Exploding tractor battery!

[CausticUrbanCoast]

What most people do not know unless they owned a boat is that standard and AGM batteries vent an explosive gas when they are overheated. Most often it is because the electrolyte is low or the battery was discharged too low and the charging current is too high.

This is the reason for temperature/resistance sensors on smart chargers and inverters. Also the reason why your vehicle battery is under your hood (despite the high chance of heat damage with some engines).

It is also the same reason LiOn and LiPo batteries in cellphones explode or catch fire (those two battery types should never have been release to consumers, the failure rates are insane).


Edit: If you look in a camper or RV manual, they give the same warning.

 

[PILOON]

Want to talk of scary?

Way back a friend fired up his light aircraft and started rolling for take off.
Then suddenly BOOM!
His battery exploded!---followed by a secondary one in his shorts.

LOL, he gave up aviating.

Seems his battery might have frozen as it had needed a boost to start plus it was quite old as well.

 

[Fuddy1952]

One blew up two weeks ago right below my head! I was helping friend with Ford F250 7.3L diesel (has two batteries), he had charger on and genius me was using a propane torch to solder starter cable at the battery, friend off to the side holding cable with pliers. It was like dynamite going off and blew us backwards.
He had outdoor spigot not far and I had him get baking soda, washing up ourselves.
Lucky but still barely can hear out of my ear closest to it.

 

[amhicks21]

I had a car battery randomly explode in my daily driver about 2 years ago. It may be rare, but it certainly can happen for no other reason than the battery being defective or damaged.

 

[amhicks21]

something i forgot about and seems to be a common element with the other people that have had batteries explode is having had a charger on it beforehand. The one i had on mine was just 3 amps, but it wasnt one with all the electronic safeties that they make now. mine also blew up while cranking.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

I had a car battery randomly explode in my daily driver about 2 years ago. It may be rare, but it certainly can happen for no other reason than the battery being defective or damaged.

It is not rare, somewhere between 1-5% for lead-acid, almost 29% of LiOn/LiPo.

 

[Smt]

Hey, I have a Power Major, 1958 model. Vacuum governor. It sat for a long time and I think it is stuck in high range, I know it is. I will split it and check things out. Sounds like a good winter project. Might even put a newer diesel in it. Well built tractor.

Mine is 1959 and 20 days younger than I am.
I'm not quite sure what a vacuum governor is or whether mine has one. I use the tractor two or three times a year and each time it has started first go and done what was needed.... except this year. :-(

I am still failing to understand what exactly happened. It was a sealed battery that had been charged up overnight with the bonnet up so build up of gasses seems unlikely. So maybe it was corroded plates or just a defective battery (although it had served me well for ten years or so).

 

[PILOON]

Back in my aviation days exploding Lithium batteries that they used in ELT's (emergency locators) blew on an all too frequent basis. Real scary if that occurred while in the air.

The story goes that Lithium was used to power listening devices during the Vietnam war and a transmitted signal would cause a dead short and the device then became a small bomb killing the stealthy enemy.

 

[TractorGuy]

Had one blow in my face once. Was using an old garage size charger that had a volt and amp meter. I'm supposing the small load from the volt meter caused a spark when I disconnected the cable. Charger was turned off.

Fortunately I pulled my head to the side fast enough I didn't have any eye damage. There was an outdoor faucet nearby and I washed myself off good then sprayed down the car.

I disconnected the volt meter in the charger. I've never seen a charger before or since that had a volt meter.

 

[ultrarunner]

Same here… had it on the charger at the car lot.

Ever since I check the water level and always make the last connection to ground not the negative battery post.
My shirt quickly turned to rags from the acid.