[Shop-talk] battery tender--Thanks

[TR3driver at ca.rr.com (Randall)]

> I went to start 
> the car one day,
> turned the key and the battery literally exploded with a loud 
> bang.

One possibility would be a broken conductor inside the battery case.  I've
had that happen several times now.  Under the load of the starter, the
broken joint can throw sparks but still conduct enough to crank the engine.

And the high current of starting would make those older batteries outgas a
little, probably due to impurities in the plates.  Or it may have just been
leftover inside the cells from being charged before.

-- Randall