<VV> Battery Explosion

[Tony Underwood]

At 11:49 AM 9/26/2009, Bill Hubbell wrote:
>I was in the final stages of getting my 1964 Stock Sedan ("Alice") ready to
>go to the Corvette Musuem this morning.  I had pushed the car out into the
>driveway to do some last minute items and having finished I got in the car
>to start it up and back it into the garage.  The minute I turned the key
>there was a loud "BANG", kind of like a backfire.



Hydrogen explosion.

All it takes is an older battery (they tend to shed hydrogen) or an 
overcharged battery and a slight spark from almost anything close 
enough to lite it.   A battery terminal that's marginal will do it, 
likely what happened here.


Happened to me once, only in my case I was present and up close to 
witness what happened.   Older battery (in a Mopar) which experienced 
the "dead overnight" symptom so I popped it on a charger and let it 
eat for a while.   I came back out after a bit to check to see if it 
would start (charger still hooked up) and as I walked around the 
cables stringing out from the front of the car I jostled one and it 
evidently sparked at the terminal which provided ignition for the 
hydrogen oozing out of the battery, which exploded.   This was a BIG 
battery in a bigblock musclecar and it blew the top off with a bang 
that made my ears ring and sent pieces of red Advance Store battery 
flying around and sprayed electrolyte here and there and onto me.

Garden hose, on the car and on me, no damage other than to my dignity 
and ego and wallet for the new battery.




Yes, they will explode and violently.



tony..