The Traveler
Senior Member
Some may have seen this thread from my vacation: http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=145668. I am starting a new one to get right to the point so people dont have to wade through the evolution of the original.
Characters in this story: Excal II, original battery (3 years old, but only has a couple hundred hours on it), and the maxxpacks/toolbay/onlybatteries smart charger.
Background: I plugged in the battery to the charger and 5 hours later the battery pod exploded and laid on the ground in two seperate pieces (see pic). At the time, the battery was too hot to hold, but there was no sign of damage to it. It has been charged and used several times since with no change in function or capacity.
Response from Jeffrey Peterson, Onlybatterypacks Inc.: "Hi have seen this with old pods. When you charge a battery in the pod the internal pressure builds up because the battery expands. Older pods become brittle with age and cannot take the pressure... And they fail. The newer pods are molder out a much better material than the old acrylic."
My take: A swelling battery may crack the pod, but I can't believe it would split it in two with a sound like a gunshot. It also doesn't explain why the charger was still applying power 5 hours later. I think that something within the pod caused a short and the charger was simultaneously charging while the battery was discharging through the short. The heat from the short expanded the air in the chamber, and in combination with the swelled battery, blew the pod. I think I am fortunate that the pod blew prior to the battery completely failing.
Unfortunately, I dont know what caused the short. It may have been condensation, but I think any water would have evaporated under that kind of heat. It may have been in the battery, but that should have ruined the battery or at least kept the battery from operating normally since.
Recommendation: Since I don't know what caused the short, I cannot recommend a fix. But I will recommend how to avoid blowing up your pod. Unplug your smart charger after 20 minutes. And always have a backup available.
Other factors eliminated: I was in a foriegn country, but the electricity is stable and 120. There is no significant difference in elevation. I have used the same combination of battery/charger with success there in previous trips.
Characters in this story: Excal II, original battery (3 years old, but only has a couple hundred hours on it), and the maxxpacks/toolbay/onlybatteries smart charger.
Background: I plugged in the battery to the charger and 5 hours later the battery pod exploded and laid on the ground in two seperate pieces (see pic). At the time, the battery was too hot to hold, but there was no sign of damage to it. It has been charged and used several times since with no change in function or capacity.
Response from Jeffrey Peterson, Onlybatterypacks Inc.: "Hi have seen this with old pods. When you charge a battery in the pod the internal pressure builds up because the battery expands. Older pods become brittle with age and cannot take the pressure... And they fail. The newer pods are molder out a much better material than the old acrylic."
My take: A swelling battery may crack the pod, but I can't believe it would split it in two with a sound like a gunshot. It also doesn't explain why the charger was still applying power 5 hours later. I think that something within the pod caused a short and the charger was simultaneously charging while the battery was discharging through the short. The heat from the short expanded the air in the chamber, and in combination with the swelled battery, blew the pod. I think I am fortunate that the pod blew prior to the battery completely failing.
Unfortunately, I dont know what caused the short. It may have been condensation, but I think any water would have evaporated under that kind of heat. It may have been in the battery, but that should have ruined the battery or at least kept the battery from operating normally since.
Recommendation: Since I don't know what caused the short, I cannot recommend a fix. But I will recommend how to avoid blowing up your pod. Unplug your smart charger after 20 minutes. And always have a backup available.
Other factors eliminated: I was in a foriegn country, but the electricity is stable and 120. There is no significant difference in elevation. I have used the same combination of battery/charger with success there in previous trips.
