rubble Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 Yesterday I tried to start my Scag zero turn mower for the first mow of the season here in KY. Got nothing when I turned the key. I use a Battery Tender Junior Trickle Charger when the mower is shut down and start the engine every couple of weeks just to make sure she'll run so I thought I'd be golden. Decided to put a charger on the battery to see if maybe it had just lost charge. After a couple of hours pulled the charger and turned the key = solenoid clicked rapidly. Now I'm thinking maybe the battery is bad and not putting out enough cranking amps. Didn't have a tester or a meter to check it so I hooked the charger back up thinking maybe I just didn't let it charge long enough. Next day I walk in garage and smell something that smells odd. Actually smelled like freshly opened tire tubes which I had in the garage to fill with sand for another little project. Walked over to the mower to start. My battery is under the seat and there is a safety switch which is engaged when the seat is down so that it will start. When the seat is up it kills the engine. I pressed the button down and turned the key. The battery is actually less than two feet from my face and chest. As the key hit the start position I saw a FLASH and a loud bang. Looked like someone was standing in front of me with a 9mm and fired it. Cannot believe that I didn't ruin my underwear. Was kind of in shock for a few seconds as I ran from the mower. Once I gathered myself I went back to look at the battery. One of the fluid caps was lying on the side of the mower frame like someone had taken it off and left it there but nobody would have done so. The cells were dry and I wondered if the smell in the garage was from the battery. Put the cap back on and disconnected everything. Obviously heading to the shop tomorrow to replace the Interstate small engine battery. Trying to figure out what might have happened. Feeling like I was pretty dang lucky to walk away from that incident without a scratch and clean drawers. Definitely want to make sure I don't make that kind of mistake with ANY battery again. Has anyone else had that happen or can any of you battery gurus explain what might have happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reel Loco Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 Cooked one of my troller batteries about 4 or 5 mos ago. The battery case literally blew apart. After investigating I discovered my onboard charger was charging that leg with 17.1 volts. KaBOOM!!! Luckily I wasn't aboard when that happened. Charger company replaced the charger. RL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Troy Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 Sounds like an over charge or charging a battery that is internally shorted. Boiled out the electrolyte and those fumes are hydrogen as in bomb. All you need is the slightest spark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 This same thing happened to me with one of my golf carts. I disconnected the cart from the charger, hit the petal and BOOM! I had that ringing in my ear like someone shot a shotgun right by my head. The battery actually blew into pieces and left shrapnel in the bottom of the seat. I was lucky I didn't get hit with anything. Anyways, Troy is right, your battery shorted and the charger amplified the release of hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolytes. One little spark from the solenoid and BOOM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 30 years in the Fire Dept. and I saw quite a few fires & minor explosions caused by batteries and chargers. My boat is stored in my shop, which is detached from my house, but I never leave my batteries charging if I'm not near by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justfish Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 30 years in the Fire Dept. and I saw quite a few fires & minor explosions caused by batteries and chargers. My boat is stored in my shop, which is detached from my house, but I never leave my batteries charging if I'm not near by. Speaking of FD, we had a an noxious "odor" at my station a couple years ago so bad that guys were sleeping in thier trucks or in parking lot in recliners. After mold, sewer leak tests and everything else they could think of they were just about to close station and set us up temporaorily in a library...it was found that one of the on board truck charger overcharging and it was battery fumes we were smelling all that time. It was brutal, wonder how many years I lost off my life from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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