Went out for a few flights tonight. I use a Hobbico electric starter and a 12v for power. The starter attaches to the terminals of the battery with large crocodile clips. Tonight when I started my engine and moved the starter away from the propeller, the exposed metal clips connected to the battery touched each other. There was a shower of sparks and then the top of the battery burst into flames!! I pulled the starter free and blew out the small fire. The top of the battery was singed badly, an electric arc cut through one of the terminals and the crocodile clips had briefly fused together!!

All of this happened above my fuel bottle which was lying on the ground beneath the starting table.

Well ... needless to say I was not impressed. First thing I can I will be buying myself some bannana plugs and removing those crocodile clips.

I wonder if I should toss my battery too ... I don't know what the effect of shorting it out will have had to its internals.

What spooked me most is the idea that my battery sits in a big 'tackle box' that I use as my current field box. In that tackle box there are screw drivers, pliers and, of course, the crocodile clips on my starter. Up until now I had just been tossing them into the box without thought. If I had caused a short within my box while driving home I could have been in serious trouble (with the wife ... it was her car).

... so ... my hint/tip ...

Take notice of those small 12 volt shrunken car battery like things because they don't like to be shorted. Mine yipped at me loudly for attention.