Vehicle Battery Safety: Recently this was brought to my attention as a friend of a friend was hurt this year and was hospitalized for a while and may have lifelong repercussions because of it.
It is something I wasn’t aware that could happen. I am sure lots of people reading this will already know this possibility, but it took me by surprise, as it is something I have done numerous times and hadn’t put any thought into it.
He was changing a battery in a piece of equipment, so it was a larger battery than a car or truck, it was a 24 volt and it exploded in his face. It went all over his face, clothes, in his mouth, and the one saving grace in this incident is that he was wearing safety glasses or he could have ended up losing his sight. This will be a recovery process but it could have been worse.
Upon hearing this, I googled and researched and was astounded with the information that I found out.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-26-hw-3902-story.html
https://www.rshq.qld.gov.au/safety-notices/mines/exploding-lead-acid-batteries
This can happen to anyone at any time with any battery – either charging them, changing them, disconnecting them, etc. I have charged numerous batteries, changed them and disconnected them without any issues, but I can say what I have learned from this information is that I need to respect them more and be more cautious around them, taking a few more safety precautions when doing this – make sure my eyes are covered, keep my mouth shut, wear gloves, etc.
It’s not that I am afraid of them, however, with this information I feel it wise to take measures to ensure my safety, and the safety of others around me, as when they explode, they can blow apart like a grenade and pieces fly everywhere for quite a distance.
The reason I felt it necessary to post this on both Business and Personal is we do this personally but many people also do this during work.
I hope that this instills a bit more respect and understanding to these black boxes and that this helps someone out there.
Questions to Ponder:
Were you aware that this could happen?
Has this happened to you?
Do you wear safety glasses when doing this?
