My
boat came with 4 120ah Exide gel
batteries for the house bank. I believe these are 2-3 years old (I bought the
boat from the first owner a few months ago). The
batteries have been running down very quick (ie I can't run the fridge overnight etc) so I assumed they need replacing. When I inspected them I found one had a cracked terminal which pulled away in my hand and the casing is swollen (kind of looks likes one of those leakey AA batteries you have left in your flashligh too long). The other 3 look ok.
I will replace all 4 batteries soon anyway.
What I'm wondering is whether the damages to the
battery (only 3 years old) is just one of those things or a sign of a further problem in my
charging system (overcharging etc?).
Thanks for your
advice.