Convertor/Inverter Over Charging?? - Event Date: 27 Jul 2017 - 31 Jul 2017

I need some advice from my fellow podders.  I bought a new r pod in March of 2016.  This is my second pod.  I had a 2010 and when we were planning a trip, I would plug in the pod to 120v receptacle on my porch and turn on the fridge a couple of days before we were planning to leave.  I never unhooked my battery.  It always stayed on the pod with both terminals connected.  After a couple of days the fridge would be cold and battery charged.  When we started on our trip, I would switch the fridge over to battery power.  On our new pod, we are planning on taking a trip on Saturday so I plugged in the pod a couple of days ago and turned on the fridge.  Again, the battery was hooked up with both terminals.  I walked by the pod this afternoon and smelled a strong odor coming from the battery box.  I opened the box and the battery was hot as a firecracker and battery acid had sprayed out of the box onto my frame.  I immediately unhooked the battery and removed it from the box.  I washed down everything real good  several times.  I popped the 2 caps on the battery and there was no fluid in the batteries, and it was very hot.  I have never unhooked my battery when on home or shore power at a campground.  Need some help.  It is still under warranty and I want to get it repaired, unless I am doing something wrong.  Need advice.  Please help a fellow pooder.  Thanks for reading my post

Did you check the fluid levels?  A good idea every month or two.

Failure to charge the battery or supply 12V power to the pod when batteries disconnected is a big sign that the converter has failed. That is how I know mine had failed.

There are a few factors. One is the fluid level in the batteries, which you checked 2 week prior. That part should be OK, but you also should check prior to hooking up the charger (or connecting the pod to AC). The next thing is the state of charge of the batteries. If they're at ~~ 11.5 volts or so, you should be OK. Otherwise, they may have been depleted too much, in which case, you need to monitor them closely during the recharge. If they're really low, you should check both the voltage and fluid about every 15-20 minutes to make sure you're not boiling them off.

I have Pod plugged into 30A service 24/7. I have noticed that every two weeks I need to check water levels. I can tell almost everytime when fluid levels are low, because it has tendency to stay at absorbtion voltage and not go to float voltage as Glueguy describes. Have not had an issue with it boiling water out or excessive heat. I'm pondering shutting off 30AMP CB at end of day and letting battery discharge during night. Like one would do with a vehicle.