HO operation on a car battery.

MarioBarb

New Member
Hi

My understanding is that car batteries can generate explosive hydrogen gas - which is why they recommend connecting car batteries in a certain way to avoid sparks which would ignite the gas and boom! The acid from the batteries is pretty corosive too. Just be careful would be the best advice.
 

Gil Finn

Active Member
Hi

My understanding is that car batteries can generate explosive hydrogen gas - which is why they recommend connecting car batteries in a certain way to avoid sparks which would ignite the gas and boom! The acid from the batteries is pretty corosive too. Just be careful would be the best advice.

Thek make gas when charging but never had troble in my car or boat so there isnt a problem.

The batteries of today aren't like those old clunkers years ago.

The main thing is never set a battery onm a croncriet floor it will ruin.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Six years ago I went to the Volunteer Fire station where I work as a fire fighter. I got into the main pumper truck (a 1971 Ford 950 Custom Cab) to start it up. As soon as I pressed the starter button, one of the two batteries exploded. The explosion carried enough force that it blew the clamped down battery access panel (a 1/4" thick steel plate measuring 12" x 14") off the side of the truck. The panel was so badly warped that it had to be taken to a welding shop to be straightened. The explosion also ruptured the second battery and crushed the master cylinder brake fluid reservior. These batteries were not even a year old. These things need to be treated with great respect.
 

Groove

New Member
I know that I've seen a layout that ran off a bunch of (maybe 6?) AA batteries. The guy would run it at exhibition and charge the batteries overnight in the hotel room.

No regulator as such just a switch for forward and backwards.

Unfortunately I've got no idea of any more details then this and even this is a little bit hazy!
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Six AA's wouldn't last very long. A better setup would be six lantern batteries, two batteries wired in series as a pair, three pairs wired in parallel to the layout. That would last a while.
 

wickman

Member
Wow interesting idea to run trains and fish at the same time , two of my favorite hobbies.:thumb: Can't say that I would have ever thought it would be so technical though sign1
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
When I was a little kid (late 70's) growing up on my parents ranch, my dad and I had a BIG slot car/HO train layout set up out in the old bunkhouse. We would run the propane generator (we called her Jezebell (or some variation of that spelling)) for hours. Then, after it got too late and my mom would stick her head out the kitchen door and yell at us to "shut that durn thing off so I can get some sleep", my dad would pull the old ranch truck over to the window and hook up the jumper cables to the transformers for the cars and trains. We would then continue to play for another several hours until we started drawing the battery down. We were only 32 miles out of town but that was far enough that we were beyond the power lines by several miles. The power company wanted a small fortune to run power the rest of the way and to this day, my parents still rely on solar power and a big Honda diesel generator for backup power. Boy, describing that sure brought back some memories - sight sound and smell! :mrgreen:
 

woodone

Member
Thek make gas when charging but never had troble in my car or boat so there isnt a problem.

The batteries of today aren't like those old clunkers years ago.

The main thing is never set a battery onm a croncriet floor it will ruin.
That is an old wifes tail- setting a battery on a concrete floor will not ruin the battery
 
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