2000 C310, hull #31. 2, 4D batteries (stock configuration), no idea how old they are. Promariner ProNautic 30A charger that I installed 8 months ago. All of the battery wiring looks like stock, except six or so months ago I rewired the negative side with two busbars, Victron shunt (on A), temp sensor for the ProNautic, new heavy duty lugs, properly crimped, and some new 1/0 cable (done per Maine Sail's techniques). Rewiring the positive side is on the list.
Because we keep things in the frig and are at a slip I've got the charger running almost all the time (reefer is 12V only). I opened things up today to check the water level in the batteries and discovered that there was a light layer of corrosion on almost all the exposed metal. I'm guessing the batteries are offgassing some sulfuric acid fumes, since hydrogen gas shouldn't cause corrosion. The water level was down in all the cells, but not drastically low. The specific gravity of the cells were all between 1.265 and 1.3, so no dead cells.
I'm wondering if having the frig drawing current is confusing the charger, and causing it to overcharge the batteries, leading to excessive acid release. I've been thinking of upgrading to a large house bank of 6V batteries, but now I'm worried that they too will suffer from whatever is going on here. Any thoughts on what's happening, and if I should worry and do something to fix it?
Because we keep things in the frig and are at a slip I've got the charger running almost all the time (reefer is 12V only). I opened things up today to check the water level in the batteries and discovered that there was a light layer of corrosion on almost all the exposed metal. I'm guessing the batteries are offgassing some sulfuric acid fumes, since hydrogen gas shouldn't cause corrosion. The water level was down in all the cells, but not drastically low. The specific gravity of the cells were all between 1.265 and 1.3, so no dead cells.
I'm wondering if having the frig drawing current is confusing the charger, and causing it to overcharge the batteries, leading to excessive acid release. I've been thinking of upgrading to a large house bank of 6V batteries, but now I'm worried that they too will suffer from whatever is going on here. Any thoughts on what's happening, and if I should worry and do something to fix it?