By Dave Erb

David Erb

There are two major considerations related to battery safety – acid burns and explosions. Acid can be present as either a liquid or a residue on the outside of used batteries. Spilled acid can be neutralized with water. If you have a spill or get acid onto your skin, rinse it immediately. If you get it into your eyes, flush with lots of water and seek medical help immediately.

Battery innards revealed!

Just holding a used battery against your clothing can ruin them completely. I once owned a brand new pair of hickory-striped bib overalls. First day out of the drawer, I carried a dirty battery against my chest. Nothing leaked out. Want to guess what those bibs looked like after their first trip through the laundry?

The second battery safety consideration is that of explosion. When batteries are charged, they produce hydrogen gas. This is quite explosive stuff. Every battery explosion is caused by a spark from something. Batteries don’t just explode from spontaneous combustion, like wet hay in a mow. Always be careful when disconnecting or connecting battery cables in a confined area where a battery has been charged. It is for this reason that every repair person must know that the ground side cable is the first to be removed and the last to be reconnected.

Battery Safety

Are explosions rare? Well, they do happen! In forty-plus years of working in the automotive industry, I have personally witnessed five or six battery explosions. Luckily, little if any harm ever resulted. We had a farm neighbor who used a John Deere A with the battery underneath the seat. To my best knowledge they had three battery explosions on that tractor while it was in use. Yet they never bothered to secure the battery instead just letting it bounce around underneath the tractor seat until a spark would ignite the gas that collected inside that protected area.

And, never remove a battery cable while an engine is running or there is a load on the battery. This practice was once advocated as a method of testing alternator output, but is strongly discouraged on all fuel-injected or computerized vehicles today. Besides, it is just plain dangerous. Spark will always result from this practice, which can then result in physical skin burns.

Battery safety involves awareness of potential acid burns and explosions when batteries are being charged. This is especially true in shop areas where battery chargers are in use. Smokers beware in these areas! Best shop safety practices also call for wearing eye protection when working near batteries. When I taught school, I always insisted on safety glasses for any student doing battery work.

Check that battery often!

Be aware of causing any spark around batteries that are or were recently charged. Remember, hydrogen gas is produced by charging batteries. And be careful of getting your clothing against even a dry battery surface.

When Batteries Wear Out

Automotive batteries wear out and quit most often in hot summer weather and in very cold winter temperatures. It is these two extremes that make batteries work their hardest – especially under the hoods of air conditioned vehicles. Battery sales always peak when the seasons change and temperature extremes are at their greatest.

How can you know when your battery is really finished and worn out?

The only true way to test a battery is with a battery capacity load test. A load tester is needed for this. Most stores that sell batteries will test your old one for free. If a battery fails a capacity test, it may be recharged for two hours and then tested again. If it still fails the capacity test, it is toast. Buy a new one. It’s that simple. When one of my batteries fails, I place it on a slow charge over night, then see if it will crank an engine. If it won’t, I know it is truly finished.