U6TL: Battery or Anti-personnel weapon? You decide...

[DanMartin]

Similar to what happened here in this thread:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/23454-u6tl-bomb.html

I was out working in the yard today and heard a loud boom (Like an M-80 going off). Curious, I hustled to the side of the house to see blueish smoke coming from under the deuce. Strange...neighbor kids playing with fireworks? Looked closer..smoke was coming from the battery box. Uh oh! Quickly unplugged the battery maintainer (yes, a good one) and pulled out the box to be greeted with one blown up U6-TL battery.

No other damage that I could tell. Deuce has been resting quietly for months, being started up every month or so with no issues. I even check the level of the fluid in the batteries and top them off regularly with distilled water and a battery level tool.

Near as I can figure something went south with one of the batteries and the maintainer went into bulk charge mode and boiled it and it popped. *shrug*. Good thing I was home! Hell, I had been gone almost all weekend!

Anyways...not really sure what I could have done to avoid this...followed the rules you know. Guess I'll be ordering another set of 6TLs.

 

[timntrucks]

sorry to see and hear about that mess. are you sure you want another set of those 6Ls????

 

[dm22630]

How much battery acid got all over your truck?!

 

[DUG]

I saw what happens to one when you try to jump it with 24 volts. The whole top blew off. The Leading Petty Officer and his young airman got a pretty good acid bath - only to discover the emergancy shower was inop. Luckily there were regular showers another 10 seconds away in the head..

 

[DanMartin]

How much battery acid got all over your truck?!

Actually, none that I could see. The battery that blew is almost dry in at least 2 of the cells.

I'm going to let it cool a few more hours and remove everything carefully and hit the inside of the box area with some baking soda wash to neutralize any that may have splashed up.

Nothing leaking out of the box or on the ground...I may have got lucky there (if you can call any of this episode 'lucky').

 

[dittle]

Replace them with Civi batteries, they will last better than the 6TL IMO. Out at the museum we go through the 6TL's like there is no tomorrow. Are now trying out some donated civi batteries to see how they will last. Got an identical civi set in my deuce as well as what we're running at the museum and no problems so far.

 

[clinto]

I am starting to get a low opinion of these batteries.

 

[Stretch44875]

I've got a set of civi batteries, came with the truck 5 years ago, and worked fine in the 0 degree weather. Even left the headlights on for 10 hours once, and the truck still started.

Interstate had blemish batteries for 50 bucks, 800cca, yellow top on them. Used them in the other truck, seem to work well.

 

[dm22630]

I am starting to get a low opinion of these batteries.

If you see the PILE of dead ones that I have....you would have an even lower opinion. I HATE mil batts. I will charge 2 of them up to over 12 volts & put them in a deuce & it wont even crank! (dead cells I guess). Then some work fine....

Also...they were made in 2004-2006 mostly.....I hate them.

 

[dabtl]

OK, first thing tomorrow, I check the water level. Good things come of some problems.

 

[dittle]

2nd thing tomorrow go buy yourself a different set of batteries

 

[dabtl]

Actually I have not had a problem with batteries. I get them new, except for the deuce I bought in July, and they seem to be, well, batteries. Having battery problems is easier than having a hydrovac failure.

 

[2Deuces wild]

Sounds like the fluid level dropped and the gas from the acid built up and a spark from the solarizer caused an explosion in the battery. Ouch. Lucky you weren't standing over them
I had a car battery do the same thing to me when i was looking at a girlfriends engine, Lucky the battery tie down was on or the top would have flown in my face.

 

[emr]

Sadly Human error is the reason for almost every bat failure, poor maintenence is this ones for sure. I have them for years and years and so does the Military, for the 100;s of thousands in use, there has never been a call back do to any problems, Batts should be cleaned and charged fully a couple of times a year and on a charger/maintainer if not used for 4 days, EVERY bat loses charge every day they sit, and then sulphation kicks in,as for the acid level that should be constantly checked also, temp is a big thing here also,there is alot of other threads that go into alot of good detail and all batts will last longer with some TLC, glad no one was hurt. I have seen them 10 years old and still going in alot of Guard trucks, and I have some 8 yerars old and still going strong, and when tested they stay strong in the tippy top green zone of the tester...just saying maintenence is a batts biggest problem, there are better batts, there are people who will have luck with cheapies too.

 

[DanMartin]

Well, I used a 3 stage computer controlled charger/maintainer that is highly recommended (charges both batteries separately), which has done a great job of keeping the batteries tip-top for 2+ years. I kept the fluid level up, and used distilled water.

I've read a lot about battery maintenance and followed best practices. Just not sure what the deal was. All connections were tight, and I use dielectric grease on all of the fittings to prevent corrosion as best I could (note that they are all pretty clean in the image).

What do you think I did wrong EMR? I'm kinda at a loss myself.

 

[Pawnshop]

I discovered today that one of my 6TLs is bad in my Deuce, the truck has not been driven in a month though I start it regularly, it just went down. I will not be replacing it with mil batts!

 

[wreckerman893]

I would drop those TL's like a hot rock...anytime I have a TL failure I immediatly replace them with batteries from Advance (I get the family discout).
Get the highest CCA you can and you will be fine.
Use wood blocks to keep them from shifting around.

 

[dabtl]

I have not problem using batteries from WalMart. I just like the U6tl. I suppose I could obsess over batteries, but that seems the least of the problems. It takes ten minutes to change out. Much less than a brake job.

 

[11Echo]

I jump started the deuce I picked up in January and it has started everytime without fail since. It has the 6TL batteries. My latest deuce purchase has Exide 6TMF batteries. I'm not familiar with these. It has taken each of them 3+days to come to green light charge,(2amp slow rate). Don't know if they are salvagable yet. Might get them tested before re-installing them.


Update. I didn't test them, just re-installed them. They seem to be good to go after running them the last 3 days!

 

[tm america]

ya i put two new 6 tl's in my truck they barely lasted a year then crapped out i put dual purpose batteries from auto zone in there it starts better than ever and they act a a deep cycle battery so they hold up to the real world useage of the deuce