Battery after explosion
We are very, very fortunate, indeed.  Our house could easily have been burned to the ground, quite possibly with our dog inside, locked in a kennel.Â
The battery in the center of the above photo formerly looked exactly like the one below it. It was one of six batteries in a golf car that my father-in-law gave us before he died. Why does this battery look different? Because hydrogen built up pressure in the battery while it was being charged, and it caused the battery to explode. It was under charge for several years, quite a number of months since it was last serviced. We’ve never actually had it out on a course. Had there been a spark, the hydrogen would have ignited and the golf car would have been history. This electric vehicle was packed into a tight space in our garage, and it was surrounded with boxes and other tinder-like items. Nearby was a cabinet with campstove fuel, propane bottles, turpentine, and other flammable substances. Cans of paint were even closer.
Why I didn’t recall my father’s advice until after the explosion, I’ll never know. When I was young, battery charging was just one of the many chores that had to be done, and Dad admonished me to always loosen the caps on a battery’s cells when it was undergoing more than a trickle charge. He knew well that a charging battery gives off hydrogen, and an exploding battery is simply not much fun. I spent five hours today trying to neutralize the battery’s sulphuric acid with baking soda, even having to make a trip to the store to get more of the sodium bicarbonate.  I used nearly ten pounds of the stuff, and the golf car is still sitting out on the driveway with the battery bubbling. The picture is slightly out of focus, but you can see the bubbles in the acid as the soda does its thing.  I sure could have used some NaOH (Acid + Base => Salt + Water).
Alas for poor Johnny,
We’ll not see Johnny more.
For he has poured his H2O
Into his H2SO4
