[NewellCrazy]

Hi Glenn and Deb,

Sorry to hear about your batteries, Hopefully you were able to get everything all cleaned up.

Any lead-acid battery system when overcharged will produce hydrogen gas. If the rate of overcharge is small, the vents of each cell allow the dissipation of the gas. However, on severe overcharge or if ventilation is inadequate or the battery is faulty, a flammable concentration of hydrogen may remain in the cell or in the battery enclosure. Any spark can cause a hydrogen and oxygen explosion, which will damage the battery and its surroundings and which will disperse acid into the surroundings. Anyone close to the battery may be injured.

Sometimes the ends of a battery will be severely swollen, and when accompanied by the case being too hot to touch, this usually indicates a malfunction in the charging system of the car. Reversing the positive and negative leads will damage the battery and may lead to gassing and explosion. When severely overcharged, a lead-acid battery gases at a high level and the venting system built into the battery cannot handle the high level of gas, so the pressure builds inside the battery, resulting in the swollen ends. An unregulated alternator can put out a high level of charge, and can quickly ruin a battery. A swollen, hot battery is very dangerous, and should not be handled until it has been given sufficient time to cool and any hydrogen gas present to dissipate.