Batteries Blew Up & Caused A Fire

[Hummer Guy]

I had a battery maintainer hooked up to keep the batteries charged up and this cause the batteries to blow up and start a huge fire, from the looks of it, it damaged the side of the storage building, melted a lot of the rear tire up, and the truck took some damage to the tarp and window. I'm guessing it may have damage the electrical on the truck as well.

Huge learning experience, never use a battery maintainer

 

[Mullaney]

I had a battery maintainer hooked up to keep the batteries charged up and this cause the batteries to blow up and start a huge fire, from the looks of it, it damaged the side of the storage building, melted a lot of the rear tire up, and the truck took some damage to the tarp and window. I'm guessing it may have damage the electrical on the truck as well.

Huge learning experience, never use a battery maintainer

.
Wow! And the fuel tank sitting right there...
That could have made a bad day into a REALLY bad day!

 

[ToddJK]

Yeah, seems like these trucks really don't like Chinese electronics! I had a battery blow up from a cheapo equalizer that shorted out and caused all kinds of issues.
Luckily the damage doesn't look too bad, it could have been a lot worse. Just FYI, you can't nickname your truck "Crispy", it's taken

 

[Hummer Guy]

.
Wow! And the fuel tank sitting right there...
That could have made a bad day into a REALLY bad day!

Yea, I don't know how it didn't get set off, the explosion must've been huge when it happened. One of the posts on the building took a huge hit

 

[juanprado]

Pure Speculation on my part.
A malfunctioned charger that overcharged the batteries to the point of boiling out all the fluid, then boom.

Saw this on the old school manual chargers ( non smart) that could cook a battery if forgotten and constant "on" in my previous lifetime with parts and service.

Had a Western Auto Tech blow up a battery once. Quite exciting. Melted lead also everywhere. He was not hurt but his shirt was peppered.

Glad to hear no one injured.

 

[Xperimental-M816]

I think that you got lucky....there could have been a lot more damage.

 

[cattlerepairman]

So much for an "intelligent" battery charger/maintainer.
If it was not a sure fire way into judicial system induced personal bankruptcy, the seller/importer/manufacturer of such crap should be reminded of their responsibilities.

 

[HDN]

I'm sorry this happened to you I have a pair of Deltran Battery Tenders and the worst failure I've had involved a battery tender just dropping dead - no explosion or anything. What you have looks similar to a pair of Harbor Freight chargers I purchased for charging dead batteries.

So much for an "intelligent" battery charger/maintainer.
If it was not a sure fire way into judicial system induced personal bankruptcy, the seller/importer/manufacturer of such crap should be reminded of their responsibilities.

I'd review the manual and see if there's anything that would be helpful to sort out in small claims court. Also check with your home insurance company about them covering some of the damage. They helped me out a bit when, at no fault of my own but that of the previous home owner, the upstairs shower drain destroyed the dining room ceiling. I got a few grand out of that for repairs.

 

[Hummer Guy]

I think that you got lucky....there could have been a lot more damage.

Yea I agree

 

[Hummer Guy]

So much for an "intelligent" battery charger/maintainer.
If it was not a sure fire way into judicial system induced personal bankruptcy, the seller/importer/manufacturer of such crap should be reminded of their responsibilities.

Yea I sent them an email to see what they say, I will definitely look into seeing what I can do legally about it.

 

[Hummer Guy]

I'm sorry this happened to you I have a pair of Deltran Battery Tenders and the worst failure I've had involved a battery tender just dropping dead - no explosion or anything. What you have looks similar to a pair of Harbor Freight chargers I purchased for charging dead batteries.



I'd review the manual and see if there's anything that would be helpful to sort out in small claims court. Also check with your home insurance company about them covering some of the damage. They helped me out a bit when, at no fault of my own but that of the previous home owner, the upstairs shower drain destroyed the dining room ceiling. I got a few grand out of that for repairs.

From what I see on my hagerty policy, they should cover all of the damages caused by the fire hopefully

 

[swbradley1]

Upside is the no one was hurt and they are only things.

I have 10 of the BatteryMinder brand from Northern Tool. I keep them on all my batteries for months. Never had a problem. Doesn't mean I can't walk out to the barn see one blown up.

Worst I ever had was a cell that popped on one of the Deuces. I was a few feet away and it was loud.

 

[18operator]

That's why I completely remove the batteries from the truck and trickle charge them separately. At least no body was hurt.

 

[98G]

Yea I sent them an email to see what they say, I will definitely look into seeing what I can do legally about it.

Please be sure and follow up and let us know the results. I've got that exact model battery charger on several of my trucks and gensets. In fact, I've sold more than a handful of those here on steelsoldiers.com to fellow members.

This is the first instance of a problem that I've seen.

 

[Hummer Guy]

Please be sure and follow up and let us know the results. I've got that exact model battery charger on several of my trucks and gensets. In fact, I've sold more than a handful of those here on steelsoldiers.com to fellow members.

This is the first instance of a problem that I've seen.

Yea, I been using it for the pass 2 years or so, I don't know what made it malfunction this time and blow up the batteries

 

[98G]

Yea, I been using it for the pass 2 years or so, I don't know what made it malfunction this time and blow up the batteries

Did you have it connected via alligator clamps, or hardwired in, or connected to the slave port?

This is the charger that makes a maximum of 4 amps at 24v, right? And trickles off from there as the batteries become charged?

What kind, and how many batteries? How old?

 

[Hummer Guy]

Did you have it connected via alligator clamps, or hardwired in, or connected to the slave port?

This is the charger that makes a maximum of 4 amps at 24v, right? And trickles off from there as the batteries become charged?

What kind, and how many batteries? How old?

Alligator clamps, yes, that's the charger. Everstart, I think it was the group 65 one, I know it was definitely the biggest one I can get at the store, one battery is just a month old and the other was about 4 months old

 

[M35fan]

Sorry to hear about this. Thanks for sharing your experience. Hope everything is resolved soon.

 

[Hummer Guy]

Update:

The adjuster said the damages on the vehicle exceeds the amount on the policy 10K. The problem is I don't know how its going to go with dealing with the titling, I told him I want to keep the vehicle but I'm worried about the issue with titling and getting a salvage title where I can't drive it on the street.

For the storage unit, the adjuster said the property owner must file a claim through his own insurance and they can sue the battery maintainer company, technically my insurance company said they won't cover it since the fire wasn't my fault, it was the maintainer fault

 

[HDN]

Is the damage to the vehicle really worth $10k? From what you described I didn't think it would be that much. It's always an option to not go through insurance to the end, especially if the title is going to be affected.

Also, I can't see why you can't sue the battery maintainer's manufacturer. You don't have to go through the insurance company to do that. I could sue them if I wanted to Not that I will - I have other priorities myself, sorry bud