Lead acid battery equipment in Swimming Pool

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stardust

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Housekeeper accidentally drove a 48v DC (4x12v) floor scrubber into our swimming pool at work. I have been googling with no help. People on here have seen everything. What hazards should we be aware of? It has been under water for 24 hours or more. These batteries are similar to golf cart batteries just taller.
Thanks for any help.
 
I jest, but she followed the rules of adding acid to water, as it is dangerous to add water to acid. I would think the first step is to test the water to make sure the acid concentration is not detrimental to people entering the water to perform recovery. The vent holes in each cell are pretty small, so maybe not much sulfuric acid has leeched, but only testing will tell.

Calling a pool company would be high on my list, they have seen things also.:thumbsup:
 
Frank DuVal said:
I jest, but she followed the rules of adding acid to water, as it is dangerous to add water to acid. I would think the first step is to test the water to make sure the acid concentration is not detrimental to people entering the water to perform recovery. The vent holes in each cell are pretty small, so maybe not much sulfuric acid has leeched, but only testing will tell.

Calling a pool company would be high on my list, they have seen things also.:thumbsup:
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If they are valve regulated lead acid (VLRA) commonly known as Sealed Lead Acid, there should be no leakage. But the impact may have damaged the casings.
So I would still take the precaution of draining the pool and flushing it before refilling it.
After the offending appliance is removed, of course....
 
Edit to add: As bes said

First rule when you have alligators is:

Drum roll ...................

Drain the swamp

So,

Drain the pool.

Ok, so no alligators. However, batteries, floor scrubber too big to lift out by hand, soaking wet, severely irritated, housekeeper probably qualify.

the worm
 
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These are not VRLA. Just standard deep cycle Lead acid batteries like used in electric golf carts, trolling motor etc.
 
The electrical hazard is probably small and confined to the inside of the machine.
But it's difficult to quantify and even a small shock could result in partial paralysis and drowning. Draining the pool is the only way to assure that the retrieval workers will be safe.
For additional insight, look up "electric shock drowning".
 
Trolling motor, ele tric motor put on a boat to move it slowly when fishing.
Throw some baking soda in.
 
sameguy said:
Trolling motor, ele tric motor put on a boat to move it slowly when fishing.
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Well, I don't do golfing or fishing so I wouldn't know what batteries are typically.

But if these are vented and that's what the floor scrubber had, I'd definitely drain and flush the pool.
 
stardust said:
Housekeeper accidentally drove a 48v DC (4x12v) floor scrubber into our swimming pool at work. I have been googling with no help. People on here have seen everything. What hazards should we be aware of? It has been under water for 24 hours or more. These batteries are similar to golf cart batteries just taller.
Thanks for any help.
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I think I would not want to get directly involved if I were you. You have no expertise in this kind of thing and getting advice from semi-anonymous people on the Internet does not change that. Call a hazardous waste company to deal with it. That way it is not your problem to figure out how to deal with it. My guess would be that if the tiny amount of acid that might have leached out of the batteries is enough to matter any that the water would have to be treated before the pool can be drained. You are not in a position to know if that is the case or not so best to get someone who does know.
 
petersonra said:
I think I would not want to get directly involved if I were you. You have no expertise in this kind of thing and getting advice from semi-anonymous people on the Internet does not change that. Call a hazardous waste company to deal with it. That way it is not your problem to figure out how to deal with it. My guess would be that if the tiny amount of acid that might have leached out of the batteries is enough to matter any that the water would have to be treated before the pool can be drained. You are not in a position to know if that is the case or not so best to get someone who does know.
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I have to agree. In addition to the acid issue, don't forget about lead. I don't see any of this in the scope of an electrician's duty.
 
How big of a pool are we talking about ? I'm guessing that the acid is diluted to pretty much nothing . Test the PH of the water .
 
I suspect the pool is fine. Acid is added to a pool normally to control Ph. If enough leaked to throw the Ph off, adding baking soda will bring it back to normal. Any leaked oil will end up in the skimmer or coating the edges where it can be washed off. The scrubbing machine is probably going to require significant repair. Chlorine is corrosive.
 
Agree that pool is probably safe to work in, and not that difficult to clean up after for recreational use. But after this much time, I'd pH test it (near the machine) to be sure. I'd have also had a rolling A-frame built and hoisted the thing out by now.
 
MAC702 said:
Agree that pool is probably safe to work in, and not that difficult to clean up after for recreational use. But after this much time, I'd pH test it (near the machine) to be sure. I'd have also had a rolling A-frame built and hoisted the thing out by now.
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Public pools are generally tested for pH (and other parameters) daily.
 
The pool may not even require draining... If the floor buffer is near the edge, you can probably lay a walk board diagonally across that corner, get a heavy rope and make a noose on one end, weight it, drop it in the water and grab the buffer by the handle... Get a few guys to help pull it out. As far as pH of water, a simple test will tell you if the batteries have leaked.

The safest way would be to drain the pool in its entirety, build a ramp at the steps at the shallow end, put on some rubber boots and gloves, right the buffer if necessary and push it up the ramp. That and disconnect the batteries and remove them from the buffer before moving the buffer
 
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