Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Ive had my vagabond 2 for over 2 years with no problems.

Well i havnt been using it much lately, so as suggested by the manual, i left it on the charger as to not drain the battery. Its been sitting on the charger for about a week continuously.

Well today i went to get it so i can use it, and i noticed it was VERY hot. i touched the Inverter and it was too hot to even touch. so i unplugged it and let it cool down. Once it cooled down and i could handle it, i opened it up and this is what i found.

pictures of the batter coming unsealed





Notice the battery is fat with bumps on the sides rather than flat sides like it should be

Here you can see the acid actually coming out of the crack


It got so hot that the wire melted through



I have no idea what to do with this. Im basically out $300. Is there some kind of warranty put into place for defected products?

Does the inverter still work ??

If so, you might only be up for a new battery, this time go for the Sealed Lead-Acid (SLA) type, seems you have a LLA (Leaking Lead-Acid) type.

*Blush* Sorry.......

AB.

The inverter should work fine. theres no damage that i can see on it.

It did get VERY hot, almost burned myself just touching it for a millisecond, but im assuming that was due to the battery.

This is not a defective product . . . it's an exhausted battery that has sulfated and can no longer be fully charged, so it heats and bulges instead. Under perfect conditions . . . immediate recharging after each discharge SLA batteries are good for about 500 charge/discharge cycles. If the conditions are not perfect, IE a delay in recharging after use, battery life is shortened.

You need a new battery.

if i understand correctly, the battery can only be fully exhausted if it sits off the charger, or sits uncharged for a long perion of time? This never happened with my unit.

Im sure im well over the 500 charges cause i use it alot, but it has never been fully exhausted before recharging.

Ok so im guessing you guys are just going to ignore me, and now im out $300.


Great customer service.

Hi clchaney,

You posted this on Memorial Day, which is a holiday for most people in the US. Give them a chance to respond!

I'll bet if you contact customer service during a normal work day, they'll be happy to help you out.

Craig

Hi clchaney,

As craig29642 pointed out, yesterday was a Holiday in the U.S. which is shown in a big banner on the top of the Alien Bees page. Even if it wasn't a holiday, your post was later in the day... even the Bees go back to the hive at some point.

One thing to understand is that ALL batteries fail eventually. They are basically a consumable / wearable part in any system. I'll second Luap's comment about 500 cycles +/- being about right for a lead acid and much less if they are treated roughly (hot, allowed to sit for long periods, etc). Unfortunately there aren't any good inexpensive alternatives to L-A batteries right now.

As long as the inverter is ok then you aren't out 300 bucks, just the cost of a new battery.

As Paul said, this is an exhauseted battery. A battery can become exhausted without sitting on the charger all the time or becoming completely discharged. Batteries, like anything else, have a finite life. The VII has a 2 year warranty with the battery itself having a 1 year warranty. Replacement batteries are $69.95 and can be found here (p/n B20A): http://www.alienbees.com/battery.html Should you place an order, be sure to request a replacement cable for the one that was damaged.

If you prefer, you can send the unit in for inspection under the warranty. The address and repair form can be found here: http://www.alienbees.com/contact.html#repair

Sorry about that. Totally slipped my mind that it was memorial day (even though we had a bbq)

Im sure the battery is far out of its 1 year warranty.

I wouldnt even debate the subject if i had the money to spend on a new battery, but $70 isnt a drop in the bucket. I agree that 500 cycles is about right, but im sorry to say, batteries dont just almost explode when they are exhausted. On top of that, i used it the week before and it was running like a champ. This leads me to believe that it is not an exhausted battery.

Batteries dont just work perfect one week and the sit on a charger, then suddenly the next week its exhausted and almost blows. Its a faulty battery. If batteries do explode when exhausted, id say you might have a few acid burn lawsuits in the near future, no?

i'll just look elsewhere for a replacement.