A lack of maintenance or improper maintenance is also one of the biggest causes of damage to lead-acid batteries, generally from the electrolyte solution having too much or too little water. All of the ways lead acid can be damaged are not issues for lithium and why our batteries are far superior for energy storage applications.
Personally, I always make sure that anything connected to a lead acid battery is properly fused. The common rule of thumb is that a lead acid battery should not be discharged below 50% of capacity, or ideally not beyond 70% of capacity. This is because lead acid batteries age / wear out faster if you deep discharge them.
When you use your battery, the process happens in reverse, as the opposite chemical reaction generates the batteries’ electricity. In unsealed lead acid batteries, periodically, you’ll have to open up the battery and top it off with distilled water to ensure the electrolyte solution remains at the proper concentration.
This means that if you (accidentally) short-circuit a lead acid battery, the battery can explode or it can cause a fire. Whatever object caused the short-circuit, will probably be destroyed. Because lead acid batteries can supply such high currents, it's important to assure that you use the right wire thickness / diameter.
Nowadays modern plastics are impervious to acid so there is no risk of this happening. Myth: It is okay to store lead acid batteries anywhere inside or outside. Fact: It is good to store lead acid batteries in cool places because the self-discharge is lower but be careful not to freeze the battery.
If the battery explodes, you should douse the flames with a fire extinguisher. Once the fire is out, try to determine why the lead-acid battery exploded-if it’s due to a manufacturing defect or external influence. Is a leaking lead-acid battery terrible? Yes, a leaking lead-acid battery is bad.