The battery just exploded

This would be a better click bait in the EV section, but it happened to my wife's car. The weather has been cold and she doesn't drive the car much so I had the battery on a tender just to keep it charged. Today's weather wasn't too bad so I decided to start her car and warm it up a bit. I turned the car on and everything seemed fine, so I twisted the key to start it up. There was a huge bang, like make your ears ring huge, and then nothing. I looked under the hood and this is what I saw - - Battery acid all over the car, rotten egg smell, and plastic shrapnel every where.







I pushed the car out of the garage and hosed everything down with fresh water from the hose. Then I raided the fridge for the baking soda and sprinkled that everywhere. There weren't any reactions so I'm pretty confident I rinsed all the acid off. I've heard of batteries exploding, but this is my first time. Fortunately I was in the car because if that had gone off in my face it would have been a very bad day.

 

You’re lucky that you were in the car and unharmed. I e never had that happen to me before. What brand is the battery?

 

Not very common for it to happen but it does happen, I've seen a few explode before.

They generate hydrogen gas when they are charging so all it takes is a spark in the right place (like an internal short) to set it off.

 

I've heard of it happening.
Never seen it happen. Now I have......wow.

 

That’s nice.

 

It was and Interstate battery I bought at Costco. It was on it's last legs and my wife was bugging me to buy her a new one. When she saw what happened she freaked out a bit. I just laughed and said well, you did want me to get you a new one. lol

 

1) How old was the battery

2) did the battery case look swollen

3) how long has it been hooked up to the battery tender

4) what charging cycle was the battery tender on when the battery exploded ...... bulk charge / solid red light, maintenance mode/ solid green or absorbsion charge / flashing green



Generally I would never try to start a car while it's hooked up to a battery tender or charger for the exact reason as you found out

 

How old was the battery? I don't remember exactly when I bought it, but 4 maybe 5 years old.
Did the case look swollen? No, it looked fine and the battery was working fine a back in November when the car was parked. However because of the long periods of sitting idle it struggled to hold a charge.
How long was it hooked up? Two months.
What charging cycle was the battery tender on? Well, that's a long story. The short version is a family member passed away and the charger was in their garage. They had an RV so I just assumed they were using it for the RV batteries. Then some internet stranger asks what charging cycle was it using and I had no idea. So, I went out to look at it and the damn thing is not a battery tender but a 1 amp slow battery charger . It has two states, plugged in and charging or unplugged and not charging. I have been literally cooking that battery for months.

I'm going to have to thank my guardian angel for letting me be a lazy ass and not disconnecting the charger before I started the car. I just glanced at it to make sure the cables were out of harms way. Disconnecting it could have easily created a spark and a very, very bad day for me.

 

Everybody should be wearing eye protection when working around batteries. That acid is no joke if it gets on your face

Glad you're ok

 

Holy shit...

Lesson learned there for all of us I suppose, your lucky it worked out as it did.

 

With most chargers, you disconnect it from the wall first, then the negative cable, then the positive cable. I don't think that would've caused a spark.

 

Don't push worn out batteries. Energy is a mofo. They have a finite lifespan. But damn, that seems a bit much!!

 

Spectacular. On the upside, Costco does have a good return policy, however probably not this time.

 

After removing all the pieces i would give the area a very good hose down to remove any residual sulfuric acid residue.

My tacoma can sit for weeks/months but i use a 5 amp NOCO smart charger that wont overcharge.

 

How many years? Nevermind, i should have read the thread.

 

I watched a battery explode when my brother in law and his drinking buddy accidently crossed the cables on their golf cart while camping. Both were lucky they didn't get it in their eyes but their swim trunks and t shirts were covered with acid. They both ran for the showers and came back laughing with giant holes melted in their shorts. Chunks of battery were laying everywhere.
These are the same guys who was trying to prime a carburetor on a car and had it explode in one of their faces when they leaned over the carb with a lit cigarette and the other cranked the engine. No eyebrows left but always a good time.

 

The CTEK chargers are also great for a battery tender. The new ones with computer control are pretty awesome, I have a few large 'old school' chargers that just collect dust since I just always use the CTEK. Mine is a basic one and it's at least a decade old but it still rocks especially when it's cold.

 

This happened to my neighbor as well sometime in the last year but it was a Napa battery. Not sure if they're made by the same company but that was the first time I'd seen it happen. Gnarly.

 

Glad to hear you're okay.

I've been using a Battery Tender (Deltran) on my Z during the winter months. Seems to be working okay so far.

 

I seen a few Blow...sounds like a bomb going off