Batteries ?! What kind ?

[cadillackid]

I talked in great length to not only an interstate battery sales-person, but they also had an engineer working on a special project...

he stated that a standard wet cell fillable battery will off-gas anytime it is getting charged.. even if its not being over-charged.. that type of battery located indoors say just "sitting on the floor" in an RV will smell bad and could possubly off-gas enough inside a well sealed RV to cause a "mini explosion".. enough that some damage or minor injury might occur... if that same battery were placed in a container that is not properly vented.. concentrations of hydrogen can get to be enough to cause an explosion that would blow apart the container.. and ignite hydrogen present at the battery vents themselves.. concentric venting is the best way to ensure you dont have pocketsof Hydrogen forming in the container...

onto AGM batteries,,, under Normal circumstances an AGM / VRLA battery (pressureized maintenance free) will not outgas at all.. or so very little that no danger exists... *IF* that battery is Grossly over-charged.. (cheap $10 battery charger that doesnt shut off and puts out more than 16 volts as an example).. your AGM battery WILL releasepressure and off-gas enough to bring its pressure back to the Nominal 5 PSI that it is allowed.. this off-gassing is just as dangerous as mentioned above except that theres not usually as much of it..

an AGM battery properly charged and discharged within its limits just sitting on the floor or in a case poses no danger.. its for that time of something goes wrong.. "Kind of like why we have a fire extuingisher in our kitchens... you most likely in Life will Never ever have to use it... but if you dont have it and you need it things get out of hand really quickly.."

again with AGM batteries no fan needed just follow concentric venting rules... concentric venting allows for a heat transfer thus keeping a convective flow present when a battery is being charged (it gets warm)..

*IF* you were going to be a cowboy and run a sealed battery case without venting and an AGM battery then he said you better have a very good redundant charge manager with alarms so that no matter what you never over-charge your battery... "isnt it just easier to install a vent?" is what he then said..

Batteries Only charged by alternators pose the least risk as they are typically in a moving vehicle.. even when such a battery is considered confined there is usually air movement around the battery so any gasses are dispersed..

RV batteries pose the greatest risk as they are most times charged with shore or solar power when the RV is sitting still and occupied.. these batteries are more likely to be in a confined space... modern RV's have charge managers and typically properly vented battery enclosures.. older or hme built RV's or where battery enclosures were replaced pose the greatest risk as there may not be a charge manager.. and / or venting may be improper..


enough to convince me to properly vent my new batteries..
-Christopher

[Carytowncat]

Hmmm... I am considering making a rack under the bus that is not visible but basically has the batteries out in the open to vent. This will relieve any of my worries of being blown to smithereens. Yea i just may go that route...

Or i do have a nice side compartment that i could mount 'em in and just cut a few large holes so that is is near an open space. Again don't want to be sploded to all get out.

Having a small 12v fan running should clear any area of any gas quick enough to remove any explosion danger.

[rjnye79]

Cadillackid,

Thanks! Great info...

[Stu & Filo. T]

Just a note on charging batteries on shore power, something I found out when I had my Class C when plugged into shore power a converter/charger is not a controller, I thought it would be a good idea to keep my RV plugged in to keep the fridge ready & batteries charged, WRONG, the charger over charged the batteries & melted the batteries

[superdave]

Originally Posted by Stu & Filo. T

Just a note on charging batteries on shore power, something I found out when I had my Class C when plugged into shore power a converter/charger is not a controller, I thought it would be a good idea to keep my RV plugged in to keep the fridge ready & batteries charged, WRONG, the charger over charged the batteries & melted the batteries

what kind was it, there made to keep the batteries charged. most have multi stage chargers in them.yours must be malfunctioning

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by superdave

what kind was it, there made to keep the batteries charged. most have multi stage chargers in them.yours must be malfunctioning

Don't know I sold it 3 or 4 yrs ago

[jazty]

I have a 12v convertor (just a big transformer that converts 120vac to 12vdc) pulled from an old boat. It was set up directly connected to the house batteries! If left unattended I would expect it would have boiled the batteries dry over a couple days.

[Jolly Roger]

I have thought about using a 120-12v transformer (hand size) to wire into the house 12v to bypass the batteries period when plugged into shore power? You can get them with fuses and the power is there as needed instead of going through the batteries everytime? Poor working mans idea?
I have and use a small in size but damn good battery charger that runs everything hooked to the main battery clamps cause I don't have batteries yet and I can watch it turn up when I turn lights,fans on and watch it turn off when I kill all of the demand for 12v.
I have left it connected to my start batteries and forgot about it (dumb$$$) until the next morning and said oh **** but it had shut itself down when/as the batteries reached there proper charge. I love my little 50$ charger.
Brand new at most auto stores?
Schumacher brand

[family wagon]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

I have thought about using a 120-12v transformer (hand size) to wire into the house 12v to bypass the batteries period when plugged into shore power? You can get them with fuses and the power is there as needed instead of going through the batteries everytime? Poor working mans idea?

That's not a bad idea. The fist-size transformer won't be good for more than just a few amps though, which won't go very far. A nice alternative might be an adjustable power supply which can be had surprisingly inexpensively. I've really liked the 350 Watt (about 29 amp) Mean-Well power supply I bought last December. Its output is adjustable over 10 to maybe 14 volts (description says 13.5, but I think mine actually reaches 14). It could even be wired in parallel to a battery bank with the output adjusted to a "float charge" level so that it won't over-charge the batteries while waiting to power other loads. At US$43 it's a fair price.. though the money might be better spent on a multi-stage converter/charger unit instead. There are similar models from other brands at lower prices than this, but I wouldn't trust them. Mean-Well has been a recognized name in power supplies for many years.

[superdave]

[QUOTE=family wagon;152149]That's not a bad idea. The fist-size transformer won't be good for more than just a few amps though, which won't go very far. A nice alternative might be an adjustable power supply which can be had surprisingly inexpensively. I've really liked the 350 Watt (about 29 amp) Mean-Well power supply I bought last December. Its output is adjustable over 10 to maybe 14 volts (description says 13.5, but I think mine actually reaches 14). It could even be wired in parallel to a battery bank with the output adjusted to a "float charge" level so that it won't over-charge the batteries while waiting to power other loads. At US$43 it's a fair price.. though the money might be better spent on a multi-stage converter/charger unit instead. everyone should have one of these.

Inverter Charger | Freedom 458 Inverter/Charger | Xantrex its just so easy to use. and if you have a battery bank.
TriMetric Model Descriptions, Present and Past - Bogart Engineering