Battery dangers. Tell your story.

Outlawcart

Has anyone ever had a battery blow up under the seat?

Shorts, sparks, fires?

Tell us about your incident and what happened.

BGW

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Springbok

Never had a battery blow up like that but once I was checking the water in a battery and when I went to put the plastic pushcovers back on, some of the battery water splashed up into my eye. Man it burned and I couldn't see for a few seconds.

rib33024

click on the link

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...batteries.html

Outlawcart

Do you know why they exploded?

I understand some of the chargers do not have a safety shut off when the batteries get full. Is this an issue with overheating the batteries?

granprix

3 Quick stories:

1. At the beach we all are allowed a 10x12 shed. Some of us keep our carts
inside. The peak of the roof is higher than the door opening. When you charge, the batteries make very pure Hydrogen gas which is lighter than air. It rises in the shed and is trapped in the peak of the roof above the door opening and will stay there indefinately. When you go in there and turn on the ceiling light, BOOM, just like the space shuttle! Vent the roof or gable ends above the door opening or you can do as I described and let the venting take place suddenly.

2. A few years ago, My friend was trying to kill his reverse horn on elec cart and was having problem finding the correct wire.(He's about 80) When he got me to come over, several wires had been unplugged under the seat. After trying to figure out the mouse nest, I decided to put a piece of plywood across the batteries and lay on the wood on my chest to be closer to the wiring. Upon doing this, when he turned on the switch, a battery exploded right under my chest and lifted me up all the way to the top. Wow, what a bang. Was very lucky, no cuts, no burns, just ringing ears and a little short of breath.

3. My nighbor got a brand new Yamaha Gas cart about a month ago. She came over and got me after she said the cart "blew up". What I found was that the seat was destroyed underneath by schrapnel from the exploding 12V battery. She had returned from a 20 minute ride and stopped in front of her place for just a minute. When she came back out and hit the starter, it went off. The finding was that the cart was overcharging the battery and this makes more Hydrogen than normal, when she stopped, the hydrogen was trapped under the seat. When she hit the starter, it lit. She had the cart serviced and got a new seat. Now she lifts the seat for a second before she starts the cart.

Outlawcart

WoW!!!

That brings up a thought...anyone ever place a vent somewhere around the battery compartment?

shaffer88

Nothing exploding but I was working on my cc. Before I changed new batteries. I was changing the solenoid and resting my arms on the batteries then felt a tingling on my arms, I just got the cart and there was corrosion on the terminals, well in the end got 2nd degree chemical burns on my forearm. . Sucky to say the least, but it encourages battery maintainence

Outlawcart

I guess there is more than one reason why liability insurance might be required in some campgrounds.

Andy4639

simple man

In my lifetime I've had a few batteries blow up. They were not in carts. One was a tractor that had been shut off for lunch. Upon restart, the battery exploded! No injuries and no damage ( other than the battery ) Another one was in my Datsun 240Z. I was under the hood trying to find a starting problem. My friend was in the car turning the key. Nothing was happening so I grabbed and twisted on the negative cable first and then the positive. As soon as I moved the positive cable, the battery exploded! It blew me back about 10ft and luckily most of the battery was shielded by a support over it so I didn't get hit in the face! A bit of washing down, and both myself and the car were fine!
As far as carts go, I've seen the aftermath of a few battery explosions. Once there was a Club car that every battery in it had exploded to some degree. Some of the sides were blown out, some tops were blown off, and all of them had the fill caps blown off! The folks were able to still drive the cart back to the shed!!!
The moral of these stories is you are sitting on a bomb! I don't know if all explosions can be prevented, but with proper maintenance and care, a lot of them can be avoided! Also, when charging, have as much ventilation as you can! Open the seat when charging and have some kind of airflow if you are in an enclosed building.