fla-gypsy
North Florida
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Joined: 04/19/2005
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Batteries vent explosive gases during charging cycles. It only takes a spark to set it off if the gas concentrates to the right saturation.
09 SuperDuty Crew Cab 6.8L/4.10(The Black Pearl)
06 Keystone Hornet 29 RLS/(The Cracker Cabana)
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JJBIRISH
Butler, PA, USA
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Joined: 10/06/2002
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While it can obviously happen, you surly wouldn’t expect it to happen from 1 battery being trickle charged in a open space like a garage…
I had a uncle that would never close his garage door completely and had a exhaust fan on all the time… he had a explosion and fire at his parents home when a fuel line in the car leaked siphoning gasoline from the tank…
Unfortunately the hot water tank was in a room just off the garage to…
Be mindful and be safe, but you just can’t always anticipate everything that can happen…
Thank heavens your incident wasn’t worse than it was…
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
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tomdinwv
WV
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Joined: 12/11/2011
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Glad to hear no one was hurt. I sold auto parts years ago. One of the guys I worked with was installing a battery in a customers car and it exploded. He took a bunch of acid in the face. Messed him up pretty bad. The uniform shirt he was wearing at the time was kept in the office as a reminder of what could happen.
While working as a fleet mechanic, we were installing the plug in jumper cable adapters on all our big busses. One mechanic reversed the wiring to the plug in. The batteries on the bus he was working on needed charged so he decided to jump start it off another bus. As soon as he hooked up the cables, BOOM! The two 8D batteries exploded. It shook the dust off the rafters in the garage. Trashed a bunch of wiring in the bus and fried the alternator on the bus. No one was hurt, but it rattled everyones nerves a bit.
A battery being charged released hydrogen gas. Thats why batteries need to be in a vented area, so hydrogen gas will not build up. Like others have said, all it takes is one little spark and they will explode.
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dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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Joined: 03/23/2004
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Had that happen to me once (in my face) when I was younger. I was checking fluids under the hood of a Taxi Cab (used to be a mechanic at a cab co.). fortunately I seen that it was bubbling and I turned my head away just behind the hood, then it went off like an explosion! fortunately my ears only rang for a few minutes and my eyes were closed and shielded by the hood.
Becareful!
Wife Kim 
Son Brandon 11yrs
Daughter Marissa 10yrs
Dog Shadow 
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear 5Star tuner Y-pipe mod Hellwig sway bar
Reese HP dualcam Prodigy brake controller
A bad day of camping is
better than a good day at work!
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Lady Fitzgerald
Tempe, AZ, USA, Earth
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I had a battery explode when starting a car. It had been setting overnight and wasn't on a charger. Apparently, the battery developed an open connection overnight and when I attempted to start the car the next morning, the open connection arced, setting off the hydrogen still inside the battery. The jerk at the auto parts store I got it at was convinced it blew from a spark from jumping the battery.
Jeannie
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CavemanCharlie
Storden,MN
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I must keep a battery charge on my car battery all the time, or it goes dead after a week. But, I use a float charger. Once the battery is up to full charge the charger goes into float mode and quits putting current to the battery. Once every so often it checks to see if the battery needs another charge or not. If not it goes back to float mode. I'd think this would help to keep it from out gassing all the time. But, of course it is still out gassing when it's in charge mode.
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CincyGus
Cincinnati
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CavemanCharlie wrote:I must keep a battery charge on my car battery all the time, or it goes dead after a week. But, I use a float charger. Once the battery is up to full charge the charger goes into float mode and quits putting current to the battery. Once every so often it checks to see if the battery needs another charge or not. If not it goes back to float mode. I'd think this would help to keep it from out gassing all the time. But, of course it is still out gassing when it's in charge mode.
Same here on the float charger. Use it on my camper. Battery is in a battery box on the trailer and the charger is under the trailer as far away as the cord will reach on top of a block of wood to keep rain from getting in it. Figure outside, the gas can disperse enough to limit any explosion. Glad nobody was hurt.
2011 Silverado Crewcab 4x4
2012 Passport 238ML
Hope your travels are safe and the friendships made camping are lasting.
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JJBIRISH
Butler, PA, USA
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CavemanCharlie wrote:I must keep a battery charge on my car battery all the time, or it goes dead after a week. But, I use a float charger. Once the battery is up to full charge the charger goes into float mode and quits putting current to the battery. Once every so often it checks to see if the battery needs another charge or not. If not it goes back to float mode. I'd think this would help to keep it from out gassing all the time. But, of course it is still out gassing when it's in charge mode.
I think I would have to isolate and fix the problem… the charger is just a band-aid approach, you have more than a paratactic drain there…
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CavemanCharlie
Storden,MN
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Ha Ha, on my 84 Lincoln the cost of fixing it would be worth more then the car.lol I usually drive my pickup for most things. The old Lincoln is for long distance runs during the summer only. I may take it to a museum or, to check out a park that I may want to pull my camper to. I exaggerated anyway. It takes two weeks to run the battery down. Most modern cars have enough draw to drain the battery in a few weeks.
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BobJoh
Whitestown, IN 46075
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Joined: 05/23/2004
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No one has mentioned the rule in/when connecting jumper cables. Connect the PLUS first at the batt post... then the NEG to a distance bare heavy metal place on the engine... i.e. if there is a spark it will be remote frim the expolosive gases of the batt. On disconnect.. do unconnect this distance NEG cable forst in case there is a spark as the curcit is broken.
BobJoh
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