I've had a Harbor Freight float charger on my vehicle that I rarely drive for the last few years. I went to start it on Tuesday and when I turned the ignition I heard a huge BOOM under the hood and smoke started pouring out. I popped the hood and saw the battery had exploded and there were pieces of plastic around the engine and acid flowing into the battery tray. I removed the battery, picked up the plastic pieces, and pulled the tray. I sprayed water with baking soda over the acid and installed a new battery. Fortunately the car seems fine. I'm not sure if the battery just ran out of water or the HF charger overcharged it. I'm thinking about buying a "battery tender" float charger as they seem to get good reviews though the HF charger worked fine until this incident.
Last edited by Whiptail; 06/18/17.
