 20 minutes, if I listen closely, I can here the batteries bubbling or fizzing.

Is this normal? My other battery pack has the sla's encased so I don't hear anything when charging. With these batts, I can hear it and so I have unplugged the charger until I hear back from someone who knows. Don't want to blow up or leak acid... eewwww.

Thanks for helping the noob!

reikiman
reikiman's picture
Offline
Last seen: 4 months 1 week ago
Joined: Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 17:52
Points: 8447
Re: HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

Are the voltages of these batteries the same? Did you receive them wired in parallel? The bubbling starts when the charger is running?

Assuming the latter, the batteries are probably being overcharged.

For sealed lead-acid this is bad because there is a fixed quantity of electrolyte. Bubbling usually means boiling and loss of electrolyte.

How2
Offline
Last seen: 16 years 4 months ago
Joined: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - 21:16
Points: 6
Re: HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

Hello.. yes they are all exactly the same. They are Razor scooter batteries from monsterscooterparts.com. Each batt is 12v 12ah wired in series (not parallel) with a 30 amp flat fuse wired in as well. The 36v 1.5a charger is an XLR type from Razorama.com specifically for this batt pack.

The bubbling starts when the charger is running.. so you are saying perhaps I should not hear anything?

How2
Offline
Last seen: 16 years 4 months ago
Joined: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - 21:16
Points: 6
Re: HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

one other thing.. the wires and the batteries are not hot or even warm but the charger seems to be rather warm. My 24v chargers (currie batt pack XLR chargers for Ezip bikes) get warm too so I thought this seemed normal.

Is it possible a bad charger could cause this?

reikiman
reikiman's picture
Offline
Last seen: 4 months 1 week ago
Joined: Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 17:52
Points: 8447
Re: HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

Whoops I totally misread that ..

Yes, I've never heard bubbling while charging an SLA battery. Tho' a little clarification question came to mind. Is this a LOUD bubbling? Or ...? See, I've never listened closely to see if there's a very quiet imperceptible bubbling sound. If you're reporting a very quiet imperceptible bubbling sound maybe that's normal and I've simply never bothered to listen. But if you're reporting an easily noticeable bubbling sound then that's something I've never heard and is a concern .. as I said SLA batteries have a fixed amount of electrolyte and if that electrolyte "boils off" it kills the battery.

What is the voltage during the charger being "on"?

Does the battery/ies feel hot? Is it vibrating?

dogman
dogman's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 15:41
Points: 830
Re: HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

I've seen many a non sealed car battery fizz and bubble when charging at high amps, like 6 or more, especially when charging continues with a cheapie charger that does not shut off. But I never heard a peep out of my 12ah sla string, using several chargers. I think the batteries are overcharging, possibly because of the charger not shutting off as it should. Do you hear the noise when the batteries are discharged and the charging is just beginning? Or is it only later on? How many amps does the charger put out? If it is more than 2amps, the fizzing may be normal, but still harmfull to battery life. One last possibility it that it could be a desulphinating cycle the charger is doing. Some chargers do that by just putting out a big jolt of power at the start of the charging. Most cheapie scooter chargers don't have that feature though.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

hamblin10
Offline
Last seen: 16 years 2 months ago
Joined: Monday, August 4, 2008 - 11:58
Points: 11
Re: HELP!!! Bubbling noises with 36v 12ah batts wired in series.

As long as the sound is not loud this may be normal. When I get fresh batteries mine will do this the first couple of times. The batteries will get slightly warm but not hot. After they break in you should not get this anymore. One time a miss wired my three batteries and I got a very loud bubbling and the batteries were hot to the touch. Afterwards they were done for.

Eric Hamblin

Log in or register to post comments


Who's online

There are currently 0 users online.

Who's new

  • eric01
  • Norberto
  • sarim
  • Edd
  • OlaOst

Support V is for Voltage