Exploding battery!

[philbyford]

G’day
I’m in a 16 year old dethless globebus
I’m in a field on my own , nobody about.
My leisure battery just went off like a shotgun. Bits and acid everywhere, nobody hurt. I’ve cleaned everything up and poured water on the acid, pulled out 240supply put the fridge on gas.
I don’t suppose anything can be done until I can find a professional in the morning.
Information only then; what would cause a battery to explode, it was hab.checked about 4 weeks ago, would any sought of fault be spotted then.
I think everything is safe , bit smelly and dark
Phil

 

[Lenny HB]

Most likely cause is faulty battery, possible a shorted cell.
Other reasons mains or solar charger faulty over charging the battery.

 

[Two on Tour]

Likely cause would be the mains charger over charging your battery.
Was there no smell of rotten eggs prior to the event?

 

[philbyford]

I didn’t notice any strange smells before the event, I was outside with dog at the time. Just a smell of acid now

 

[Scotch mist]

I had that recently, 2 batteries in parallel, one badly damaged , other one ok
smelt the egg smell prior to The checking the battery

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[Riverbankannie]

I was outside with dog at the time

Thank goodness by the sound of it. Hope you get it sorted tomorrow. If you say where you are, someone may be able to recommend nearby supplier/help.

 

[chrisgreen]

I had that recently, 2 batteries in parallel, one badly damaged , other one ok
smelt the egg smell prior to The checking the battery

View attachment 667539View attachment 667540View attachment 667542

Why would anyone own a pointy temperature thingy, and do I need one?

 

[Tombola]

co

Why would anyone own a pointy temperature thingy, and do I need one?

come in handy during covid .
he, we use them quite a lot at work for machine temp checks

 

[Raul]

I had that recently, 2 batteries in parallel, one badly damaged , other one ok
smelt the egg smell prior to The checking the battery

View attachment 667539View attachment 667540View attachment 667542

This particular one is definitely overcharging, either by to high absorb voltage, to much absorb time or to high charge rate. The gel batteries should receive a charge regime under gassing threshold. This one it bulged by the amount of gassing and it’s not meant to. The weakest link gave up.

On the OP, I definitely agree overcharging as others already mentioned.

 

[rod_vw]

Wait until you've seen a single glass lead acid cell of over 1000Ah burst. Then you've seen acid all over the floor!

Older types of telephone exchanges had 24 single glass cells of this type linked in series (and nearly always two banks like this) to provide the 50v exchange operating voltage. These cells were too large to transport complete and were assembled and filled with acid on site. During the commissioning of such batteries it was normal to be in attendance all the time for initial charge and discharge tests and just occasionally one did burst! I've seen the consequences.

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[philbyford]

Now the batteries gone on my head torch, and no way to re-charge it, going to pack candles next trip

 

[Swifter]

Now the batteries gone on my head torch, and no way to re-charge it, going to pack candles next trip

Where abouts are you ?

 

[poppycamper]

Now the batteries gone on my head torch, and no way to re-charge it, going to pack candles next trip

Now the batteries gone on my head torch, and no way to re-charge it, going to pack candles next trip

Gosh.... bet you glad they didn't explode..

 

[donkey]

Why would anyone own a pointy temperature thingy, and do I need one?

Great little tool. Use it to occasionally check hubs and discs after a drive, any binding or hub issues show up straight away. Check for poor insulation by comparing surface area temperatures. Check temperature of fridge contents, allowing necessary adjustments to stat. Also freezer. Fluid temperatures for cooking, wine making, shower settings etc.
Once you have one you will be going all round the place checking for hot or cold spots and all for a few quid.

Geoff

 

[tonyidle]

Wait until you've seen a single glass lead acid cell of over 1000Ah burst. Then you've seen acid all over the floor!

Older types of telephone exchanges had 24 single glass cells of this type linked in series (and nearly always two banks like this) to provide the 50v exchange operating voltage. These cells were too large to transport complete and were assembled and filled with acid on site. During the commissioning of such batteries it was normal to be in attendance all the time for initial charge and discharge tests and just occasionally one did burst! I've seen the consequences.

I came into the battery room after the first overnight charge and every light bulb had fallen out of its bayonet cap. Acid vapour / ventilation shutters & fans not operating meant the acid fumes killed the glue & filament feed wires. The bulbs were either floating in the cells or smashed on the floor.

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[Lenny HB]

Why would anyone own a pointy temperature thingy, and do I need one?

I thought everybody had one, I think you are the odd one out.

 

[Gina M]

Now the batteries gone on my head torch, and no way to re-charge it, going to pack candles next trip

I always pack an extra spare head torch for walking the dog at night and reading and a battery powered camping lantern in case of emergencies like these. Got caught out once but never again and neither will you after this

Gina.

 

[Scotch mist]

It was strange that only one of my batteries was like that the other one was fine with no heat & no swelling

 

[TheBig1]

if a cell starts to fail, they gas off much sooner and at an accelerated rate. First it gets hot and begins to boil the sulphuric acid creating sulphur dioxide. Stinks like rotten eggs, but more dangerous is the hydrogen. That is colourless, odourless and VERY explosive

You need to buy a lottery ticket and go to church, somebody is looking after you and the dog being outside when it blew

 

[Gina M]

if a cell starts to fail, they gas off much sooner and at an accelerated rate. First it gets hot and begins to boil the sulphuric acid creating sulphur dioxide. Stinks like rotten eggs, but more dangerous is the hydrogen. That is colourless, odourless and VERY explosive

You need to buy a lottery ticket and go to church, somebody is looking after you and the dog being outside when it blew

I used to work at a speciality chemical works in Derby and typed out safety data sheets (SDS) and safety operational procedures (SOP) the place always stunk of eggs!! often wonder of what effect it will have on my future health

Gina.

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[Revolvor]

I thought everybody had one, I think you are the odd one out.

My wife's just bought me one as a wedding anniversary present! It arrived today.

 

[Swifter]

I’ve got a spare fully charged leisure battery you can have to get you up and running ( off grid) but you need to get the issue sorted out with the charger etc . If you let me know where you are I might be able to drop it off tomorrow . Also I’ve got a power bank you can borrow if you need . Send me a message if you need any help. .

 

[Reallyretired]

I had a battery that was on the way to exploding. It had been 'professionally fitted' and the plug that you remove to fit the breather pipe hade been left in. It was bulging.

 

[philbyford]

I’ve got a spare fully charged leisure battery you can have to get you up and running ( off grid) but you need to get the issue sorted out with the charger etc . If you let me know where you are I might be able to drop it off tomorrow . Also I’ve got a power bank you can borrow if you need . Send me a message if you need any help. .

G’day Swifter
I’m near Kingd Lynn
I left a few messages on various caravan service engineers phones last night, I wait and see if I get any response.
Thanks for the offer, I’m ok for the mo’, I’m mobile and I have gas for tea .
Going to Grantham water later(club site) they may have a tame engineer to hand if I don’t have any luck here.
Thanks again
Phil

 

[philbyford]

if a cell starts to fail, they gas off much sooner and at an accelerated rate. First it gets hot and begins to boil the sulphuric acid creating sulphur dioxide. Stinks like rotten eggs, but more dangerous is the hydrogen. That is colourless, odourless and VERY explosive

You need to buy a lottery ticket and go to church, somebody is looking after you and the dog being outside when it blew

G’day
Can’t say I feel very lucky at the moment but hopefully a cup of tea will help.
I’ll buy a lottery ticket later

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[rod_vw]

I came into the battery room after the first overnight charge and every light bulb had fallen out of its bayonet cap. Acid vapour / ventilation shutters & fans not operating meant the acid fumes killed the glue & filament feed wires. The bulbs were either floating in the cells or smashed on the floor.

Yes it can certainly be dramatic when big cells go up!
I've never seen one that bad and don't really want to.
The end blown out of a 6v battery under the rear seat of my VW Beetle many years ago caused enough mess.

 

[tonyidle]

Yes it can certainly be dramatic when big cells go up!
I've never seen one that bad and don't really want to.
The end blown out of a 6v battery under the rear seat of my VW Beetle many years ago caused enough mess.

These hadn't blown up - just on charge was enough. I did blow up a battery on my last MH though. It was under the seat on my Hymer & I had the seat undone and slid forward onto the steering wheel. All the cell caps were off for topping up and in an act of sheer stupidity I caught the unguarded +ve terminal with the battery hold down clamp. That ignited the hydrogen in the first two cells blowing the side out of the battery and covering me and the immediate area with acid. I rushed indoors and filled a spray bottle with bicarb & water and sprayed me and the whole affected area with it. If a spot fizzed I sprayed until it stopped. The result was no holes in fabric or furnishings and no resultant damage. A very lucky escape I think.

 

[Wildbill]

Sorry to hear about you battery but do go get bicarbonate of soda dezolve in water spray on the affected arias then rinse off this will stop any acid left from eating in to the van.
Bill

 

[Wildbill]

I used to work at a speciality chemical works in Derby and typed out safety data sheets (SDS) and safety operational procedures (SOP) the place always stunk of eggs!! often wonder of what effect it will have on my future health

Gina.

Worked in the drilling industry off shore on the platforms it was coming to smell rotten eggs was happy to be able to smell it it when you can't smell it your dead.
Bill

 

[TheBig1]

This reminded me last night of what happened on a local THS earlier this year. A camper was messing with the wiring under the seat in his motorhome when suddenly it burst into flames. One of my friends was nearby and rushed over with a fire extinguisher. The fire kept reigniting though and it required the wired supplying the battery cutting to finally extinguish. A few hours of rewiring and ripping out burnt fabric and carpet and the van was usable again. Not something that camper will ever forget, his wife won't let him

Just a reminder that batteries can be dangerous if you don't look after them and know what you are doing when attempting DiY