batteries

ken in texas · May 3, 2009

Been reading post concerning correct conection of batteries,and get a little concerned about getting a little careless when conecting ,or boosting batteries. How many of you have blown up batteries,or seen the results.They can be like a bomb,plus the acid can cause blindness in severe cases.Be super careful,Have any of you had that experience,and what were the results,not good I know

Bob · May 3, 2009

BTDT. You WON'T like it when it happens. Wear appropriate eye protection when working around batterys and have water on hand for flushing acid of off skin.

Anonymous-0 · May 3, 2009

when connecting or boosting, the ground gets hooked up last and disconnected first,another safety factor.

old · May 3, 2009

Yep BTDT and it is not good and can be a hospital trip big time. Always think twice and do once and have all thew gear to do it safely

buickanddeere · May 3, 2009

A battery can blow even with the proper polarity connections. Oxygen and hydrogen gas plus a spark for ignition = boom.
The spark can be a battery charger or booster cables being connected or disconnected. Sometimes an internal failure within the battery will cause a failure.
An old or damaged battery has a higher risk of "cell reversal". Now that's a source of H2.

Tom in TN · May 3, 2009

Ken,

This happened many years ago when I was a teenager working part-time in a local four bay garage. One of the mechanics attached a battery charger to a battery in bay four. He had opened the caps on the battery and filled the water level before attaching the charger. The charger was working away, boiling the acid in the battery.

Another mechanic in bay three hooked up to do some metal cutting with a cutting torch. A spark from the cutting torch flew over into the area where the battery was being charged. BAM. the side of the battery blew off and spread acid everywhere.

Thankfully, no one was in bay four at the time. No one was injured, but we sure had a striped bay where the acid etched the dirt, grease, and paint off the area where the acid blew.

It was a really good lesson for this teenaged boy.

Tom in TN

Anonymous-0 · May 4, 2009

ears and ears ago I recharged a battery in the vehicle after disconnecting the leads. a few hours passed, took the charger away, reconnected the leads.Give it a test,thought I.. hit the ignition key.
BOOOOOOOOOMM. pieces everywhere.Sure makes a mess.

Patsdeere · May 4, 2009

I was talking with a guy that was having a tough time getting his truck to start. He took the battery out and took it to a auto parts place to have it charged. A couple of hours later he brought it back and put it in. He tried cranking it a few times and still nothing. He climbed under the truck to hit the starter and for no apparent reason part of the top of the battery blew off. It left with such force it dented the hood from the underside (the hood was up). The whole battery twisted and had large cracks down the side. That gave me a real wake up.

RBnSC · May 4, 2009

Years ago we were cleaning up a lot in down town Charleston where the buildings are close together on narrow lots. Dad had a 65 ford F600 with the battery under the floor board. My brother and I were loading debris in the truck when all of a sudden the truck cranks up and backs into the building next door. There was a short in the wiring some where and it wont choke down because the starter is running just sitting there against a brick building spinning the tires in reverse. I ran to the drivers side and took it out of gear but it is still running and the key is off. My brother went to the passenger side pulls the cover off the floor board. We were both jerking on the battery cables when one of them came off it caused a spark and POP part of the top of the battery blew off. Luckily neither one had anything more than a few cuts on our hands. There was a hose near by and we and washed ourselves off. What saved us was we both knew that it might happen and we were looking away from the battery when it blew.
Ron

hayray · May 4, 2009

I shorted out a battery on my White and blew it up in my face, I had safety glasses on so I was not hurt. My ears were ringing for a little while, sounded like a shot gun blast.

Wilson · May 4, 2009

years ago had one blow in a 172 cessna while cranking in really cold weather. Had flown north that am, sat for 4 hours. Had to rent car, get air frame mechanic clerance later , a real mess.

brian(MN) · May 4, 2009

Years ago I hand a battery explode while I was cranking a combime. There was a wall between me and the battery, sounded just like a shotgun blast, scared me real good. Never again will I have a charger on the battery while I am cranking.
Brian(MN)

DoubleR · May 4, 2009

Heard stories of batt. blowing up but never experienced it first hand. But I did burn up my favorite charger when I hooked it up backwards when I turned it to 200 amp quick charge. It was on a dead batt so I did'nt realize the mistake like you normaly would as soon as you hook it up with sparks a flyin. I learned a expensive lesson that day and have been alot more careful since.

John B. · May 4, 2009

A freshly charged battery can be the worst. It has more explosive gas build up. I've seen batteries blow up just when some one started to crank over their vehicle. That can be cause of a loose battery connection creating a spark or an internal battery failure.

This is why when removing a battery always disconnect the ground first. Wether it's a positive ground or negative ground system always disconnect the ground first. The reason for this is;

If the ground is hooked up and the hot wire is disconnected first there is more of a chance that your wrench will come in contact with some part of the vehicle frame while loosening the clamp of the hot wire. If this happens you have a dead short which will turn your wrench RED HOT in just a few seconds if the battery doesn't blow up in your face and instantly blind you.

I've seen so many people put acid in new batteries and not even wear safety glasses. I tell them what can happen and they just brush it off. If I was in charge or owned the company and seen this I would send them home for the day. No buts about it. Safety First. You don't get a second chance.

guido · May 4, 2009

Hello ken in texas,
Here is the sequence you need to follow for jump starting a dead battery.
Guido.

ken in texas · May 4, 2009

Many times a battery will fail because of vibration breaking internal conections,and then when charged or boosted ,the break will seperate and arc,causing the fumes to ignite and result in an explosion.I have seen it happen a number of times,when I was in the battery business.Be extra careful with sealed batteries ,because fumes cannot be vented.

Brian Jasper co. Ia · May 4, 2009

It happened to a guy in my High School auto shop. He hooked a charger up backwards, and like the others said, shot gun blast. I always hook the charger up first, then plug it in. Keep your terminals/cables clean so you get a good connection and no sparks.

batteries

ken in texas

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Bob

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Anonymous-0

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old

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buickanddeere

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Tom in TN

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Anonymous-0

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Patsdeere

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RBnSC

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hayray

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Wilson

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brian(MN)

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DoubleR

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ken in texas

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