# Leisure Battery Explosive?



## cater_racer (May 1, 2005)

The van has been on the drive with a EHU, went in this morning and there was a pungent smell. After looking around lifted the hatch to the leisure batteries and one is HOT!!!! V HOT!! Disconnected the EHU immediately, and waited five minutes for fumes to dissipate. 

Now got it unconnected and started to slide it out (they sit under the floor in a box one each side, on their sides) and the Battery is bloated and still V Hot.

The whole thing has expanded and the sides are swollen, fearing an acid explosion I've covered it back up with the hatch and carpet.

So what next? Wait? or do I need an NCB suit before I go back near it? 

What do you think???? Help!


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Leave it and let it cool. It won't stop gassing for quite a while and you don't want to accidentally cause a spark. Battery explosions are quite spectacular and very dangerous. It probably won't explode on it's own though it may have a bad connection inside which could cause a spark. Stay away from it till it stops gassing and cools down.

You have already disconnected it where just disconnecting the EHU would have been sufficient. It will eventually cool and stop gassing. If it was me I wouldn't touch it again till this afternoon, just to be safe. I have seen several battery explosions and they are no fun.

We recently changed our van. The second night one of the leisure batteries exploded, due we surmise, to a a bad connection inside. Luckily it was in a well vented outside locker. Bloody big bang which woke people all around us. Luckily no serious damage done but the battery casing was in bits all over the place. I wouldn't have wanted to be near it when it went off, Alan.


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

Hopefully Peter (listerdiesel) will be along in a minute but my own (non expert) thoughts would be to just leave it for a few hours to cool down. Then open up the draw and expose the battery and leave it for another hour to fully ventilate the area. It there is a main fuse close to the battery then remove that before disconnecting the terminals as that would reduce the chance of any sparking occuring.

Once it's cooled I think the only risk of explosion comes from igniting the hydrogen that has been produced so any risks will have been minimised by ventilating.

Phil


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

You could try phoning your Recovery/Rescue service(AA/RAC etc.).

They probably have training advice for their roadside crews for when they encounter the situation and can advise you accordingly.

Just an idea.

Geoff


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

Ventilate camper for a few hours after it has stopped gassing before removal. 
As other post refers a battery explosion is very nasty. If the shrapnel misses you the acid won't.


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## cater_racer (May 1, 2005)

Thanks Alan, Geoff, Phil & Hogan

Good advice, I would value Peters' opinion also.

I disconnected it (Very carefully) because the two batteries are in parallel and I didn't want the faulty one being cross charged for the next three days by the good one.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

You should have just disconnected the hookup and then ventilated the area for several hours, disconnecting the battery could well have caused a spark and an explosion, consider yourself very lucky.
seen it happen more than once in the garage.

cabby


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

In these situations, always turn off the power as far away from the battery as possible. An overcharged battery breaks down the water in the electrolyte into both Oxygen AND Hydrogen, basically any excess power goes into heat and water breakdown.

Ventilate the area well and leave for 2-3 hours.

Next is to look at it all after the battery has cooled down.

Check the battery open-circuit voltage to see what the battery is doing. If you have a wet battery, check electrolyte levels.

If the battery voltage is 'much' less than 12.00V, then it is a fair bet that a cell has gone short circuit inside and the battery is scrap.

If the voltage is above 12.50V then it may have survived.

Check next to see what the onboard charger is doing. It should charge up to 14.20V and then drop back to 13.80V or thereabouts. It depends on the type of charger.

Same with solar charger if fitted.

There is a condition called 'Thermal Runaway' in which the battery needs LESS voltage as it gets warmer, but the charger is on a mission and doesn't adjust to suit, so the battery gets hotter still and eventually goes into melt-down.

If you cannot identify a faulty battery or faulty charger then you need to do a bit more detective work.

All the advice already given is fine.

Peter


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Some of the car battery problems can be scary, but industrially they are hugely dangerous.

We have a number of large three-phase chargers in use on Nicad batteries in AGV's and fork trucks. The AGV's are told to go back to their charging point when the onboard computer measures that a certain capacity percentage has gone from the battery.

With fork trucks the operator returns the truck to the charger and plugs it in.

We had a pair of big three-phase chargers on a site near Cowley, we commissioned them and left them working properly. 

Next call we had was that the batteries were foaming and overheating, could we go and have a look.

The operators moved the supply points for the chargers, and employed a 'friend of a friend' to do it one weekend. He did not check the phase rotation after doing the work and the chargers locked up at full output once they warmed up.

It cost around £16k to replace the batteries, we took photographic evidence of the incorrect wiring before anyone twigged what the problem was.

Peter


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Peter

Did you notice that in the original post it said the battery is 'bloated' - might indicate that it has really cooked itself - but you know more than I.

Geoff


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Probably a sealed type, Geoff, the vents can't cope with really high temperature and pressure together.

Batteries also get swelling when there is crystal growth and / or sulphation on the plates.

Peter


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## Lindsay (Jul 5, 2010)

Hi all,
Why would these batteries be fitted 'on their sides'? Obviously not wet batteries! 
Is this advisable with any batteries??
Can someone put me straight?
Cheers, Lindsay


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## cater_racer (May 1, 2005)

It's an AGM gel battery Lindsey supposedly mountable any which way.










Now safely out of the vehicle and I'm looking for two replacements.

Thanks one and all.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

listerdiesel said:


> Probably a sealed type, Geoff, the vents can't cope with really high temperature and pressure together.
> 
> Batteries also get swelling when there is crystal growth and / or sulphation on the plates.
> 
> Peter


So it is irrecoverable?

Geoff


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## Lindsay (Jul 5, 2010)

Thanks for that cater racer! 'Live and learn' as they say.
Glad you got it out safely, and wish you well with replacements.
Regards, Lindsay


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

nicholsong said:


> So it is irrecoverable?
> 
> Geoff


Yep, totally.

We supplied two 110V DC standby systems to Sheffield University Hopsital a few years back, they called us out to give an inspection and report on them about 10 years later.

All of the sealed batteries had swollen and cracked cases, every single one.

Industrially we only recommend 5 years installed life for a seald Lead-Acid battery on standby float.

Wet lead-acid you can go up to 10 years, 20 years with Plante cells.

Peter


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Lindsay said:


> Hi all,
> Why would these batteries be fitted 'on their sides'? Obviously not wet batteries!
> Is this advisable with any batteries??
> Can someone put me straight?
> Cheers, Lindsay


Most sealed Lead-Acid batteries can be operated in any position as there is no free electrolyte inside the case. If you cut it open, nothing would run out.

Most have matting between the plates which is soaked in electrolyte of one kind or another.

Because the matting is not impervious, crystal growth through the matting shorts the plates out in the cell and kills the cell completely.

That's when you get the thermal runaway and case bulging shown.

Peter


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Peter

I had never heard of 'plante' [cannot do the acute accent on this keyboard] so I just did some research.

At first I was thinking that sticking 6 cells together might be an option but then read about the Sulphuric acid gassing and the maintenance of the electrolyte and I realised they are not good for MHs.

Geoff


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

nicholsong said:


> Peter
> 
> I had never heard of 'plante' [cannot do the acute accent on this keyboard] so I just did some research.
> 
> ...


Good Lord, no, Geoff, but if you want really long life, tubular plante can give exceptional performance, just not compact or use-friendly enough.

&#233 is one code, but I can't do it on the ASCII codes either.










Peter


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