SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Explosion / rupture

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20140702-AD129-2147443184. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Generac 040794 (Generace Guardian model 040794 10 Kx air-cooled standby generator). Incident: This is regarding a Generac Guardian 10 Kw air-cooled standby generator model 040794 serial # 3210726 installed professionally 1/18/2001. The battery exploded when the unit was attempting to start automatically for the weekly "exercise cycle" on 6/30/2014. This has happened a total of 3 times. The original, unbranded generic battery supplied by the installers exploded 5/19/2003. I replaced it with a reputable name brand auto battery. That lasted until I replaced it with another name-brand auto battery 7/7/2007. That battery exploded 7/25/2010, and I replaced it with yet another, different name-brand auto battery. That battery exploded 6/30/2014. When I reported the problem originally to Generac in 2003, Generac denied any responsibility (as did the installers) and told me to pursue any complaint with the battery manufacturer, which of course I could not do since the original battery supplied by the installers was unbranded. The subsequent 2 explosions have involved name brand auto batteries, and so I suspect there is NOT a battery problem but a design flaw in the battery charging circuit of the generator. This causes overcharging of the batteries, loss of electrolyte (boiling out), leading to exposure of the internal plates, and an internal arc under load when the unit attempts to start, leading to explosion of the hydrogen gas in the battery, destruction of the battery, showering of the internal generator cabinet and components with acid and battery case shrapnel. This is a serious problem with the potential for serious injury (blindness, acid burns, shrapnel injury) if I