Battery Explosion! What Happened?

   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #1  

Industrial Toys

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A new experience for me. I was at a friends today when a car battery exploded. It was a sealed car battery, and was used to run a 12 volt hydraulic hoist. It had gone dead and a wheeled style charger had been put on it to temporarily run the hoist on "BOOST" setting. It had been forgotten for only a short while.

I was standing around 6 feet away from it with my back to it. I thought it sounded like a 9mm handgun, my friend thought a .270!

Plastic everywhere, and the top third of the battery missing!

Curious what happened?

A few minutes before, my friend asked if I smelled Dog poop. I didn't. Probably hydrogen gas.

Did a spark from the charger alligator clips set off the gas, or did it explode from pressure? I thought all, flooded batteries have to be vented.

This certainly makes me see batteries in a whole new light.
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #2  
A bad cell can occur when the plates grow enough scale to touch and short. A dead short creates heat. A "sealed" battery can only release so much pressure. Too much heat and it can't keep up releasing pressure. Pressure builds till battery case suddenly and explosively fails. That's a likely "explosion" scenario.
Good to see Darwin is alive and well. Glad he wasn't hurt!
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #3  
Charging will make the battery release hydrogen gas,,
ANY spark will ignite it,
hydrogen is quite unique in that it will ignite at almost ANY ratio of hydrogen to oxygen.

My nephew hooked a clamp on spotlight to a battery,, I thought he had shot his .243 at a groundhog.
Acid, and plastic went everywhere, the light clamp touched the battery terminal, and created enough spark.

BANG!!
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #4  
40 years ago I wanted to charge a dead battery, stuck it in my car, hooked up the boost cables, car started than I drove up the road almost a mile when BANG and the car stalled, looked under the hood and a hole in the side of the battery thinking to my self, glad I wasn't standing next to it in the drive way watching, anyways got the car push around coasted back down to the house, a lesson learned the easy way and that dont happen very often either........
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #5  
Pressure wasn't what burst it,the gas produced while charging a battery is explosive. Chances are a connection broke either at cable connection or inside battery that resulted in a spark,ka-boom. One more reason to slow charge batteries.
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
So am I to guess, that one never sees the flash? The intention was to momentarily run the hoist, not charge (I mean blow up) the battery.
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #7  
Been years ago but we had one to blow up in our car and all my wife did was hit the key to crank it. No charger nothing changed in the installation for months. Was told they will do that some times. Do not remember blowing parts of battery but that was about 30 years ago.
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #8  
A few minutes before, my friend asked if I smelled Dog poop. I didn't. Probably hydrogen gas.

Nope. Hydrogen is odorless. You won't know it's there.

It's theoretically possible you could have smelled a faint whiff of sulfuric acid in the air, as the overcharging boiled it off. Or maybe not.
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Or maybe, he really just stepped in it. Googled hydrogen gas a little while ago, yes you are right, no smell.

Any thoughts on acid covered clothing? Is rinsing in water, within a short time enough? What happens to sulfuric acid diluted with water when it evaporates? Are you left with the sulfuric acid?

This REALLY is something I hope I never experience again.
 
   / Battery Explosion! What Happened? #10  
Any thoughts on acid covered clothing? Is rinsing in water, within a short time enough?


Usually, no. That stuff works quickly, especially on cotton. Depends how quickly you got to it and how thoroughly you rinsed it, of course. At this point, it is what it is. You'll know for sure when you wash it. That's when the holes will show up. Or not.


What happens to sulfuric acid diluted with water when it evaporates? Are you left with the sulfuric acid?

Yep. Just waiting for some water to activate it again. It needs to be flushed with lots of water to get rid of it. Follow up with baking soda to make sure you get the last of it neutralized.


This REALLY is something I hope I never experience again.


I hear ya! I've had one blow up on me, and I would prefer to keep it to just the one.
 
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