Dive Light Battery Explosion

[Graeme Tolton]

I had this happen when opening a PT Shockwave after a trip many years ago. (regular batteries) When I started to unscrew the light the top shot across my dining room with a bang. There was a distinct smell which I figured as likely hydrogen. I've smelled it since when opening lights sometimes but only had the one "explosion." There hadn't been a flood or even any noticeable moisture in any of these cases so if it's moisture it doesn't take much. (Yet another reason to not leave batteries in lights for plane travel.)

Hydrogen is odorless.

 

[knowone]

Yep. Unscrewing a breather plug from a sealed gel cell pac and it quirted smelly grey pus at me not away from me. Smart? I knew there was a flood reaction going on.
Another one, thin pvc was bulging at me one day. Im glad it told me.
These days with slightly more refined versions, I cant open them if left for a period because of reduced pressure inside.
Opened a cast Darrell Allen the other day and had to use a pry bar. Real smart for leaving the batteries in.
Cold soup for me.
What's a white absorber?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

UK Dive light explosion warning - Spearboard Spearfishing Community

 

[gracet]

also ive seen that leaving dead batteries in the light for 6months to a year or more will cause a pressure buildup.

 

[Damselfish]

H2 gas is odorless. On ignition it forms water. Maybe some chlorine gas was liberated in the formation of NaOH and HCl? Just a guess, based on a dim recollection of Intro Chem. Or something else--hydrogen combines with just about anything.

ok, don't know what I'm smelling then, but I've smelled it a fair number of times when opening lights. Also when I open the plastic container I keep a bunch of spare batteries in at home (and that's definitely dry.) It's not chlorine, I don't know what I'm smelling. Sure as heck got a big whiff of it when that light popped.

 

[emoreira]

This is an extract of the Sanyo Eneloop Battery manual :

Can eneloop Be Used in Underwater Lamps?

No. Do not use it in equipment that must be air-tight.
Such applications do not have a function to stop the discharge of electricity, and when more than one battery is used, it may cause the batteries to over-discharge. This in turn can trigger the generation of hydrogen gas inside of the battery, and since air-tight equipment is designed to prevent gas from being diffused, the contaminated gas may cause an explosion when the equipment is switched on.

 

[Skuba Skot]

Thanks for all the great responses, knowing this has happened to others has helped to "normalize" my experience.