Friends
I was pleasantly surprised to find a 2006 Lifeline battery under the couch of my recently purchased used SMB. Hopefully it has a few more years on it.
The battery is in a proper box, mounted to the floor, with a hole out the bottom of the van and a vent hole from the box through the side of the van. The hole on the bottom doesn't have a cover and is big enough for a large rat (or small possum...
). The battery box was (of course) just thrown on top of the lower half, making no seal whatsoever. Lots of dirt/dust had migrated up into the hole
First, the Lifeline batteries rock. You can mount them on their side and submerse them. That would have come in handy on my last sailing trip.
The Lifeline website is pretty clear about needing to vent the battery when charging.
I wonder how much venting we need here? I have placed an old scotchbrite pad (very thin and worn) over the bottom hole and covered it with a piece of 1/8 grid galvanized shop cloth. That will keep the dust and critters out but I don't know if I am limiting the airflow too much.
Also, the top of the battery box in no way forms a proper seal around the bottom. The wires are too thick for the designed slot for them. Making a truly air-tight box is going to take some work.
I may zip tie the box together and then cover it with a large trash bag, with a bungy cord around the bottom (there I go again, where's the duct tape....) Seems like any hydrogen gas from charging would rise up to the side vent and draw air either from the vent hole on the bottom or from the poorly sealed cabin air. The top of the box and the outside air vent are a clear shot, no obstructions. My only concern is that, when driving, the vent would push air back into the cabin.
Isn't there a rule about that? When a pipe is perpendicular to a surface with flow across it, doesn't it create negative pressure in the pipe? Any fluid dynamics experts out there? I guess I could always perform smoke tests when driving.....to see if the hydrogen is filling the cabin....hmmm....
I've never seen an under van battery mount. Are they involved? I've got a lot of space where my spare tire used to be.
Here is an older thread on a similar topic. Any thoughts appreciated.
Regards,
Tom
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