Delivered Lead Acid battery bulging out - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Shark
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2020, 03:31:55 pm
content: Hi all,I would appreciate help from people familiar with Lead-Acid batteries on the following topic.I recently ordered a new car battery (45Ah), which was in transit for around 4 days. Well packaged and everything, no damage to the box.But after opening the package -- surprise, surprise -- a small amount of liquid came out + significant bulging out on both sides (attaching pictures).There was a large sticker on the package saying it must always be stored horizontally -- hence we can assume that they had problems in the past with batteries being transported at a 90 degree angle.For my particular shipment, I can't tell as there were no angle indicators on the box.When opening the safety valve, some pressure was released, but not that much. The bulge diminished to an extent, but did not go fully back to flat.I contacted the seller and they say that unless the battery is physically damaged or cracked, it's fine. I'm not so sure about that, hence I ask here for your advice.Opinions welcome. Thanks!

author: Gregg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2020, 05:58:04 pm
content: Shine a bright flashlight through the translucent white plastic across the bulged end and see if the plates are bulged. they shouldn't be. It does look like there is shipping damage on the blue corner just below the positive terminal. Any date of manufacture on it?

author: trobbins
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2020, 12:41:12 am
content: Yeh any date code may give a better insight.One possible scenario is that the wholesaler/distributor has charged the battery just prior to packing, and the battery may have had more than one maintenance charge since manufacture, especially if the date is more than 12-18 months. Bulging could have been exacerbated due to ambient temperature during charge, and incorrect charging profile (eg. no temp compensation, and no current limiting).That's not to say the battery has deteriorated to any measurable extent - that may likely only be gauged by a lab testing regime, or seeing how its service life goes (although that would be a fuzzy outcome due to unknown operations conditions).Free liquid may indicate the box was on its side or upended during transport, assuming there is no hairline crack that isn't easily visible.Bulging is a way of managing plate growth and stresses over time, although bulging of the long end faces would indicate a lowering of compression on the plate interfaces.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2020, 01:16:49 am
content: I'm not quite sure why you decided to obscure the brand, but..Tell them to take it back, and go buy one locally. It should not be bulging like that.

author: Shark
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2020, 04:49:41 pm
content: Thanks for your replies!QuoteUnfortunately I could not find any date code on it.I didn't look carefully enough at the beginning. Now I found some stuff stamped:ZGFA C8E7There is another longer code, hard to read, but I will try:G3C9541130023 536540 129E 01According tohttps://akubiz.biz/kopalnia-wiedzy/19-Porady/49-Jak-odczytac-kod-produkcji-Bosch-i-Varta-video.htmlcode954would translate into June 2019. If I decoded it correctly.QuoteUsing a strong flashlight and looking the the inner plates didn't work unfortunately. I don't have a very strong flashlight & there are big labels covering the sides of the battery (and I don't want to remove them, in case I send it back ..)QuoteI'm not quite sure either! While I was obscuring the seller (because I'm not in business of making negative publicity), I obscured just everything I found! It's manufactured by Bosch. So I'd say a reputable manufacturer.I guess it's a hard question to answer, if the battery's service life was affected by the bloating/whatever had happened.