floyd@ims.alaska.edu (Floyd Davidson) (03/28/91)
In article <telecom11.247.2@eecs.nwu.edu> Larry Lippman <kitty!larry@ uunet.uu.net> writes: > Speaking of batteries and nostalgia, any old-timers remember > liquid countercells? They contained stainless steel plates, which > were immersed in a solution of potassium hydroxide, with a layer of > mineral oil being used to prevent evaporation. While working for a > telephone company one summer while in college, I had the "pleasure" of > replacing the electrolyte in some large countercells. I somehow > managed to spill some electrolyte unnoticed in my shoe, with the > result a few hours later that I had a disintegrated shoe and a > partially disintegrated foot (which did eventually heel, er, heal)! > Unfortunately, alkalai burns often go unnoticed for a much longer time > than acid or other burns. I think the worst experience I ever had was walking around a corner, while doing station checks, and discovering that a cell in the top tier (of three) of a +130 volt plant had cracked about 1/3 of the way up the side, and spilled all 2/3's of the electrolyte down onto the batteries below, and onto *my* CEMF cells on the bottom tier. There was a circle, or half circle really, of acid about a 1/4" deep on the floor going out from the wall for about ten feet. The wall was peeling, the floor tile was peeling, the paint on the battery rack was peeling ... And the CEMF cells, which were ones that I maintained, had acid in them and were boiling and foaming and looking very strange. Oh what a job that was. Floyd L. Davidson | floyd@ims.alaska.edu | Alascom, Inc. pays me Salcha, AK 99714 | Univ. of Alaska | but not for opinions.