I went to remove my battery for winter storage only to notice that the plastic drain tube had cracked and caused acid to leak to the floor under the battery. This in turn ate the bracket holding the battery down. This would not have been discovered if I had not removed the battery for winter storage. The drain tube is brittle in the cold weather, and easily splits. In turn the plastic elbow that fits into the battery drain tube can easily break or fall out. Check yours before serious hidden damage occurs.

 

Sorry to hear that. Thanks for the FYI/heads up...

 

How did acid get that high as the vent tube is at the top of the battery, the battery only vents hydrogen when the on charge voltage reaches 2.26 volts per cell, it will vent both hydrogen and oxygen, hyrogen reaches 4 percent of cubic volume will explode from a spark.

 

I guess I'll say it. Acid should not be bubbling out of the vent EVER, and fumes only occasionally. Check you charging system for an overcharge condition, or if you routinely use an external charger always remove the battery when charging. These are safety issues of life and death proportions.

Best to never touch the tube at temps below 50F, like space shuttle O-rings.

 

How vital is it to have the vent tube hooked up? When the guy from autozone installed the new battery it must have cracked, because I noticed it wouldn't plug into the hole on the battery. Is it something I need to fix right away or could it wait a couple days til I make it home for the weekend?

 

Don't panic, but get a new tube as soon as you can. Around $10, you can order from Zone/Advance etc.

 

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