battery explosion

[captcrunch]

Just got a call from my yard, they went to start boat to get ready to do winter oil changes and stuff, and the battery on center exploded. apparently acid everywhere, torn headliner, etc. anyone ever experience something like this?

 

[Scarlett]

Had a glow plug solenoid break off engine and short out directly to the starter battery, exploding it and starting a fire in the engine room. This was while we were underway. Was able to put out fire with an extinguisher but found pieces of the battery all over the engine space.

 

[finatic]

Did the yard run the bilge blowers prior to starting?

 

[captcrunch]

No idea if they ran blowers, engine hatch was open

 

[Stripes]

Ouch! Sorry to hear this...

 

[Miss Lisa]

Sorry to hear of your tragedy. I'm hopeful that your insurance will step up.

What kind of batteries do you have? AGM or wet cell.

 

[captcrunch]

They were wet cell, good news is I saw the damage in person and the cleanup was going fairly well. If the hole in the headliner can be repaired hiping to avoid insurance claim

 

[saltshaker]

Much more common than you think. We've had it happen to a few members here. During Sandy we were out of power for a month. My boat has electronic controls that I didn't shut off the killed the house batteries. After power was restored they came back and seemed fine throughout the winter. The following spring I went in the ER and you could smell the batteries gassing. Mechanic said if I tried to start the boat they may have exploded.

 

[SEVEN]

As you all know the cell phone battles are doing the same. Tesla will fix it. Rightttt.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Before I switched to the Rolls batteries, I had Interstates that the PO installed. The terminals were not as beefy as the Rolls and I had one melt into puddle of lead. I'm sure it must have arched as it melted, but luckily no explosion. My batteries are in the gen room away from the engines so there is probably less chance of explosion but in this case the short was at the battery so I guess I was lucky.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I generally have a fan running in the ER at all times year round. Maybe that would be a possible safety enhancement.

 

[finatic]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I generally have a fan running in the ER at all times year round. Maybe that would be a possible safety enhancement.

If your fan is not ignition protected then it may not be a "safety enhancement"!

 

[Freeebird]

Just got a call from my yard, they went to start boat to get ready to do winter oil changes and stuff, and the battery on center exploded. apparently acid everywhere, torn headliner, etc. anyone ever experience something like this?

Been there, done that, but not to that extent or under those circumstances.

I actually had a battery explode when I was on deck operating the windless on my 41. Why that happened, I can't tell you, but that's how it went. It made a HUGE mess with battery acid all over the ER. One thing is for sure, it made a believer out of me for using battery boxes which I normally do. At this point, I can't remember why that battery wasn't in one. It was a 12V group 27 battery, for what it's worth... which wasn't very much after that incident.

Apparently that battery acid takes a LONG time to leave the scene of the crime despite tons of baking soda and scrubbing. Last time I was in that area and lying on the floor, I ruined a shirt which developed the tell tale sign of small holes in the fabric. This happened almost 7 years ago.

In another unrelated situation, I had a truck battery explode as I was cranking it. It exploded with enough force to dent the hood through a lot of insulation. Can't blame that one on not running the blowers, so it could have just been one of those things with yours.

 

[captcrunch]

The long term potential damage is my concern. I'm on the fence with filing an insurance claim I'd rather not if I can avoid it

 

[Freeebird]

The long term potential damage is my concern. I'm on the fence with filing an insurance claim I'd rather not if I can avoid it

Based on my particular experience, the only potential long term damage is messing up another shirt if I lye in the same spot. Is your deductible low enough to even make it worth your while to make a claim?

It makes me nervous to file insurance claims period these days. Not because I've had a lot, just because of the horror stories I hear of resulting cancellations and higher premiums. That has never been the case to this point, and I want to keep it that way.

 

[Angela]

Been there, done that...twice. The first time, the boat was fairly new to us and the batteries were not in a box - just hadn't gotten around to fixing that before the explosion. What a mess! While we thought we got it all cleaned up and the acid neutralize, the passage of a few years indicated otherwise, and we ended up having to empty the genny room (with the exception of the genny), and rebuild everything in there - the surfaces where equipment sat. When we re-installed the shelving where the batteries sit, we used thick marine plywood, but also wrapped them in glass and resin.

The second explosion happened in the batter box - easy clean up. Now, we have a practice of opening every battery and checking every cable, etc. before firing up the engine at each outing.

 

[Freeebird]

"Rebuild everything"?

Describe "everything". Just curious. My floors are painted the original battleship gray, but for whatever reason, there is still some acid hanging around. Maybe it soaks through the paint somehow, but the paint isn't damaged.

 

[captcrunch]

It's $1200. I'm not looking to make one unless the damage to the soft goods develops (headliner and couch) the yard has been neutralizing everything

 

[Freeebird]

It's $1200. I'm not looking to make one unless the damage to the soft goods develops (headliner and couch) the yard has been neutralizing everything

Your insurance would depreciate those items anyway. Too bad the hatch was open or those items wouldn't be an issue. Wonder if the yard would be liable in anyway for firing it up with the hatches open. Was there some reason in particular they did that? Just curious if that was addressed.

 

[Nonchalant1]

I had a battery where the terminal clamp was not tight enough and created heat when starting due to the huge amps required. It melted the terminal post into a puddle of lead and sparked. If the batteries had been charging just before that, leaving hydrogen gas in the cell, they would have exploded. Lucky they did not, so only one battery damaged.