I've always been paranoid of this happening. Frequently, I
glance down at the proximity of the battery when I am about to start and
try to sheild my eyes!

Any ideas on why this battery exploded?
What can a guy do to prevent this?

THANKS
-------------
Kent Christensen wrote:
>
> Optima indeed has a web site at
> http://www.optimabatteries.com/main.htm
>
> It has some good FAQs, but unfortunately none answers the
> question at hand.
>
> Speaking of fumes, I assume that is of more interest to us
> with our batteries essentially in the interior with us.
> This got really interesting for me once when my Bosch
> battery literally exploded!  Turned the key and boom!  My
> '81 is a vinyl seats/rubber floor version and the interior
> acoustics are superb as regards explosions.  When I
> recovered I realized I wasn't on fire and the smell was only
> (?) battery acid.  This happened in the parking lot of my VW
> parts store (Foreign Aide) so I went back in and bought a
> new battery from them, installed it with a wrench they
> loaned me, and was on my way in no time at all.