Bad Battery Surprise this Morning....

[zimmy]

Noticed my everstart (2009) cranking battery hasnt been holding a charge lately. pulled it out this morning and one of the cells was completely dry. i topped off the cells with water (distilled of course) while doing routine maintenance on the boat over the winter so shouldnt be empty. i filled it this morning and starting leaking water all over the place. looked in the boat and have corrosion and some of the plastic on my battery tray has been eaten away.
any ideas on how to clean this up.....will this eat through my boat??? Have an aluminum tracker.
help..not a pleasant surprise this morning to say the least.

[Jabbo]

Neutralize it with a solution made for such things from your local body shop supply jobber. or
Use some basic baking soda, make a solution that will gt into the cracks and crevices. This should neutralize the acid and stop any future corrosion.

[Flash5150]

Could your battery have frozen over the winter and cracked the case?

[zimmy]

dont know...keep it in a garage--unheated though and we did have a cold winter so you might be right.
Have big time problem now.....noticed when i was on the lake yesterday boat took on a bunch of water. pulled all of my batteries out and noticed a bunch of corrosion under the batteries and have some water or battery acid dripping out under the boat in the garage now. turning the concrete floor white. #@!@##!!!!
going to take a spray bottle with baking soda/water mix and spray the heck out of everything and let it soak down the bottom of the boat to the leak and then try to seal with aluminum sealer. wonder if that will eat through my plastic gas tank?

might be in over my head on this one......any help appreciated.

[Duayne]

Zimmy,
Using the baking soda (or lime) to neutralize the acid is only the start. That will do the job BUT, the acid then turns to salt, which we all know is just as corrosive as anything. I would suggest removing anything and everything from any compartment that may have been exposed to the acid. I would certainly try to get that gas tank out of there if at all possible. Siphon off as much fuel as you can either way. Flush everything that you can. Of course you don't want to flush other batteries tops, electrical components, gas lines, etc. But you do want to make sure there is no acid/salt present on anything. I would then remove the drain plugs and flush the compartment totally and completely.

Your next move will be to inspect any metal that has been exposed. I would pro actively replace any wire terminals that have had direct exposure. The same with any nuts/bolts that you can get to unless they are stainless. They will corrode down the road and you won't be able to get them off easily then. I would pro actively replace the bilge pump unless you know its approved for salt water. The last thing you want is to have a pump failure down the road that you can't see now.

The main point here is get these chemicals out of your boat ASAP. You'll have to be the judge of what is damaged, needs to be replaced or cleaned.

[zimmy]

Thanks...will do. Guy's at Kaylors Marine said the gas tank should be ok but to do the same as you suggested.
Fun!

[creeker]

The acid will NOT eat through a plastic gas tank. Also, the salt left behind from baking soda and sulfuric acid is not the same salt you find in the ocean. The reaction actually forms ammonium sulfate--the same stuff used to lower the pH of soil in gardens. And the acid should have minimal effect on the aluminum. A good water flush of all affected area should take care of the acid though.

[zimmy]

Thanks for all the input. Did what you all suggested and seems to have cleaned things up pretty decent. Always fun to pull all your batteries out and having to re-wire stuff again when putting back but that's owning a boat!!
Thanks again- that's why i love this board.