# Venting my battery.



## Pushbiker (Feb 18, 2011)

Hello, My name is Paul and I am in the process of converting my Citroen Dispatch 1.9D Van into a Camper/ Bike-mobile. I have been looking at lots of websites on leisure batteries. I am sorry if this has been covered many times but im going to go a bit more specific. i have decided that it is better to be safe than sorry with regards to venting and i am going to vent my battery. My question is on how best to vent. I have a small recessed hole in the rear compartment of my van. I was wondering if i mounted the battery over this hole in a box with a pipe from the top of the box out of the floor. Would te hydrogen produced be able to escape or would it stay caught in the box and pipe? I have included a crude side view diagram of what i intend to do with the top of it being up. Thanks in advance for any information


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## Pushbiker (Feb 18, 2011)

View attachment 1943


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## maingate (Feb 18, 2011)

Hi pushbiker and welcome to the wildies.

Why not get a sealed battery and you will not need venting. If you are doing a self build, you need to be aware that you will need a split charge relay to charge it from your alternator.

If you are fitting a 240 volt socket to get a hookup on a site, a battery charger will need to be fitted. Some of these do not take the voltage high enough to start gassing anyway.

Some batteries (like Elecsol) have a small hole at either end to take a vent pipe. Vent pipes are normally directed down through a hole in the floor. If you get a battery that is not maintenance free, you will need access to it for topping up with distilled water.

Get the biggest one you can and if you do not discharge more than 50%, it will last a long time. It is regular deep discharges that shorten the life of a battery. Also make sure it is kept charged up during extreme cold weather as that kills a battery as well.


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## AndyC (Feb 18, 2011)

Pushbiker said:


> Hello, My name is Paul and I am in the process of converting my Citroen Dispatch 1.9D Van into a Camper/ Bike-mobile. I have been looking at lots of websites on leisure batteries. I am sorry if this has been covered many times but im going to go a bit more specific. i have decided that it is better to be safe than sorry with regards to venting and i am going to vent my battery. My question is on how best to vent. I have a small recessed hole in the rear compartment of my van. I was wondering if i mounted the battery over this hole in a box with a pipe from the top of the box out of the floor. Would te hydrogen produced be able to escape or would it stay caught in the box and pipe? I have included a crude side view diagram of what i intend to do with the top of it being up. Thanks in advance for any information



I think your plan is to put the battery in a box and then vent the box from the top via a pipe down through the van floor?

If that's the case the hydrogen/oxygen mixture produced by most batteries when on charge at a high enough voltage will not escape down the pipe but be retained within the box.

Conventional lead acid batteries will usually have a hole at either end which is designed to have a vent tube fitted, you should fit a tube directly to the battery and direct it to the outside of the van. That way you will not get a potential build up of the explosive mixture in the vicinity of the battery.

AndyC


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## Pushbiker (Feb 18, 2011)

My battery is a sealed lead acid and it does not have any vent tubes. Could I vent the battery into the living compartment as there is always a window open or the fan on and am I correct in believing that the battery does not produce hydrogen when releasing it's charge only when being charged. I have a split relay but I do not require a 240v hook up as it will be only wild camping. Do I need to vent it?


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## frogdude (Feb 18, 2011)

This is probably a stupid question, but i'm curious so i'll ask. How do manufacturers who put batteries under seats get away with not venting? Or does it not apply to starter batteries? My Beddy has the main battery under the seat unvented and so does my Renault Scenic, and it's the same on old Beetles.


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## Deleted member 207 (Feb 18, 2011)

frogdude said:


> This is probably a stupid question, but i'm curious so i'll ask. How do manufacturers who put batteries under seats get away with not venting? Or does it not apply to starter batteries? My Beddy has the main battery under the seat unvented and so does my Renault Scenic, and it's the same on old Beetles.



"Usually" the batteries were vented with a small plastic tube from the battery down through a grommet in the floor. I think the venting was more about getting rid of acidic vapours or liquid that damaged the metalwork rather than the risk of accumulating hydrogen in an explosive range (+- 5% to 75%). The risk of producing hydrogen in explosive volumes would be increased if the vapours were to come into contact with aluminium alloys. 

Some manufacturers may have done the assessment that their alternators (6V gennies in early Beetles) had insufficient power output to cause gassing and just did n't bother with putting vents in place.

More recent vehicles are likely to have maintenance free batteries fitted anyway, which in reality means you change them like a camchain or brake pads.


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## kenjones (Feb 18, 2011)

My leisure battery is vented via a plastic tube from the hole designed for the purpose at the battery top through a small hole in the floor.


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## AndyC (Feb 18, 2011)

Pushbiker said:


> My battery is a sealed lead acid and it does not have any vent tubes. Could I vent the battery into the living compartment as there is always a window open or the fan on and am I correct in believing that the battery does not produce hydrogen when releasing it's charge only when being charged. I have a split relay but I do not require a 240v hook up as it will be only wild camping. Do I need to vent it?


If it is actually fully sealed then it doesn't need venting and probably won't have anywhere to fit vent tubes. It may have a 'pressure relief' system that will vent in the event of excess gas being produced due to an internal fault, or too high a charging voltage.

AndyC


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## AndyC (Feb 18, 2011)

frogdude said:


> This is probably a stupid question, but i'm curious so i'll ask. How do manufacturers who put batteries under seats get away with not venting? Or does it not apply to starter batteries? My Beddy has the main battery under the seat unvented and so does my Renault Scenic, and it's the same on old Beetles.



As far as I know it's not a 'requirement' to vent batteries externally but it is a good idea, especially if they are enclosed in a box or small compartment. If they are vented externally there is no danger of a build up of explosive gases in the box. In the 'free air' of an accommodation space the gasses will normally disperse safely, however there is always the danger of a small concentration of explosive gasses near to the battery during charging. I know, having had a couple of batteries explode whilst I have been working on boats - not a pleasant experience!

AndyC


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