"Pregnant" battery

[J.D.]

What would cause a battery to become swollen in the middle (no offense meant to pregnant women or beer lovers)? I know that distorted lead plates caused this, but I need to know how to avoid a reoccurance with my new battery. There also was a jagged hole in the side of the plastic case, but I couldn't see the corner of a lead plate sticking out.

The previous (original) owner used to replace the battery every two years, while this one lasted for four years. I use the car only once a week, though.

I noticed that the paint was stripped below and around the battery when I bought the car, so I'm guessing that a previous battery leaked too.

In addition, the battery would always be wet on top. Am I adding too much distilled water?

Since it's winter and I use the car only once a week, can I keep my (just bought) battery trickle charger permanently connected? Do I have to leave the hood open as the instructions state?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[HSKR]

Sounds like maybe it was overcharged, or maybe froze somehow. As far as the trickle charger, it should be okay as long as it has some sort of sensor that will stop charging when the battery is full, and start again when it starts to drop. I picked up one from WalMart for $20 that does this. It's a 1amp/2amp charger, and on the one amp setting, it works like a charm to leave it plugged in as long as you want. I'm fighting a problem with my SC with it not charging the battery back up for some reason(on my third alternator and all wires from alternator to battery are good) so Every few days I have to re-charge the battery overnight.

[BARTHWY59]

overcharged, get your altenater checked

[thebigslide]

Definately sounds like an overcharged battery.

[J.D.]

Thanks for the answers. I'll measure the voltage before and while running the car just to be sure it's the alternator, although I suspect that you guys are right because I found a few drops of acid on the top of the new battery. Looks like it's time to dig out the spare alternator.

[J.D.]

This is what I did:
1) Installed a new battery two days ago (battery was shipped to the store in October).
2) Drove for approximately 1 hour yesterday.
3) Fully charged the battery using a trickle charger today.
4) Battery voltage before starting the car was 13.4 volts at 40 deg F.
5) Battery voltage after starting the car was 14.5 volts.
So is the alternator good or do I need to run the car for a while and then check the voltage?