I just happened to stumble upon this open battery. No one around who is responsible. To me this is gross negligence. I had to cap it of and put it away. I had the horrible image in my head of someone getting sprayed with battery acid by accident.
Major offence in my opinion.
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Mmmmm… tasty hazardous waste lead and acid…
Time for some camera angles to be checked…
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Where was the battery - from that photo, I cannot tell where the furniture looking item it is placed on might be located within the Space?
A battery at rest with the caps off will not “spray” acid, but I agree this is not acceptable nor does it fall under the core rule of being “excellent” in any way.
When you say you “put it away” - where did you put it? I’ll dispose of it.
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Looking at the furniture and the gray shelf upright next to it I’d say it’s on the personal storage shelves between the tables near automotive and the tables outside the woodshop.
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Mr Strickland, you are incredibly quick and efficient!
Thanks!
Raymond - I’m not as familiar with what the personal storage looks like as you are. I noticed the gray upright, but cannot say I’ve ever noticed the piece of furniture in that location.
I’ll be in Monday to clean up the clutter and misc
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Yes I put some baking soda around it cause when I moved it with gloves on
(thank God) it was covered in acid. Yes the battery had acid spilled all
over the surface. It was very late last night and I didn’t want anyone
getting burned. Sorry for the mess
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While I agree that Battery Dude has made what my people call a “dick move” I don’t estimate the risk of getting sprayed in the face with battery acid very highly in this instance. I also don’t rate the burn risk that high; the solution in a battery is surprisingly dilute- just don’t get it in your eyes, and consider washing your hands at some point.
Good looking out though, thanks for taking the time to help ensure maker safety.
Yes that’s where I moved it. I used gloves and there was acid on my gloves and on the wood thing it was sitting on. So it looked like acid had spilled over the top of the battery. I sprinkled it with baking soda so no one would get burned. Just a little sprinkle. It was late sorry for the mess. I didn’t want to leave an open battery covered in acid laying around.
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You’re way off base here. Battery acid is around 30% sulfuric acid. Definite burn potential.
Have you ever dropped a bowl and had its contents sprayed about your kitchen? It isnt crazy to think a person would drop a heavy car battery and project battery acid around the area. Don’t minimize this to leaving a screwdriver on a shelf.
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Kee,
No mess no need to apologize. I appreciate the POSITIVE action on your part.
I will review the film and try to identify the person that left the battery open in personal storage…
This is juat one of the things folks do at the DMS that just amaze me…but they say common sense is not very common any more…
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I’ve spent my fair share of time chucking batteries around in shops and retail. Splashing a cupful of the stuff in your face will give you a burn, cracking open a battery with the floor stings a bit. Of course, getting it in your eyes is a bitch and a half.
Well I mean it is an acid.
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ROFL
Sorry to make light of the battery acid in the face concerns… 
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I don’t get how battery acid can be so minimized as a danger here. I was shocked at the irresponsibility of someone leaving an open battery just anywhere. It’s not a joke for people who have had their faces and bodies disfigured by sulfuric acid.
Take it seriously.
This one time for sure I’d ban someone.
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I’ve spilled enough batteries in my time to be less than worried about it. It’s certainly a lot less scary to me than lathes and long sleeves, errant bandsaws, or exploding cutoff wheels.
Hell, I’ve burned myself worse on a 3D printer nozzle than I ever did spilling battery acid.
None of this is to say I don’t think Battery Dude is a dickhead for leaving his open battery out. But I think, as with all things in the automotive space, people are overreacting to the possibility for danger.
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there is no such thing as over reacting when it comes to safety. that’s why overall we have a good safety record. so with your mindset I suppose it’s ok to eat tide pods then?
Good Job Kee.
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You are fortunate to have inhuman skin. If anyone thinks I’m being a pansy-ass-wimp, take a look at the many pictures of people who have been affected by battery acid.
If this was my professional shop and someone was this stupid and careless they’d get an immediate…“You’re Fired”.
Stupid careless people have a habit of being just that. Stupid And Careless.
No excuses. No place for them at the Space.
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Safety is job one…
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Hey @suchsojasco,
Great acid base joke, that really made me smile. I also feel you are correct in pointing out that it seems we are getting a bit Safety Hysterical in this thread.
@MathewBusby a 30% diluted Sulfuric acid is a pretty highly diluted acid as Kris suggested. I would bet most not in the know would would guess the percentage as 90%+ acid in a battery. It really isn’t the burn risk you are claiming here Matt. I learned this first hand in high school while touring a Daisy Sour Cream facility. While going through the on-site lab, I managed to knock over and break a 2 pint container of 90%+ Sulfuric Acid. It broke and spilled across my arms as I tried to catch it. I freaked out as I saw the scary acid label on the jar and started yelling for help. An employee calmly grabbed me and walked me to a sink where we rinsed my arms just as I started to feel a light stingy sensation. It was no big deal and I didn’t have any real lasting effects. But, you don’t have to trust me, here is a video of a guy pouring sulfuric acid on his hands for our entertainment and learning.
Also, here is a video from Spangler Science talking more about Sulfuric Acid and what we should be concerned about after there was a large spill of Sulfuric Acid.
Now should someone be banned for the situation? At first reading, I thought this was a bigger issue than it seems now. Yes we had an uncapped battery at DMS that seemed to be covered in battery acid. This is not a action I would condone. But, lets try to think through how this scenario could have happened. Odds are the member that did this was not intending to be the DMS Battery Acid Terrorist of 2018. So why else would you uncap a battery and said battery be covered with acid?
The battery may have failed and boiled over and the member was curious of what it looked like in side the battery. The battery may have been faulty and the member wanted to reclaim the Sulfuric Acid for a project. Or the battery could of been scrap and the member wanted to try and reclaim the lead and metals within. Any and all of these scenarios could of lead to a rational uncapped battery at DMS.
Also, the battery was in project storage, not just left out on a work table or abandoned on the ground as it seemed in my first reading as well. So the member may have intended no one but themselves or possibly the off-site storage team to ever come in direct contact with the battery. This again lowers the safety concerns drastically.
So what should happen now? Try to make contact with the member, figure out what they intended and if we should act in a reasonable manner. Probably dispose of the battery, especially if we can’t make contact.
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It is incredibly irresponsible to minimize the dangers of sufuric acid. You may see idiots pouring it on their skin and making light of it. Just like you see idiots pour alcohol on their skin and lighting it on fire as a “challenge.”
I’m from the medical profession, if any doctor or medical professional ever educated their patients on the innocuous nature of sulfuric acid as a practice, they would lose their licence.
There is NO safe or impotent concentration of sulfuric acid. Period. If you post something as stupid as these videos and a member decides to “prove you right and me wrong”, guess what, some lawyer is going to hand your ass to a judge and shut this place DOWN.
Are any of you willing to risk that because your shear ignorance and abject stupidity blinds you to scientific fact.
Being “right” does not absolve you from unintended consequences.
What if a child of one of our members just happens to read your post about how sulfuric acid is no big deal. Hmmm…
You think kids these days will take my warning or watch your YouTube post and have some fun with their baby sister when the parents are not around.
When you tell the judge, " I didn’t mean for that to happened", he’s going to add 12 more months just because you are dumb.
I would suggest that any post saying sulfuric acid is no big deal should be XD out. Maybe even close and delete this thread so no dumb ass gives those YouTube videos a try.
30% sulfuric acid is not highly diluted. It will burn skin and blind you.
THINK.
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