Frozen battery

Why does one battery freeze in -25C..
whereas another model does not?

--
Longing to be closer to to the sun, the wind and the sea!
Spiritually at: Latitude 21 degrees 19' 9" North. _!_
Longtitude 157 degrees 56' 31" West. Aloha! ___o_(_)_o___
q

When the battery is low on charge, the acid turns to water and freezes.

A 'friend' just killed my van's battery by leaving the door open at -25
so the battery died and froze. Now all I can get it to read is 6
volts...

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

"John W. Bienko" wrote:
>
> Why does one battery freeze in -25C..
> whereas another model does not?
>
> --
> Longing to be closer to to the sun, the wind and the sea!
> Spiritually at: Latitude 21 degrees 19' 9" North. _!_
> Longtitude 157 degrees 56' 31" West. Aloha! ___o_(_)_o___
> q

John W. Bienko wrote:
> Why does one battery freeze in -25C..
> whereas another model does not?
>
> --
> Longing to be closer to to the sun, the wind and the sea!
> Spiritually at: Latitude 21 degrees 19' 9" North. _!_
> Longtitude 157 degrees 56' 31" West. Aloha! ___o_(_)_o___
> q

State of charge (specific gravity). It is like antifreeze- freezing
point is dependent on ratio of antifreeze to water. In a sense, the
battery electrolyte is a mixture of sulfuric acid and water. At low
charge, it is mostly water and will freeze at higher temp than one at
higher state of charge.

Hi John,

Wet (flooded) lead-acid batteries will freeze at slightly different
temperatures with the same State-of-Charge due to the concentration of
acid (based of the plate chemistry) and the impurties in the
electrolyte. In Section 4.4 in the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on
www.batteryfaq.org, there is a Low Maintenance Battery State-of-Charge
Table. Within that Table is a column for Electrolyte Freeze points
for the respective battery's States-of-Charge.

Please do not attempt to jump start or recharge a frozen
battery--allow it to thaw first.

Kindest regards,

BiLL.......

On 29 Jan 2005 14:46:55 GMT, (John W.
Bienko) wrote:

>
>Why does one battery freeze in -25C..
>whereas another model does not?

Mike Romain wrote:
> When the battery is low on charge, the acid turns to water and
freezes.
>
> A 'friend' just killed my van's battery by leaving the door open at
-25
> so the battery died and froze. Now all I can get it to read is 6
> volts...
>
Consider "charging" your friend.

Bill Darden.. thanks for the information.
The battery.. a Canadian Tire Motormaster 1000amp..
is the one that froze.. the car was used 7 days before.
It is still under warranty.. should I take it back to the
supplier and request a replacement?

--
Longing to be closer to to the sun, the wind and the sea!
Spiritually at: Latitude 21 degrees 19' 9" North. _!_
Longtitude 157 degrees 56' 31" West. Aloha! ___o_(_)_o___
q

Hi John,

I would recommend that you first determine what caused the battery to
be discharged so that it froze. Some possibilities are excessive
parasitic drain, e.g., leaving your lights on; vehicle charging system
problem; or driving habits undercharging the battery. In any event,
you should have the battery fully charged and tested for any latent
damage as a result of being frozen. You would hate to be stuck
somewhere is subzero weather because the battery would not start your
engine. I am not defending the battery dealer or manufacturer, but if
the battery was charged improperly, it is not their fault. However,
if they sold you an old and sulfated battery that would not take a
charge, that is a different story. Check the date code.

When buying new batteries, I recommend to buy fresh battery because
lead-acid batteries are perishable. They should be "topped off" so
that you know that they are fully charged and tested so that you know
they meet their advertised specifications. Please see Section 7 in
the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on www.batteryfaq.org for more
information on buying replacement batteries.

Just a reminder, please do not jump or recharge a frozen battery. Let
is thaw out first; otherwise, you can permanently damage it.

Kindest regards,

BiLL.......

On 30 Jan 2005 13:48:12 GMT, (John W.
Bienko) wrote:

>
>Bill Darden.. thanks for the information.
>The battery.. a Canadian Tire Motormaster 1000amp..
>is the one that froze.. the car was used 7 days before.
>It is still under warranty.. should I take it back to the
>supplier and request a replacement?

On 30 Jan 2005 13:48:12 GMT, (John W.
Bienko) wrote:

>Bill Darden.. thanks for the information.
>The battery.. a Canadian Tire Motormaster 1000amp..
>is the one that froze.. the car was used 7 days before.
>It is still under warranty.. should I take it back to the
>supplier and request a replacement?

When water freezes it expands. When this happens inside an enclosed
container, the container either expands with the ice, or breaks. If
the container is strong enough to contain the ice when it expands then
the expansion will occur internally and to the detriment of things
like plate connections. You may find that when the battery thaws, you
now have a cracked case.

Do like Bill Darden suggested, thaw the battery out and see if it will
take a charge. A fully charged battery will rarely freeze so as Bill
also said, you need to find out what caused the battery to discharge.

Corky Scott