Re: standard operating procedures
I believe that it's not the voltage of the battery that is the primary concern, but the energy density of the cells that compose it and the failure modes of those cells.
A lead acid battery has a relatively low energy density under most conditions when compared to a lithium battery, and a very sturdy housing (but can still weld a spanner across its terminals if you are a clown when handling them and may explode as the electrolyte boils when that happens) but the Lithium batteries used in EVs have an extraordinarily high energy density which is barely contained by the housing.
When a lead acid battery fails it may include a fire. When a lithium battery fails it almost always includes a fierce fire comparable in visuals to an Estes solid fuel rocket motor.
Lithium batteries also have many more failure modes that are potentially fire-causing than a lead acid accumulator (though I just had a lead/acid gel battery that when connected to a UPS - which turned out to be faulty - got so hot I sustained a serious burn while disconnecting it).over-discharge, over-charge and physical damage will all cause fires (in the case of over-discharge, when the charger is next connected if it doesn't include the necessary circuitry).
A lead acid battery will typically survive such conditions without catching fire, though it may not work ever again if you boil off the electrolyte or punch a hole in it (all been done in my sight by the way). Lead acid gel batteries have different issues but again rarely catch fire (though I've seen one burst).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
