Storing battery inside camper?

[TheThom]

Hello, sorry if this has already been asked:

I'm building a pop-up camper from the frame up. Due to limited tongue space, I'd like to place the battery inside the camper box. I've heard concerns that you shouldn't do that because of fumes. I've seen folks in this site locate them in compartments within the camper.

What's your take on this? Does it have to be a separate compartment? If so, does that compartment need to be airtight? Does it need to be vented to the outside? What role does placing it in a battery box have?

I bought the camper used before I tore it down the frame and with it I inherited a Duralast Dual Purpose Marine Battery and assuming it still works, I plan to use it. I plan on minimal battery use: only to charge an occasional cell phone, run LED lights, charge a lantern, etc.

I appreciate your expertise and advice.

[deceiver]

acid batteries give of hydrogen gas, potentially explosive but I'm not sure that inside a camper that would be much of an issue. Since all that is needed to use a battery is a fuse and a couple of wires I choose to locate my battery on the tongue. My rule is that no propane bottles or lines enter the camper and no liquid acid batteries are in the camper.

Probably nothing will happen, but sometimes you read about those rare horrible incidences regarding things like this that makes you one of those unusual statistics. I think about that when making decisions like this.

[Martiangod]

Battery must be vented to the outside
Use a sealed box and vent kit like this

http://tweetys.com/smallboxwhiteandventkit.aspx
Has a bottom vent cut through the flow for air intake and then run the vent tube through the wall of the trailer, Batteries make a big BOOM when they explode

[S. Heisley]

Your best bet for an inside battery is an AGM/wheelchair battery. They give off very little gas, even while being charged. However, as an extra precaution, you can get a battery box to contain the battery. Those are intended to be vented to the outside, to carry away any fumes that might be present. You would definitely want to isolate and vent a standard acid battery.

[GuitarPhotog]

My AGM battery is inside my trailer, in a somewhat ventilated area. My understanding is that sealed AGM batteries do not emit hydrogen unless they are catastrophically over-charged, at which point the battery vents H2 to prevent explosion.

My deep-cycle Marine AGM battery was almost 2X what a conventional wet-cell battery cost, but in my opinion it's worth the cost.

If you are using a wet-cell battery, I suggest putting it in a vented space, with some kind of containment in case of spillage.

<Chas>

[Shadow Catcher]

I went with an AGM battery because I do not want the hassles of a wet cell (adding water etc.) and the location for the battery is in with charge controllers and air pump.
An easy solution is

[eamarquardt]

Over 21 million VW Bugs were produced and they all had the battery inside the car and not vented to the outside. Even with folks smoking and other activities there are no reports of a Bug blowing up due to the hydrogen released during charging. I did have a voltage regulator fail which resulted in the battery being overcharged. I did note the sulfuric acid fumes though.

Cheers,

Gus

[CarlLaFong]

Over 21 million VW Bugs were produced and they all had the battery inside the car and not vented to the outside. Even with folks smoking and other activities there are no reports of a Bug blowing up due to the hydrogen released during charging. I did have a voltage regulator fail which resulted in the battery being overcharged. I did note the sulfuric acid fumes though.

Cheers,

Gus

Good point. Safety is important, but there's no need in being paranoid about batteries. The small amount of hydrogen, emitted while charging, will quickly dissipate. I would err on the side of caution and vent it anyway.
I put a battery in my old bug, years ago, that was too tall. When my friends got in the back seat, the springs shorted it out and damned near caught my seat on fire

[eamarquardt]

Over 21 million VW Bugs were produced and they all had the battery inside the car and not vented to the outside. Even with folks smoking and other activities there are no reports of a Bug blowing up due to the hydrogen released during charging. I did have a voltage regulator fail which resulted in the battery being overcharged. I did note the sulfuric acid fumes though.

Cheers,

Gus

Good point. Safety is important, but there's no need in being paranoid about batteries. The small amount of hydrogen, emitted while charging, will quickly dissipate. I would err on the side of caution and vent it anyway.
I put a battery in my old bug, years ago, that was too tall. When my friends got in the back seat, the springs shorted it out and damned near caught my seat on fire

Yes, there was a little plastic guard that went over the positive terminal to prevent the terminal from contacting the springs of the back seat. Very important, ha. I think that may have been the origin of the term "hot seat".

At 21,000,000 to zero, I think the odds are you'll never have a problem with an unvented battery. I don't think you'd ever get close to the correct mixture for combustion/explosion.

Cheers,

Gus

Cheers,

Gus

[Treeview]

From what I understand about battery safety related to hydrogen off gassing is the small 'cloud' that 'might' hover around the water caps of a battery that's being charged. If the wrong set of circumstances comes together...especially removing a jumper cable, there could be an explosion.

If this were as dangerous a set of conditions as people think there would be more first or second hand stories about battery explosions. In my 58 years I only know of one explosion. This was when a battery was being jump started in minus 20f temps. My buddy had connected the jumpers and told the driver to wait for a little while to build up the charge. When he looked over the bumper into the battery compartment he saw that one of the jumper clamps was cockeyed. At the same time he jiggled the clamp the driver hit the starter....boom! Fortunately for my buddy the battery was under some body work and the bulk of the acid and shrapnel was deflected away. He was the grounds maintenance guy at a hospital so he ran inside and got cleaned up. No damage...whew! If the driver hadn't hit the key nothing would have happened, I'm sure of that.

All of this blathering aside venting is always a good precaution, but don't get manic about it. Shoot...driving on the roads in the US is much more dangerous...look here--->

http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

[eamarquardt]

From what I understand about battery safety related to hydrogen off gassing is the small 'cloud' that 'might' hover around the water caps of a battery that's being charged. If the wrong set of circumstances comes together...especially removing a jumper cable, there could be an explosion.

If this were as dangerous a set of conditions as people think there would be more first or second hand stories about battery explosions. In my 58 years I only know of one explosion. This was when a battery was being jump started in minus 20f temps. My buddy had connected the jumpers and told the driver to wait for a little while to build up the charge. When he looked over the bumper into the battery compartment he saw that one of the jumper clamps was cockeyed. At the same time he jiggled the clamp the driver hit the starter....boom! Fortunately for my buddy the battery was under some body work and the bulk of the acid and shrapnel was deflected away. He was the grounds maintenance guy at a hospital so he ran inside and got cleaned up. No damage...whew! If the driver hadn't hit the key nothing would have happened, I'm sure of that.

All of this blathering aside venting is always a good precaution, but don't get manic about it. Shoot...driving on the roads in the US is much more dangerous...look here--->

http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

I had an explosion also. I purchased a new battery and was placing it in the trunk of my wife's car. She doesn't keep a very neat trunk or car. Anyway when I set the battery down there was an explosion and I was sprayed in the face and eyes. My life flashed before me!!!!!!! It took a few moments to realize that my wife had a soda can in her trunk (which is odd because she doesn't drink soda). I had set the battery on the thin aluminum soda can and it was punctured and sprayed me with soda. It took a few, very tense, moments to realize it was soda and not acid.

Cheers,

Gus

[Breytie]

I also know of one battery explosion, again in a jump-start situation in a car.
Lead-acid batteries, whether flooded, gel or AGM, may also build up pressure under extreme discharge rates and blow off a steam and acid mist.

So use belt and braces: Fuse close to the battery pole and vent to the outside. Try for a vent in the top of the box, leading up, so the light Hydrogen can rise up and out.

If the acid fumes worry you, how about a few cloth bags filled with bicarb of soda around the battery to help catch and neutralize the acid fumes before it reaches sensitive places?

[S. Heisley]

Over 21 million VW Bugs were produced and they all had the battery inside the car and not vented to the outside. Even with folks smoking and other activities there are no reports of a Bug blowing up due to the hydrogen released during charging. I did have a voltage regulator fail which resulted in the battery being overcharged. I did note the sulfuric acid fumes though.

Cheers,

Gus

A couple caveats that I would consider in the VW situation: 1) Be certain that you are not sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor. Rise above the situation to at least a VW height of sleeping. 2) I understand that at least some of those VW's had at a floor drain near the battery, to drain off spills that might occur from over-filling the battery with water. Both the acid and the water might damage your wood floor.

I still say that it is best to use a battery box and vent it to the outside. For the price of $24 for the box and the small amount of added effort, your health and future are worth it.

[Shadow Catcher]

The old VW generators did not put out a great deal of amps but you could get an alternator that would put out 55 amps. I doubt there was much chance of boiling the battery. Which is what happened to the battery in CR, because the trailer was wired wrong. Can you get away with not venting? Most of the time yes but it is fairly spectacular when you don't

http://mechanicsupport.blogspot.com/201 ... osion.html

http://www.rayvaughan.com/battery_safety.htm

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-for ... dvice.html