Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 11, 2025 ...

Battery Bloat - They are too big to come out

November 05, 2021, 03:29:52 pm

I brought my coach over to get new house batteries because the old ones were shot. The techs gave up after 30 minutes because they couldn't figure how to get old bloated ones out. The old batteries were about 1/2 larger than the opening.
Looks like I'll be sawing the handles off this weekend and wrestling these massive batteries out by myself. Not looking forward to it at all.

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Re: Battery Bloat - They are too big to come out

Reply #1 – November 05, 2021, 03:33:28 pm

Bob,

Just thinking outside the box-- no first hand experience, BUT

Have you tried to loosen/remove the FG diesel tank cover?  That MIGHT give you clearance to remove the batteries.

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Re: Battery Bloat - They are too big to come out

Reply #2 – November 05, 2021, 03:54:19 pm

Bob,

I have had to take the door strut off, then the weather sealing strip. This will let you get to the 5 or 6 Philips head screws that hold the door frame in place. Remove these screws then take a wide putty knife/pry bar and remove that section of door frame. This will give you the room you need to get them out.

Mike

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Reply #3 – November 05, 2021, 04:17:15 pm

If the diesel covers are like mine they are also glued with silicone so they are a
bitch to remove.

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Reply #4 – November 05, 2021, 04:38:14 pm

About 15 seconds with a Sawzall. If you don't have one, Harbor Freight has one for about $22 that is excellent. I have a couple of these and use them most of the time as they are really light and change blades instantly. https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/power-saws/reciprocating-saws/6-amp-rotating-handle-variable-speed-reciprocating-saw-61884.html

Pierce

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Re: Battery Bloat - They are too big to come out

Reply #5 – November 05, 2021, 04:49:03 pm

I might use an oscillating saw to notch out a portion of the handle in order to gain clearance.
I will also take the other suggestions under advisement 😀

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Reply #6 – November 05, 2021, 05:30:27 pm

How about lifting one end and sliding a 1" high x2" wide board under that end of the battery? Then pull out evenly.
You might have to stand the board vertically on the 2" width.

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Reply #7 – November 05, 2021, 06:01:47 pm

I was even considering a way to squeeze it back into its original width with a woodworking clamp. I'll try anything at this point.

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Reply #8 – November 05, 2021, 08:28:33 pm

Try to get one end up relative to the other and get it out that way.

I have seen batteries swell up along the sides but not so much at the ends.  If you cut off the handles they will be harder to wrestle with when they come out.

Good luck.

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Reply #9 – November 05, 2021, 09:35:48 pm

Wear excellent eye protection when working with badly swollen batteries.

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Reply #10 – November 06, 2021, 09:21:11 am

I'm in favor of cutting off the handles.  Carefully.  Clamping the batteries to squish them into being narrower not so much so.  I'm pretty sure you'll find that the battery is rock solid in that direction.

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Reply #11 – November 06, 2021, 10:20:39 am

Lifting one end of the battery will actually make it wider.

Pierce

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Reply #12 – November 06, 2021, 11:10:53 am

I would try to push the battery to the rear and see if pulling the front out flexes the tank cover enough to pull the battery out.

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Reply #13 – November 06, 2021, 12:11:29 pm

A sawzall would be my absolute last resort. Just thinking about a battery oozing acid that i'm trying to get out of the coach would give me nightmares. And if the casings are swollen then there must be a bit of internal pressure making a sawzall a nogo for me. I can just see it WHOOSH where's the eyewash station. And them puppies are heavy. Handling those batteries without the provided handles another big issue. I would remove the framework that is interfering with the removal. Just safer in my opinion. DWMYH.

Roland

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Reply #14 – November 06, 2021, 12:44:46 pm

Don't think of his batteries as balloons. They're more like that "D" cell you left in your transistor radio a decade ago: corroded.
AGM batteries are valve regulated meaning that in addition to the catalyst to recombine the hydrogen and oxygen, if the battery is charged too quickly the gases will be vented to the atmosphere.

Carefully cut off the handles and use a flat pry bar-nail puller to help you lever up the battery and pull it out.

The electrolyte is a weak solution of sulfuric acid and water and will damage your eyes and mucus membranes.  And your clothes.  You will grow holes in whatever you're wearing.  Baking soda, baking soda and water or Ammonia water will neutralize the acid if you spill any.

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Reply #15 – November 06, 2021, 01:36:43 pm

Well all three batteries are out and sitting in the storage bay to the right.
Mike wins the prize: removing the strut and the four screws to the right side of the door was the winner. I even removed the two screw on the diesel tank cover. The scraper came in handy
Dan, your advice on the eyewear was well heeded. Luckily, was never an issue.
A screw drive, a heavy scraper, a floor jack and some ratchet straps were all I really needed.
Thanks all once again. I'll give an update on the install.

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Re: Battery Bloat - They are too big to come out

Reply #16 – November 09, 2021, 04:14:11 pm

The three new Northstar AGM batteries are now installed ($2069). The old batteries were at the 8yr mark and seems to be the life expectancy.
I have a Xantrex Prosine Sine Wave Inverter/Charger 3.0.  Because AGM wasn't a thing back when it was built, the charger is on the GEL setting .
I also confirmed that Equalization is disabled. The battery installer confirmed that these  Northstar AGM batteries are NOT to be Equalized.
Unlike the Northstar batteries that I bought, Lifeline batteries actually encourage Equalization for their batteries, but it seems like every other AGM manufacturer discourages it. Just be aware of the conflicting info and seek out the manufacturer for guidance.

I am just glad its done.
On to the next fix.

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