SVreX
MegaDork
12/1/15 12:16 p.m.
We've all heard it. Wear safety glasses when handling batteries. Keep sparks away. Old batteries are more dangerous than new ones.
I blew one up today, and am very happy to have only a lacerated hand and a foul taste in my mouth I can't get rid of.
I was leaning over it, and grinding too close with no safety glasses on. It blew up in my face.
I found pieces 50 ft away. My neighbor across the street heard it blow and saw pieces fly over the shop roof. I took a battery acid shower, and the truck was covered.
My EMT neighbor came running to see if I was conscious. He found me with my head in the sink washing my eyes. 4 hours later my ears are still ringing.
I feel like an idiot. Don't be like me. Don't berkeley around.
Robbie
SuperDork
12/1/15 12:28 p.m.
Yikes. Glad to hear you are mostly ok. I'd still get myself checked out by a doc (or poison control expert?). Chemical burns sometimes don't seem to be much of a problem until 2-3 days after the incident, if that is a good portion of your skin it could really suck.
mtn
MegaDork
12/1/15 1:04 p.m.
Robbie wrote:
Yikes. Glad to hear you are mostly ok. I'd still get myself checked out by a doc (or poison control expert?). Chemical burns sometimes don't seem to be much of a problem until 2-3 days after the incident, if that is a good portion of your skin it could really suck.
This. If you haven't been to the hospital (with a burn unit) yet, you probably want to go.
I seriously hope you're all right. I've taken to removing the battery form the car if I am working on it unless I'm doing something like bleeding the brakes.
Saw that only once. A fellow mechanic had a close call and did not get anything in his face.
Batteries are most dangerous right after being charged.
tuna55
MegaDork
12/1/15 1:29 p.m.
Wow. Thanks for the warning. Glad you're OK.
Did whatever you were grinding cause it to blow?
Huh I knew sparks could ignite hydrogen fumes from the battery, but I didn't know an external ignition source could make a battery explode...I thought battery explosions were always triggered by electrical/thermal conditions in the battery. Well I learned something today, and I never thought about battery explosions when cutting & grinding near batteries before.
Glad to hear you made it out okay.
JimS
New Reader
12/1/15 3:47 p.m.
It happened to my son's Jetta many years ago. He got in and started the car and the battery exploded. Scared the hell out of everyone in the parking lot.
Many years ago, my dad was connecting a battery to an MGA we'd just bought. On an MGA, the batteries are normally behind the seats under a panel. Someone had relocated a single battery to the trunk but there were three battery cables; one black and two red. My dad connected the black one, which was clearly bolted to the chassis and assumed the others were positive. One of them was another ground and the dead short caused the battery to explode instantly. Fortunately it blew the side out not facing us, but it was still like being in the movie Alien.
The_Jed
PowerDork
12/1/15 4:32 p.m.
Wow, glad you're alright!
SVreX
MegaDork
12/1/15 4:51 p.m.
gjz30075 wrote:
Did whatever you were grinding cause it to blow?
I'm gonna say sparks from the grinder.
If you can smell a battery, it's off-gasing. If you can't, it's probably still off-gasing.
Wow, sorry to hear about that, glad you aren't too bad off.
Hmm, I've been meaning to try out the LiFePo4 battery packs. From what I've read they're pretty safe little things, I need to do some more research though. Potential double win as I'm trying to keep the Exocet as lean as possible. We'll see.
http://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-25/3-2-lb-lifepo4-track-battery-215618/
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?336833-LiFePo4-s-as-a-lightweight-car-battery-replacement
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/cheap-lightweight-battery-suggestions/57030/page1/
I saw one go off in a guys face once. I was just walking by on the sidewalk. He got burned pretty bad in the face. Scary stuff.
NOHOME
UberDork
12/1/15 6:01 p.m.
Why was it off- gassing if it was not charging? ie Where you grinding on a car that was running?
The wife unit is an icu nurse, and has already told me that if I end up in her check-out line because of some stunt I pulled in the shop, she is going to pull the plug. I need to know all the safety stuff I can.
Holy hell man, that's nuts. Glad your ok. Mostly.
Damn that sucks, glad you got lucky so to speak and aren't hurt any worse.
SVreX
MegaDork
12/1/15 6:16 p.m.
GameboyRMH wrote:
Huh I knew sparks could ignite hydrogen fumes from the battery, but I didn't know an external ignition source could make a battery explode...I thought battery explosions were always triggered by electrical/thermal conditions in the battery. Well I learned something today, and I never thought about battery explosions when cutting & grinding near batteries before.
I think pretty much every battery I've ever seen has a warning on it like this:
External source, explosion can happen.
Failure to pay attention to the label does not give me (or anyone) an excuse.
SVreX
MegaDork
12/1/15 6:23 p.m.
Pics or it didn't happen, right?
I've seen a 48v forklift battery explode due to an errant spark. I'm so glad that I was not the source of that spark, or working particularly close, and that none of the other batteries at the charging station decided to join the party.
Just thinkin out loud- I bet the flame ignited outside then travelled into the battery through that vent cap thats now missing its vent plug-then into a nice hydrogen rich cavity and boom! I'm also guessing an AGM would be less likely to explode because of the lack of a pocket for the hydrogen to gather.
I know you worked at a chemical factory for a bit-did you have any training you can share with us on what you should do if doused in acid?
SVreX
MegaDork
12/1/15 8:01 p.m.
In reply to MrJoshua:
We would have had a base nearby to neutralize an acid quickly.
We would have also been wearing appropriate PPE.
But the initial response for most products would have been to jump in the safety shower (located throughout) immediately and rinse thoroughly for 20 minutes or more. Pretty much what I did (except for the appropriate PPE part).
The best response is an appropriate approach.