[Robotgroup] Battery Charging Dangers!

[Vern Graner]

A very eye-opening thread! Check out the very dramatic pictures!

http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=136

in case the above is broken:

http://tinyurl.com/2hzmg4

Summary:

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My house had a severe fire on Sunday that started in the garage. My 
2-story house is totaled and the roof structure must be replaced and the 
entire interior gutted. Fortunately, everyone is safe and we have 
realized that our material possessions can be replaced. This week has 
been a nightmare.

Per the CSI-type guy who investigated, the cause was an electrical fire 
related to my 12V automotive charger being used to charge a Peg Peregeo 
4-wheeler. It was not the house wiring or a fault in the outlet. My 
thinking is that my charger must have flaked out or the battery 
exploded. It is unclear if it will be narrowed down beyond that.

I walked from the garage to the side of the house for a few minutes, 
heard a popping noise out in front, came around the corner, and saw 
massive flames shooting out of my garage in the corner where I had 6 
vehicles stored. 3 more were elsewhere in the garage. The flames jumped 
up above the 2nd story and cooked the entire attic and most of the 2nd 
story roof caved in. Items that are not burned or wet are smoke-damaged 
and have to be professionally cleaned or scrapped. Fortunately, we 
should have enough insurance to cover most of our belongings, but it has 
not all been added up yet.

What kills me is that I loved tinkering with these and watching my son 
and his friends enjoy them. Although a freak accident, I may never be 
able to bring myself to charge one up indoors for fear of this happening 
again. It will be challenge to get past that.

See the before and after pictures below. There is no real point to this 
posting except as an FYI.
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The moral of the story to all you droid builders is, be CAREFUL when 
charging batteries!

Vern

-- 
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