> > Flooded NiCad batteries use potassium > > hydroxide as an electrolyte. > > It is not dissimilar to liquid Drano. The safety > > hazards are about the > That is a matter of opinion. I've had both on my > skin. I have very light skin and the LA is a lot worse > the ni-cad's. It's a lot less dangerous than drano in > reality. > Ni-cads electrolyte main thing is it's slippery > but just some water and it washes away. > I've, on purpose, left it on my skin for 20 minutes > to see what would happen and not much did. Much safer > than LA acid. I don't suggest trying this, alway wash > it off within 5 minutes, but it shows a lower level of > danger than LA.
I agree. During my overcharging expereince, I got potassium hydroxide on my skin, and had it there for almost a minute. A equivilant amount of PbLA electrolyte would have eaten a hole in me.. this just tingled a little and then I washed it off. At least in NiZn, potassium hydroxide in the amounts used are completely harmless. However, I had no idea about the aluminum thing, and it's making me very nervious because my entire rear battery rack is made of aluminum. I can see a redesign is in order. Yikes! Imagine a rear end collision that breaches one of my rear batteries - some of the electrolyte leaks out of the plates because they're being compressed by the inpact, onto the aluminum ribs. Hydrogen is generated in large quantities, at the same time as sparks are flying from shorted batteries. They ought to have a warning about that.. S.
