Yeah, I remeber my dad mentioning a friend of his who
worked for (or was in) the Navy on one of the
battleships or subs with a large battery room. The guy
connected something wrong and the battery room blew
up- killed him and put a huge hole in the side of the
armored ship...
--- Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> This is not strictly Imperial related, but it's a
> safety issue and I
> thought it was important to pass this along.
>
> I am working on a project with a fellow who used to
> work for one of the
> major battery manufacturers and he has been telling
> me some of the
> horror stories that he became aware of regarding
> lead acid batteries--
> the type most commonly found in automobiles (and
> Imperials).
>
> Jumping your car's battery can be VERY dangerous.
> The "exploding
> battery" is not a myth. This guy was telling me
> that you seldom hear
> about these cases-- where people have lost their
> eyesight or their limbs
> while jumping a car battery-- because the battery
> companies have a
> policy of settling these cases the minute they come
> up. They set aside
> a portion of their profits to pay off the victims of
> these accidents,
> the main reason being to keep down negative
> publicity that would result
> from a contested case.
>
> I know it's been said here before, but the way most
> people jump their
> batteries is the wrong way to do it. Most folks go
> from the positive
> terminal on one battery to the positive on the other
> battery, and from
> negative to negative with the other cable.
>
> The proper way, according to my source, is to go
> POSITIVE to POSTIVE,
> and then NEGATIVE to GROUND.
>
> In other words, on the car with the good battery,
> the car you are
> jumping from, you attach both clamps to the
> terminals. On the car with
> the bad battery, the one you are jumping, you attach
> the cable from the
> positive terminal to the positive terminal, and then
> the negative to a
> bolt or something on the block AS FAR AWAY FROM THE
> BATTERY as you can.
> When you are done, you go in the reverse order.
> That way, if there is a
> spark, there is less change of it igniting any gases
> from the battery.
>
> Contrary to what most people think, the most
> dangerous time for a spark
> is right AFTER you finish jumping-- not when you
> first connect the
> batteries. The reason for this is, once that "dead"
> battery is hit with
> electricity, it will immediately start to release
> gases as a byproduct
> of the internal reaction that goes on. Those gases
> go right into the
> atmosphere around your battery.
>
> I know a lot of people may already know this, but
> not everyone (I
> didn't). Friends of mine have always laughed at me
> for stepping back
> and turning my head away when jumping, but it is NOT
> a joke. I really
> got some grisly details from this guy. Not only can
> the battery
> explode, but when it does, it is flinging out acid
> and tiny bits of
> casing and the metal plates inside-- and most people
> are usually looking
> directly at the battery when this happens. So it is
> not stupid to wear
> goggles.
>
> Batteries are also more volatile right after they've
> been charged. He
> told me a story about a fellow who bought a brand
> new battery at an
> Autozone (or similar store) and had his arm blown
> off carrying the
> battery out of the store. All it took was a little
> bit of static
> electricity when he touched the metal door handle on
> his way out. This
> guy settled out of court for $300,000. (The only
> way to really protect
> yourself in this case is not to move a battery right
> after it's been
> "quick charged" or carry it in an insulating box or
> sack, I guess.)
>
> Anyway, folks, be careful jumping your battery!
> It's not a myth!
>
> Mark M
>
>
>
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