Why Does this Happen

[Christopher Laurencio]

When our Tourney was winding down on Saturday, all the boats started showing back up at the launch waiting to load on trailer. I noticed a Father & his two children pull up in a Deep V alum Walleye type boat, (I remember thinking, bad timing on this guy). So we everyone is waiting there turn and hear a really loud bang and look towards the launch area and the some guys are towards the father and children & there boat. Turns out the Battery exploded when he was either truning on the main switch or messing with them in the blidge, either way the batt compartment was open. Lucky for the kids they were not tall enough for any exposure to the battery, the father however got sprayed by the acid, had to take off clothing and eyes injured by blast/acid. Eventually he cleaned up and went back home.



Question I have is, how do you avoid this dangerous unexpected occurence? What causes it?





Thanks



CJL

 

[Marty Klein]

Make sure your batteries are properly maintained. Make sure all connections are correct. Make sure battery compartment is properly vented. And then for me it's a sign of the cross before firing up the rocket's systems.

 

[Jim B]

I would think that he most likley shorted the battery out on something.



Thats pretty scary stuff right there.

 

[Rich Stern]

It's rare, but happens.



Perhaps the battery was (over) charged just before coming to the ramp, and had vented a lot of hydrogen into the bilge. Perhaps the boat has poor or blocked ventilation ports. Something sparked when a switch was hit and BOOM.



Good reminder that batteries, while very safe, have a lot of potential to cause hurt if not maintained properly.

 

[Bruce Freeman]

2 things must happen for a battery to explode, hydrogen gas instead of water in battery (boiled dry or not maintained) and a spark (bad connection)

Had the bilge been full the the hydrogen gas then the boat would have exploded..



BF

 

[Larry Harp]

Good lesson on why it's a good idea to keep the bilge lid open when you're charging the batteries. I've heard of batteries exploding when being jump started but never like Chris discribed.



I'll be glad when the brainiacs in Houston and Detroit figure out how to get that energy into my gas tank.



Harpo