So, it appears that the battery compartment on my '73 Overlander was never vented. If it is, I can't find the vent. I assume this means that code changed sometime since 1973?
Jim
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What is that line from "Miracle on 34th Street"? Something like "Maybe he's only a little crazy, like those men in Washington."
I'm pretty sure it was Jim. Even my 68 has a plastic enclosure and tubing to the outside just above the license plate but it was removed when I bought it. On mine, the compartment was in the back storage area but they later moved them to the sides.
Mine is on the curbside, aft, under the shower. It is enclosed in a heavy plastic box that is fixed to the camper. I have all of that area apart right now. I'll double check tonight, but I don't remember any kind of venting. I was thinking of moving the battery over the axels/under the bed as described above to take some of the weight out of the back end. I guess this venting thing means I better think about it more.
Jim
__________________
What is that line from "Miracle on 34th Street"? Something like "Maybe he's only a little crazy, like those men in Washington."
Oh boy, more stuff I didn't know. So let me get this straight... My '68 had a typical battery (wasn't present upon purchase) that was mounted in the rear compartment, within 2 feet of the univolt, on just a metal stand. There was remnant of tubing going to a circular vent just under the license plate light.
I bought an AGM battery, because I was told it was better than the gel cell. I thought I read neither needed to be vented?.. So at this point I have a group 27 AGM, a black plastic battery box, still a circular opening to the outside, and not a clue as to what to do next/ or now.... BTW my battery location is exactly where it was and still within 2 feet of the intellipower converter with charge wizard.
The poor fitting battery box door on SilverToy was DESIGNED to be that way, as it now functions as venting?? Looked all over, found the battery enclosure (plastic) that goes all the way around the batteries.... but NO vent hose of ANY diameter... so,
Designed that way? Is it even adequate as I have the standard wet cells?
Ed,
With Lifeline, it opens at 2 PSI. You might go 50 years with the valve never needing to open but it could happen tonight particularly with a non regulated Univolt.
Fortunately, they are the Lifeline brand and the Univolt was replaced with an Intellepower 60amp unit. I'm thinking at this juncture, since the batteries are "installed", that the cabinet they are in can be quartered off & sealed and that the batteries themselves can be lifted up an inch off the floor and a 1.5"-1.75" dia. vent hole placed thru the floor under them. This is based on my understanding that the escaping gas, if any, is heavier than air. The concept of a sealed plastic box doesn't work for me as I need access to the units to manually check their charge status.
You are all correct, safety first, even though the hazard may never come to be. Any comments on my design solution are welcome.
Thanks,
Ed
Maybe somebody said it already, but how are they mounted, vented and enclosed on the newer model Airstreams? I'll look back thru the thread to make sure I didn't miss it someplace.
Jim
__________________
What is that line from "Miracle on 34th Street"? Something like "Maybe he's only a little crazy, like those men in Washington."
I bought an AGM battery, because I was told it was better than the gel cell.
AGM's are generally considered more rugged and less sensitive to charging abuse.
From AGM Toch "AGM Pro's: better cycling and depth of discharge over the wet or gell batteries. While most wet batteries are supposed to only go to about 50% depth of discharge, the AGM's are able to go to about 20% depth of discharge without harming them PROVIDED that you don't overcharge them at too high a voltage on their return."
Caltrans Equipment Standards repeats the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations "§393.30 Battery installation. with a few interesting notes but no clarification on the AGM issue.
The storage issue is interesting. For AGM's it appears the risk is from severe overcharging. That doesn't seem to be an issue in the FMCSR or the NEC which make no distinctions about battery type as far as I can tell. On the other hand, the shipping companies do make distinctions as AGM's are much easier to ship. From what I can tell, there has been no authoritative source about this and many RVers are installing AGM's without too much concern for code requirements.
Jim, batteries on new Airstreams are mounted in a box on the tongue right behind the LP tanks. I posted the following pic from my '06 Safari in a different thread: http://www.airforums.com/forum...6&d=1165796236
The Battery box sits directly below the Univolt, which is all sitting under or more correctly, behind, the shower. The battery box looks to be fairly well sealed at time of manufacture, but is by no means completely airtight.
Jim
__________________
What is that line from "Miracle on 34th Street"? Something like "Maybe he's only a little crazy, like those men in Washington."
Wardinbb - the gas that is most often vented is hydrogen which is much lighter than air.
Was it Wheel Interested? I believe Carol has mentioned significant clearcoat and aluminum issues under their front window before they sold their '04 Classic and she felt it was caused by the batteries mounted on the A-frame. Anybody a chemist who can suggest why?
Jim, mine is in the same "box"...which really isn't sealed from the inside. at least, not what I would classify as "airtight". the top of that box is just screwed to the plywood floor; I couldn't see anything there that would constitute a "gasket" or anything...
a PO ran a bead of that expanding foam around this joint, (on the inside of the box). perhaps they were at one time getting a whiff of a venting battery....don't know.
The only other thing I can think of...and this doesn't make much sense, either, is that the battery cables enter this chamber through the side through 2 holes in the wall of the box; the wires go aft into the adjacent space covered by the banana wrap, then go straight up through the floor to meet up w/ the univolt. (those holes are sealed with a blob of plumber's putty...but who knows who put that there, or when).
you could say that air can get from the box into this belly compartment, (which was stuffed w/ fiberglass insulation), but then where can it go?
doesn't make much sense, to me.
maybe my leaky-door is "supposed" to be that way, for battery venting. and the gasket that was on there was put there by someone other than the factory. that doesn't make much sense, either.
Chuck, that's exactly my set-up, right down to the holes for the battery cables. I'll take a look later to see if I missed something, but it appears they simply weren't vented in those days.
Jim
__________________
What is that line from "Miracle on 34th Street"? Something like "Maybe he's only a little crazy, like those men in Washington."
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