<VV> Battery Explosion

[Bill Hubbell]

This has been suggested by others, so here is my response:

I don't think it was Hydrogen gas.  My car is Factory Stock Restored (well,
it was before this incident anyway) so the battery had the special vented
caps with hoses that vent the hydrogen gas outside the engine compartment.

It looks like the explosion occurred in the center cell on the positive
side.  I suppose it could have been hydrogen in the battery which blew it
apart, but the ignition source was inside the battery, and therefore was
probably some sort of internal short.  It only happened when I hit the
starter switch, which would of course cause a large current draw from the
battery.  There is no evidence of other electrical damage, so I do believe
the ignition came from within the battery itself.

Yeah, I know the acid might still present problems but I flushed everything
with tons of water from the hose, then vacuumed it with the shop vac and
blew everything out with the air hose, then did it all over again with a
baking soda solution, including giving the harness connectors a good soak.

Unfortunately this means the car will be going on display at the museum with
a non-stock battery as I don't have time to get a new repro-stock battery.
Oh well, it could have been a lot worse.

Bill Hubbell
 



-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of Tony Underwood
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 2:46 PM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: Re: <VV> Battery Explosion

At 11:49 AM 9/26/2009, Bill Hubbell wrote:
>I was in the final stages of getting my 1964 Stock Sedan ("Alice") ready to
>go to the Corvette Musuem this morning.  I had pushed the car out into the
>driveway to do some last minute items and having finished I got in the car
>to start it up and back it into the garage.  The minute I turned the key
>there was a loud "BANG", kind of like a backfire.



Hydrogen explosion.

All it takes is an older battery (they tend to shed hydrogen) or an 
overcharged battery and a slight spark from almost anything close 
enough to lite it.   A battery terminal that's marginal will do it, 
likely what happened here.


Happened to me once, only in my case I was present and up close to 
witness what happened.   Older battery (in a Mopar) which experienced 
the "dead overnight" symptom so I popped it on a charger and let it 
eat for a while.   I came back out after a bit to check to see if it 
would start (charger still hooked up) and as I walked around the 
cables stringing out from the front of the car I jostled one and it 
evidently sparked at the terminal which provided ignition for the 
hydrogen oozing out of the battery, which exploded.   This was a BIG 
battery in a bigblock musclecar and it blew the top off with a bang 
that made my ears ring and sent pieces of red Advance Store battery 
flying around and sprayed electrolyte here and there and onto me.

Garden hose, on the car and on me, no damage other than to my dignity 
and ego and wallet for the new battery.




Yes, they will explode and violently.



tony.. 
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