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Old 21st November 2021, 18:06   #1
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Default battery explosion

I had a battery on a 'smart' trickle charger, and it exploded. They are not smart enough to sense when the plates buckle or run dry, and just keep charging until the plates touch, then big badda boom!! bits of silver Yuasa plastic everywhere under the bonnet.
I suppose I should have drop tested the battery every now and then to check for a dying battery.
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Old 21st November 2021, 18:14   #2
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Trickle by definition means a low charge current - say around 100mA. This should not be enough to make anything explode. Are you sure you have a low-current smart charger?

What make and model of charger were you using?
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Old 21st November 2021, 19:07   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MSS View Post
Trickle by definition means a low charge current - say around 100mA. This should not be enough to make anything explode. Are you sure you have a low-current smart charger?

What make and model of charger were you using?
Forget the name, I think it was unbranded, but it is the same as this one:-
eBay item number: 373741659947


The blurb reckons it provides a maintenance charge, and senses the battery condition, so it usually does not provide any charge at all
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Old 21st November 2021, 21:34   #4
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To save you searching: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373741659...4AAOSw7Gher-fh
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Old 21st November 2021, 23:17   #5
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It would be difficult for anyone to know why your battery exploded unless careful examination of the internals is undertaken by a battery expert. That is if the internals can still be found. There could be a number of reasons for the failure.

What you should ask yourself is just how intelligent or safe-in-opertaion a circa £11 charger is likely to be. I personally would not trust one at all because there are a lot of very cheap far-eastern semiconductors and electronic devices being sold which do not provide reliable service. For example, there are PC power supplies being sold at very low prices which are dangerous and also damage PC components. Some lack basic safety and protection features.

I would only trust an intelligent charger from one of the major manufacturers - CTEK, Optimate, NOCO being three really well known brands. If I did not wish to invest in such a quality but expensive product, I would buy an old fashioned simple charger and apply human intelligence to the charging process.

You should not assume that all intelligent chargers have the same level of intelligence. Some of them may have none!

Last edited by MSS; 21st November 2021 at 23:21..
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Old 22nd November 2021, 08:08   #6
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Quote:
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What you should ask yourself is just how intelligent or safe-in-operation a circa £11 charger is likely to be.


Particularly when it's unbranded and claims to do everything!

Graeme; I have a C-tek, one of the brands Maninder mentioned, and you'd expect to pay at least five times the cost of your eBay device. If you're going to buy a smart charger, invest in a decent one. It will pay you back over and over again.

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Old 22nd November 2021, 09:12   #7
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I have a C-Tek and it has been on trickle charge for the past three days.

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Old 22nd November 2021, 09:38   #8
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I have CTEK - a MSX 0.8 and a MSX 5.0. The 0.8Amp device costs around £40 and is all that is needed for battery maintenance. The 5.0Amp device is useful as a charger and a maintainer. It also handles AGM batteries.

My Optimate failed after about 10 years of excellent service. It failed in a safe mode i.e. the output went open circuit.

I also have a cheap LIDL charger but can never bring myself to trust it on any of the cars as they all have expensive electronics. It does get used on the ride-on mower which has no electronics, just a starter solenoid driven by the starter key. Last year I noticed that the leads spark when connected to the battery. I need to check it as this suggests a current draw into the charger when not powered which would be a fault condition.
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Old 22nd November 2021, 09:58   #9
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Some cheap chargers have lousy connectors. If your battery had been gassing off and the connector caused a spark..................... Boom!
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Old 22nd November 2021, 20:04   #10
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I need to check it as this suggests a current draw into the charger when not powered which would be a fault condition.
Or poor design Maninder. One of my laptop chargers has that annoying characteristic.

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