I wrote this last night after I got home from the hospital:
Realizing that my batteries were low (for the electric motor), I decided to charge them. I stuck the charger on the big battery (bigger than a car battery) and left it for a few hours. When I returned, the green light on the charger was on, indicating that the battery was charged.
Here is what happened next.
I was planning on putting the charger on the other battery, so I was just going to unhook the charger from the negative and positive posts on the battery that was charged and move them to the other battery. I grabbed the clamp on the negative post, as I squeezed it.....KABOOOOOOOOM! The sound was like a shotgun amplified by 2-3 times and my ears were ringing to the point where I couldn't hear out of the left one at all and only slightly out of my right. My face was covered it some material, causing it to tingle, and my ears were itchy and burning. I could feel a gritty substance behind my tightly closed eyelids.
Next, I ran into the house and yelled for Julie to call 911 (as I had assumed that I had battery acid in my face/eyes). She had heard the explosion, but still wasn't sure if I was being serious. After convincing her (quickly) that I was serious, she called 911 while I jumped (fully clothed) into the shower and soaked myself in cold water. I finally opened my eyes and (thank god) was able to see. I told Julie to tell 911 that we could drive ourselves (realizing my dumb luck that my face wasn't disfigured from burns, but my eyes were still itchy/burning). She filled up a bowl of water for me for the trip and I kept my eyes/face soaked until we got to the hospital; there, I had each eye flushed with .5 liters of a saline solution and the doctor asked that I return before 8 tomorrow morning so he can have another look.
Thoughts right now.... Julie and I had been recently talking about how we should really appreciate the fact that we are both healthy and don't have debilitating disabilities to deal with (on any scale). The battery blowing up in my face only reinforced my appreciation for the dumb luck I possess, which saved both my sight and certain facial disfiguring tonight.
We're still going fishing tomorrow.... only with paddles.
I charged this battery 20+ times in the same manner and never had any problems.
It was a sealed battery.
I am still trying to figure out what happened, to hopefully mitigate against future occurrences for other people. I can't even find any information on the Willard Battery manufacturer.... I wanted to email them to see if they could figure it out.
If you want pictures of the battery, charger (with the settings it was set to), and the area afterward the incident, please ask for them and I can email them. I am so lucky to still have my sight and not be suffering from burns.
Thanks for any suggestions, ideas, help!
Realizing that my batteries were low (for the electric motor), I decided to charge them. I stuck the charger on the big battery (bigger than a car battery) and left it for a few hours. When I returned, the green light on the charger was on, indicating that the battery was charged.
Here is what happened next.
I was planning on putting the charger on the other battery, so I was just going to unhook the charger from the negative and positive posts on the battery that was charged and move them to the other battery. I grabbed the clamp on the negative post, as I squeezed it.....KABOOOOOOOOM! The sound was like a shotgun amplified by 2-3 times and my ears were ringing to the point where I couldn't hear out of the left one at all and only slightly out of my right. My face was covered it some material, causing it to tingle, and my ears were itchy and burning. I could feel a gritty substance behind my tightly closed eyelids.
Next, I ran into the house and yelled for Julie to call 911 (as I had assumed that I had battery acid in my face/eyes). She had heard the explosion, but still wasn't sure if I was being serious. After convincing her (quickly) that I was serious, she called 911 while I jumped (fully clothed) into the shower and soaked myself in cold water. I finally opened my eyes and (thank god) was able to see. I told Julie to tell 911 that we could drive ourselves (realizing my dumb luck that my face wasn't disfigured from burns, but my eyes were still itchy/burning). She filled up a bowl of water for me for the trip and I kept my eyes/face soaked until we got to the hospital; there, I had each eye flushed with .5 liters of a saline solution and the doctor asked that I return before 8 tomorrow morning so he can have another look.
Thoughts right now.... Julie and I had been recently talking about how we should really appreciate the fact that we are both healthy and don't have debilitating disabilities to deal with (on any scale). The battery blowing up in my face only reinforced my appreciation for the dumb luck I possess, which saved both my sight and certain facial disfiguring tonight.
We're still going fishing tomorrow.... only with paddles.
I charged this battery 20+ times in the same manner and never had any problems.
It was a sealed battery.
I am still trying to figure out what happened, to hopefully mitigate against future occurrences for other people. I can't even find any information on the Willard Battery manufacturer.... I wanted to email them to see if they could figure it out.
If you want pictures of the battery, charger (with the settings it was set to), and the area afterward the incident, please ask for them and I can email them. I am so lucky to still have my sight and not be suffering from burns.
Thanks for any suggestions, ideas, help!
