Battery Acid in Alumacraft:/

Guys – Major problema. In storage my T14V Alumacrafts Interstate Battery tipped over and stripped paint everywhere including the rubber between sheets in the front.

I just dumped Baking Soda in to neutralize but I’m pretty sure while rinsing my legs got some splash. Glad I wore sunglasses.

Will the gap in the front collect water? I leave for Ontario in a few days and this is stressing me out. I need to take it to a power car wash and do a soap then water cycle for sure. Part of me is worried to even drive over the drained water

I’m a HS chemistry teacher, so this could be good advice or take it with a grain of salt. Baking soda is good, just keep pouring it on until the fizzing quits. You could go to a hardware store and find some more industrial neutralizer too. Then rinse with LOTS of cold water.

Thanks Jim – I showered after and now I think my mind is playing tricks on me and my eyes feel weird but Inhad glasses on for 90% of the rinse so I think that’s my hypochondria “ie I hope I would know” if I had it in my eye.

My other concern is the rubber seal it ate away and how much water can get in there

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for now,fill the gap with permatex ultra gray,this is for rigid gaps and will do the job well enough,it dries harder than most rtv silicones and is about impossible to remove once dry,as far as acid in your eyes,trust me I know from experience,I had a battery explode in my face several years ago,the pain was unreal,two hours in the ER flushing my eyes,only the Good Lord kept me from getting any plastic or metal in my eyes,I wasnt wearing any kind of eye protection at all.
my alumacraft had an identical thing happen in the rear of the boat,it didnt matter what I tried,I never could get paint to stick to that spot for more than six months at a time,and it had extensive flushing and neutralizing done to it,I think the acid removed the aluminums natural cohesive ability and made it to slick for the paint to stick,my thoughts only on that,but the aluminum never degraded any further than stripping the paint off. sleep well and have a great vacation!!!!

Can someone explain to me how a battery tips over please?

Brian Klawitter wrote:

Can someone explain to me how a battery tips over please?

unstable equilibrium Assuming a malfunction in the tie down device, the weight shifted to above and outside the center of gravity. Decreasing the area of the base will also decrease the stability of an object. Therefore the unequal amount of weight that shifted to the furthest point of the battery away from the center of gravity, became victim of the most fundamental law of physics – GRAVITY. It toppled over since it had no counter force to offset the loss of center of gravity.

I’m trying to keep this simple, but it also failed due to friction. Again, we need to make an assumption that the battery was subjected to an incline. The base of the battery had excessive friction against the incline. This prevented or minimized it from sliding down the incline and allowing the weight shift beyond the center of gravity.

And that Brian explains why an object will fall over

Doug – as mentioned above, make sure you get it ALL neutralized and flushed out. After it is clean, I would run a bead of 3M 5200 Marine caulk over that. The 5200 is one of the most durable and most adhesive marine caulks on the market.
http://www.pbsboatstore.com/3m-5200-marine-adhesive-sealant.htm?feed=Froogle&gclid=CjwKEAjwwN-rBRD-oMzT6aO_wGwSJABwEIkJQloVFt6Uv1xndBtv7M_L9t0zkwzNK_6hYoCP8Pn6mRoCKSDw_wcB

LOL! Laughing with you BK! You did ask.

Art Green wrote:

LOL! Laughing with you BK! You did ask.

If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t have take that question seriously

Good one Randy.

As far as acid in the eyes. Wash them good immediately.
I had a 12V blow up in my face a few years ago. Rinse Rinse Rinse.

Another thought,

Throw away your clothes that you wore, or at lease isolate them.
They will quickly develop holes.
DOn’t throw them in the washer with your other favorite clothes.

Thanks Boys –

Do I need to flush out that gap area that runs under? I can’t tell how much could have gotten in there, but I want to make sure that area is neutralized too.

Lots of horror stories about batteries exploding. Jesus.

And thanks to Randy for not responding to BK by saying “Idiot User Error”

It wasn’t properly secured in the battery box or tied down. Sucks but I need to live with it.

I’ll be taking it to a spray car wash today and putting in a million quarters.

I need a 4×4 inch moon, but this one will have to suffice.

baking soda, water, and rinse the intire bilge until the soda doesn’t fizz anymore… then its will be all neutralized.. that sucks!!

If the streets and roads are as bad as here in my area, I can imagine a battery bounceing a foot off the floor and tipping over. Our tax dollars at work.

I contacted Alumacraft a few weeks ago about using silicone/rtv to and they recommended 3M Marine adhesive 5200 over regular RTV, or silicone.
If I was stranded on an island, I would seal in-between the rough cut logs in my makeshift raft with it.