Battery venting on "86" Casita

[npergakis]

The battery area is under the rear table bench. There is a vent hole in the floor and side wall where it is obvious that a vented battery box should fit....but the height from floor to seat bench is just about an inch or so higher than the battery box. Not enough room to accommodate the bend in the vent hose that attaches on the top of the box. Thought about cutting a hole in the side of the Batt box and attaching the vent tube there. Not sure if I can find a fitting the right size for the tube. I will be checking on that tomorrow.

Anybody have a similar situation?
Thanks,
Nick

[ken h]

Why not, as long as the battery is sealed off from the inside of the trailer

[mary and bob]

I just installed a bigger battery box. To vent it I cut a hole in the cover and used a 90 degree angle fitting that is made for that old black plastic water pipe. Shortened the end that goes into the box, put some automotive silicone around it and a clamp to hold it to the box cover, and a piece of auto 3/4" heater hose to the outside vent. Bob

[Eddie Longest]

The battery produces hydrogen gas which is lighter than air and very explosive. A passive vent should be at the top of your box and the vent hose should be level or lead upward from the top of the battery with no loops. If your vent turns down to the floor the hydrogen gas will collect in the box. Any spark from a loose connection can cause an explosion.
Eddie

[mary and bob]

Eddie has a good point about the vent needing to lead upward. Are we camping in the Hindenburg here, as my vent goes down as that is the way it was made originally. And just how much hydrogen are we producing here, I don't have a power converter in our Uhaul, so until I attach a battery charger I think the battery is producing little to none. I'll see if I can reroute the vent hose to a higher outlet position. Reminds me of boats with bilge blowers to evacuate gas fumes. Thanks Eddie for that important reminder. Bob

[Mouse]

Do you have a AGM or flooded battery?

The AGM battery is sealed and creates very little gas while being charged. I would worry more if you have one of the older style batteries.

[Ed Harris]

Originally Posted by Mouse

Do you have a AGM or flooded battery?

The AGM battery is sealed and creates very little gas while being charged. I would worry more if you have one of the older style batteries.

I agree I would worry more with standard flooded batteries but,

The AGM battery will certainly emit Hydrogen Gas too if overcharged as will any battery out there right now.
The battery is a no maintenance battery but they do have holes to provide for venting should gas be formed.

Better safe than sorry,don't you think?

[Mouse]

Absolutely!

You should worry a lot with flooded because out gassing is a given when charging.

Without a converter, how are you connecting your separate battery charger? Are you removing the battery to charge it? Or do you have a way to charge while it is in the battery box?

How about installing a converter so that you can just plug your TT in at home or while camping.

[mary and bob]

Original converter was no good, so I junked it but saved the fuse panel which is now mounted on the outside of my new battery box. I have a 1150 truck battery, which is a sealed no maintenance battery but it has a small vent in the top side center. I have wires run to a plug mounted on the end of the storage compartment towards the sink area where I can connect a battery charger. Eventually I'll buy a new converter but that is not a priority item right now, so my 12 volt system and 110 system are separate. In my 30+ years as a truck mechanic I've only seen one battery explode, which just blew off part of the top, and that was because it was on a high rate charger, open cells, caps off, and someone was using a grinder right next to it. I'm actually not worried at all, I've probably handled more batteries than anyone, but Eddie has a good point to consider, and safety first is a great policy. I actually prefer an outside mounted battery, and that may be a future project to move it to the trailer tongue, as there is very little tongue weight now. It would also help offset the rear mounted bike rack. Best idea when charging would be to open windows or door and roof vent and open lid to battery area. Bob

[npergakis]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Original converter was no good, so I junked it but saved the fuse panel which is now mounted on the outside of my new battery box. I have a 1150 truck battery, which is a sealed no maintenance battery but it has a small vent in the top side center. I have wires run to a plug mounted on the end of the storage compartment towards the sink area where I can connect a battery charger. Eventually I'll buy a new converter but that is not a priority item right now, so my 12 volt system and 110 system are separate. In my 30+ years as a truck mechanic I've only seen one battery explode, which just blew off part of the top, and that was because it was on a high rate charger, open cells, caps off, and someone was using a grinder right next to it. I'm actually not worried at all, I've probably handled more batteries than anyone, but Eddie has a good point to consider, and safety first is a great policy. I actually prefer an outside mounted battery, and that may be a future project to move it to the trailer tongue, as there is very little tongue weight now. It would also help offset the rear mounted bike rack. Best idea when charging would be to open windows or door and roof vent and open lid to battery area. Bob

I gave up and just mounted the battery on the tongue. Ran wire back and connected to the original battery leads.