battery self-destruct

Hi,

My airplane has a Gill G-35 battery in it. The battery is less than 3
years old. We did a 10-minute run up about 2 weeks ago. The plane has been
sitting in it's hanger for the last 2 weeks. The master switch was OFF and
the battery was NOT on a charger.

Today I went to use it, and found a puddle of acid underneath the plane
where it had dripped out of the battery box vent tube. Battery voltage
indicated 8.3 volts. Took it home and examined it. The middle four cells
each were full, the end two cells were low -- one about 70% full and the
other about 90% full.

Placing a load-tester on the battery causes one of the cells to start
boiling.

Can anyone tell me what the heck went wrong with the battery? I'm assuming
it's shot and needs replacement. Temperature here is mild (50-80 degrees
F). Humidity is high. I've never seen this happen to a lead-acid battery
before....

Thanks

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