Do Odyssey PC680 Batteries leak?

Started condition inspection and noticed battery acid type corrosion on the PC680 battery retaining strip (blistered the paint). I thought these batteries were sealed and wonder where the acid is coming from, also what would cause this as the battery is only a couple of years old.

Battery performance, charging etc. appears to be fine and I do keep the battery on the Odyssey charger when in the hangar.
Thoughts?
Figs

They're sealed and shouldn't leak. If yours is leaking, I think something is horribly wrong with it. I don't think they should even leak if the case is damaged due to the nature of the cells. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will speak up shortly.

'Sealed' needs qualifying.
https://www.sealedperformance.com.au/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-sla-vrla-and-agm-batteries/

In normal operation, they don't vent anything. If they are physically damaged, they can leak a very small amount of acid (I've had it happen with a generic SLA). If they are being over-charged, they will vent just like a flooded battery (the 'valve regulated' bit).

I'd be asking, what's the alternator voltage during a flight long enough to fully re-charge the battery, and what's the trickle charger voltage after it's been on the battery for several days. Odyssey publishes the performance curves for properly charging and maintaining their batteries. They also publish self discharge rates. If you inspect the data, you'd find that unless the plane goes 6-12 months without flying, or you have parasitic loads on the battery, there's no need for risking a 'maintainer' charger.

RV&Charlie
When running the engine over the weekend the alternator charge voltage was 14.3V and the battery charge fluctuated between 0 and +1 amps. The Odyssey charger show the battery as fully charged. Are you saying that I should NOT have the battery on the trickle charger?
Figs

uk_figs said:

RV&Charlie
When running the engine over the weekend the alternator charge voltage was 14.3V and the battery charge fluctuated between 0 and +1 amps. The Odyssey charger show the battery as fully charged. Are you saying that I should NOT have the battery on the trickle charger?
Figs

Click to expand...

Leaving these hooked up to a trickle charger usually reduces their lifespan considerably. If the aircraft is sitting for long periods, discharge the battery for 20 minutes using an automotive headlight and charge up again with a proper low amp charger, once per month.

Here's a link to Odyssey tech info:
http://www.odysseybattery.com/documents/US-ODY-TM-002_1214.pdf

A quote from that document:
Longer storage life
Unlike conventional batteries that need a recharge every 6 to 12 weeks, a fully charged ODYSSEY battery can be stored
for up to 2 years at 77?F (25?C) from a full state of charge. At lower temperatures, storage times will be even longer.

The question to ask about the charger is not what *it* says, but *what an accurate voltmeter says* when you check the charge voltage after it's been hooked to the battery for a few days, while it's still charging the battery. A properly operating maintenance charger will drop its voltage to around 13.5V. (See pg 13 of the linked document.) If that particular charger has a defect and isn't actually dropping its charge voltage, it could be overcharging the battery. I've never used a maintenance charger on any of my planes, and as much as I hate to admit it, my current plane often goes more than a month between flights.

Of course, there's always a chance you just have a defective battery.

Charlie

uk_figs said:

Are you saying that I should NOT have the battery on the trickle charger?
Figs

Click to expand...

That would be my recommendation.

I'm no expert but I agree. No trickle charger. From everything I've read here on the forums about batteries they apparently shorten the life. I had a PC 680 in my 7A from 2012 until just a couple months ago and never charged it. It served me well and was still working when I decided it was time to change it out. Even when new the Odyssey never did crank my engine with "gusto" so thankfully my engine always started very easily. When I replaced it, I saw a thread here about APEX and went with that. MUCH cheaper and spins the prop with tons of that gusto I like to see. If my engine fails to start now..... I'll just fly home by cranking and on battery power only!