I have no idea what happened, but if anyone wants pictures of an exploded
battery I have them. I sprayed everything off and then distributed a box of
baking soda on the mess. This is a diesel, so I was standing outside the
driver door and the battery was 15 feet away in the back. I could see the
smoke/mist and smell the strong fumes, so I vacated the area until things
calmed down. I never got any acid on me.

This was a no-brand, mexican made battery that AAA put in my son in law's
volvo a three or four years ago. It's been sitting around doing nothing
since they junked the car a year ago.

Jim

On Sat, May 2, 2015 at 3:47 PM, Jeff Schwaia <vw.doka@gmail.com> wrote:

> This will also happen if you reverse the leads on a battery charger.  Saw
> it
> happen once on a freshly painted car at the body shop located behind the
> shop I was working at.  Lot flunky hooked up the leads backwards and blew
> up
> the battery when he plugged in the charger.  Shop owner wasn't too happy...
> can you say "re-prep and re-spray"?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Dick Wong
> Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2015 12:58 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Boom! Started my day with a little nitric acid
>
> When charging a car battery, the outgas is oxygen and hydrogen.  This is an
> explosive combination.  When the starter was engaged, a spark from anything
> nearby (loose battery terminal, relay, starter brushes) could have ignited
> the gas.  That's why charger instructions tell you disconnect the charger
> power or switch it off, before removing the leads at the battery.
>
> Many years ago, I had hooked up a dead battery to a charger in the shop.
> My
> dad went in to the shop and turned on the bench grinder. As soon as he
> touched the metal to the grinder, kaboom!, the battery exploded.  Luckily
> he
> didn't get acid in his eyes and there was a water hose nearby where he
> quickly washed himself down.  Other than ringing ears, he was okay.
>
> Cannot be too careful when working with batteries.
>
> -Dick Wong-
> 78 Scirocco
> Original Owner
> 87 Vanagon Syncro 2.5 (Blaze)
> Third Owner
> 12 Golf TDI
> Original Co-Owner
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Eric Caron
> Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2015 11:56 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Boom! Started my day with a little nitric acid
>
> Jim,
>
>         Please give us a update.  And, why do you think this happened?
>
> I once knelt on the back seat of a 74 super beetle and had a similar
> experience.  covering one of those terminals was a lesson I learned the
> hard
> way at age 18.
>
> funny thing is the car started and we drove that way to sears to get a new
> battery!  that is we did once the smoke cleared.
>
>
> Eric Caron
> 85 GL Auto Westfalia
>
>
> > On May 2, 2015, at 2:40 PM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > Ouch!  Sulfuric acid does not evaporate!  The water it's mixed with
> > does,
> leaving concentrated sulfuric acid behind, which will do incredible damage
> to you and the van.
> >
> > Suit up in old clothes, wear a face mask and rubber gloves, remove
> > what's
> left of the battery, and wash everything down with a solution of baking
> soda
> to neutralize the acid.  Then take a shower and wash the old clothes, or
> they will be full of holes the next time you see them.
> >
> > Stuart
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> > Behalf Of
> Jim Felder
> > Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2015 9:27 AM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Boom! Started my day with a little nitric acid
> >
> > Charged the battery overnight in Fifty Shades of Brown in anticipation
> > of
> getting the pump primed this weekend. When I hit the key it sounded like a
> > 12 gauge shotgun in the back. It literally blew the top off the
> > battery
> and sent acid all over the place. Glad I was at the switch and not back
> there.
> >
> > Jim
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2015.0.5941 / Virus Database: 4339/9677 - Release Date: 05/02/15
>