> RJT> large quantities of automotive-type batteries also needs to
> RJT> consider the potential hazards involved with the fact that
> RJT> you're generating hydrogen gas during the charging process,
> RJT> which is more explosive than gasoline,
 
Yes, but I just learned something while this conversation is going
on. If I am charging at a high rate and I want to break the circuit
which is going to cause an arc, do it on a side-post battery rather
than on a top post battery and you won't get an explosion. Top posts
will explode, side posts won't. That may sound silly at first glance,
but it makes sense. The gas is rising out of the battery and up into
the atmosphere and if you break the circuit on a top post battery you
are producing an arc right next to an open cell. If you break on a
side post, it is below the level of the rising gas and much further
away so it doesn't explode.
 
Bill Bauer
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