Battery Safety PSA

[HarryFD]

This was posted by one of friends earlier and I wanted to share.

He is ok but we all need to be careful out there.

"Okay kids, here's todays safety psa. Ya know those stickers on batteries that we all ignore? You know them - they show acid melting people and explosion risk..blah blah well, they're for real.

This battery was in my walkie stacker (walk behind forklfit). The indicator showed full charge but no walkie. I popped the lid off, jiggled some wires, pushed one of the buttons to see if it was working and BOOM. Flying debris, battery acid in my face, ears ringing. It sounded like a gun going off. Cheryl heard it inside the house. I beeline into the house and rinse my eye as best I can with some eye wash saline. Wife checks out what one should do, and off to the ER where they put this weird contact lens with a tube contraption in my eye and pump 2 liters of saline through it. Took about 2 hours. So yeah, those labels actually do mean something. I have a whole new respect for lead acid batteries, and won't walk up to a sketchy one without full protection again."

What caused it? His thoughts:

"Couple of things. Poor battery design and venting (American company that outsorced to asia for this model), probably low on water so too much room for gas to build up (that's on me), but with poor venting, there you go.”

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1970 Deluxe Sunroof Bay Brilliant Blue/Cloud White
1973.5 911 Targa
2009 MB C300

[SGKent]

sorry about the accident.

That said, you won't be the first or last. That is why when jumpering a car the negative cable is the last and it goes bumper to bumper or frame to frame. Never to the battery post because if hydrogen is offgassing there will be a big loud boom, and best hope none gets in the eyes.

Again, sorry about the accident.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[blue72beetle]

I don't buy cheap batteries anymore. A cheap amazon battery left me stranded in the middle of nowhere Kentucky.

Bike started acting funny then died, I pulled over and hit the starter and heard a loud pop. Like a gun had gone off under my ass. The corner of the battery blew out.

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-Andy-
-1970 Ghia-
-1971 Bus 1776 Microsquirt EFI-

[sodbuster]

Been warning folks around here off and on about it for years.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2509577&highlight=#2509577

[Starbucket]

I had a Trojan blow it's top and was sweating bullets for 2 1/2 weeks until she got her period.

[jlrftype7]

In the early to mid 1980s when I worked at a Metal Fabrication Shop, we had a Welder blow the top off a 6 volt Forklift battery with him grinding metal near the battery/forklift in the shop. Shop ceiling was about 40 feet tall in the main shop. The blown case hit the ceiling and came down….
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[mikedjames]

I blew the ends out of a 12 volt motorcycle battery once.
We used to use them to power marine VHF radios back in the 1970s for our sailing club safety boats.

I charged it.. it was low voltage so I decided to measure the cell voltages through the filler caps, just after charging it....

I crossed the multimeter probes at one point, shorted out the "dead" cell.

When it blew, fortunately it fired fairly dilute acid sideways as the battery was charged at the time..

My ears rang and I had to wipe down surfaces around the battery.
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Ancient vehicles and vessels

1974 VW T2 : Devon Eurovette camper with 1641 DP T1 engine, Progressive carb, full flow oil cooler, EDIS crank timed ignition.
Engine 1: 40k miles (rocker shaft clip fell off), Engine 2: 30k miles (rebuild, dropped valve). Engine 3: a JK Preservation Parts "new" engine, aluminium case: 26k miles: new top end.
Gearbox rebuild 2021 by Bears.

1979 Westerly GK24 24 foot racer/cruiser yacht Forethought of Gosport.
1973 wooden Pacer sailing dinghy

[heimlich]

Batteries do explode. Anytime you are around the battery doing anything you should wear goggles. There is acid inside the lead acid batteries. It can blind you. Anytime I am doing a jump start, I turn my head away from the battery. Anytime I am topping the levels on the battery juice I wear googles.
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