Battery

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

No vent holes in the caps is a rare thing - I've never heard of it happening but if they are there, why would you remove the caps to charge at 2 amps.
BTW, new batteries are transported dry. Acid is added just before they are sold/installed.
There are MANY Model As running around with 60 amp alternators that are putting 20+ amps through the battery after starting and the vent holes are plenty to allow the gasses generated to escape. Once that was pointed out to me a few lifetimes ago, I haven't bothered to remove the caps since.
Many modern cars have alternators capable of 100 amps.

Synchro,
My caps were moulded for vents, but there were membranes, blocking the holes.
When charging batteries, they are safer from explosion or fire, with the CAPS REMOVED!!! It's the PRESSURIZED GASSES THAT ARE DANGEROUS
I speak from experience, family friends have run a Battery Rebuilding/Sales shop, since the '50's & I'm knowledgeable of ALL the steps in rebuilding batteries.
Bill W.

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Real embarrassing.

It was the spark that occurred when I removed the clamp with the current still flowing that set off the explosion. I was lucky they were push on caps, instead of screw on caps, which would have caused the whole battery case to blow apart.

you can place a towel over the battery to prevent spark from igniting the gas
i never did it tho....

[mshmodela]

A little more background. My car has a battery disconnect which is always open when i turn off the engine.

I took a paper towel soaked in backing soda water and with the caps installed wiped down the whole battery..

As I said, I believe my charging likely made my battery worse... time will tell...

[Tom Wesenberg]

One more thing I learned the hard way. If you have any battery acid touch your clothing, no matter how quickly you rinse it off.........it's too late.
Lost a brand new pair of blue jeans when I was in the 10 grade.

[J Witt]

For those who want to know more, this is a pretty good primer on how lead acid batteries work:

http://evbatterymonitoring.com/webhelp/battery_book.htm

John

[ian Simpson]

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Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

One more thing I learned the hard way. If you have any battery acid touch your clothing, no matter how quickly you rinse it off.........it's too late.
Lost a brand new pair of blue jeans when I was in the 10 grade.

As an apprentice one of my regular chores was to top up the batteries used as a backup supply for railway signals. They comprised a roomful of open top cells that could push out a couple hundred amps at twenty four volts for several days. Anyway, one day in a typical teenage trance I forgot to turn off the charger before walking between the battery banks. By lunch time I was down to my underwear, my coveralls, jeans and shirt were long gone. After they managed to stop laughing, my crewmates rounded up some spare coveralls so that I could slip out and buy some new clothes to wear home on the bus.

More seriously, when handling batteries be very careful not to short them between terminals with clumsy wrench usage. Even with the high internal resistance of a lead acid battery, there can be enough current flow to cause serious injury. I have witnessed a one inch thick pry bar melt like a fuse when dropped across a battery pack in an electric powered fork lift truck.

and remember ALWAYS DISCONNECT THE GROUND FIRST.

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

Synchro,
My caps were moulded for vents, but there were membranes, blocking the holes.
When charging batteries, they are safer from explosion or fire, with the CAPS REMOVED!!! It's the PRESSURIZED GASSES THAT ARE DANGEROUS
I speak from experience, family friends have run a Battery Rebuilding/Sales shop, since the '50's & I'm knowledgeable of ALL the steps in rebuilding batteries.
Bill W.

Bill, The membrane you mention is about what I expected to be the case from your original post. We can all be caught out by faulty goods. If the caps are good, there is no problem charging with them on. If they're plugged, well, we all know what that means.

[updraught]

The two multistage chargers I have can only be turned on once connected to the battery terminals.
Should stop any sparks.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by updraught

The two multistage chargers I have can only be turned on once connected to the battery terminals.
Should stop any sparks.

I have two Sears 6 amp 6/12 volt chargers. The early one from the 60's is great because it can charge any battery, but the newer one from the 90's won't kick on unless the battery has enough charge to turn on the circuit you just mentioned. As you mentioned, I guess it might be a safety thing.