Flooded deep cycle in small cabinet?

[singler3360]

Searched and could not find a clear answer.
Can I safely install a flooded deep cycle battery like the Trojan SCS200,
http://www.trojanbattery.com/Products/SCS20012V.aspx,
in the small cabinet? The AGM batteries do not need venting but are more expensive. Looks like PDXWesty and (many) others have mounted flooded deep cycle batts under the sink and haven't mentioned venting problems. I currently have a 44 A/hr Werker behind the driver's seat but now that the TruckFridge and Propex are installed its time to upgrade aux. battery capacity.

Thanks.

[Timwhy]

Why not double your Werker and put it under the sink?
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[singler3360]

[Timwhy]

You could double the werker in that location, I get you want more and the battery out of site but where ever it is the same amount of space is lost. Good Luck......Tim
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'15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS


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http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee

[dubbified]

If I recall right, Flooded goes through a little water, would vapor/gasses be ok being close to your general living/breathing area?

Only known batteries to not offgas are the likes of a sealed, AGM which I felt more comfortable putting inside.

[J Charlton]

I have 2 6v golf cart batteries wired in series in that location. Altogether about 120 amp hours - takes up some space, but the availability of space with the hightop more than makes up for it. I'll take some pics tomorrow and popst here.
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[r39o]

A single group 27 in a plastic box fits well under the rear seat on the right side.

110ah from Walmart for $70

The starting battery is a flooded cell with no special venting.

So no problems me thinks
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[GreenMachineVW]

[singler3360]

[jackbombay]

When batteries get charged the give off hydrogen gas and oxygen, these are given off is the exact right proportions to burn/explode, the resulting product is water. That is why some people are really opposed to batteries in non sealed compartments, a spark can set the H2 and O2 off and ruin your whole day, but as hydrogen is obviously very light it does not pool like propane and will rise right out the top of the van if the top is up and typically the battery is only getting a large charge current when it is driving so plenty of air is moving around to prevent any build up of H2 gas.

FWIW I have batteries in a plywood box in my van, there are a couple small holes drilled in the top of the box to let H2 out.
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[riceye]

[solarguy]

I live in an off grid solar home that I built I know a lot about battery’s 1 battery that is off gassing will not hurt you. The only time it will off gas is when it is being charged so at night when you are in the van it will not off gas.If you are worried put a small vent or tube out the floor.

[tencentlife]

LA cells don't gas until about 2.38V, your van charging system will never take them that high because car charging systems are set up not to gas. That also means that batteries don't last as long as they could because they never get to gassing V, never mind never getting a EQ charge.

Gels and AGM's are the same LA chemistry but shouldn't be brought to gassing V because there's no way to replace the lost water. It's also why their life is much shorter than flooded cells.
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[riceye]

[bquigs]

[Ahwahnee]

[joseph928]

[crazyvwvanman]

It is only campers that have sealed type battery compartments. Passenger vans have open battery compartments, even models that came stock with 2 batteries, 1 under each of the front seats.

Mark

[tencentlife]

If you think your "maintenance-free" battery is sealed, you are mistaken; it has pressure-regulated valves that release cell gases if you are careless enough to let cell V get and stay above the gassing point of ~2.38V/cell. Without controlled venting what would happen? Why the casing would rupture, of course, and then you would have a problem on your hands.

And only some Westy's have a seat-pillar battery enclosure that even pretends to seal off ("pretends" because the ones that do must suppose a hydrogen molecule is about as big as a golf ball). Non-westy's have loose-fitting battery box covers and no pretension toward walling off the battery enclosure.

The worst thing you could do, in fact, is to seal the battery in an enclosure at all; now if the cells gas you are trapping the combustible gases, and are dependent on whatever vents are provided to allow the H2 to escape, whereas if you simply left the battery more open the H2 would rise and dissipate in air to a mixture outside the combustible range almost instantaneously, the molecule is that small and light. Not that that situation would ever arise if you keep cell V below ~2.38. Which your voltage regulator already does.

In order to pose a combustion danger the battery has to generate gas faster then the gases generated escape the area, and as molecules go these particular ones happen to be the universe's fastest escape artists.

And, as solarguy pointed out, in order to generate an amount of H2 gas that might pose any danger, you would need to have a big battery in a tightly-enclosed space, and charge it well above the gassing V for some time. I have over 500 pounds of flooded LA cells in a tightly-enclosed box that operates my entire house and shop, which are charged daily to the point of mild gassing, said enclosure also being shared with the inverter and all switchgear, and in 16 years of use the only time I vent that box is when I leave the cover off during equalisation sessions where the cell V is taken to over 2.58 and the cells gas violently! Under the daily charge regimen the amount of gas generated poses no danger. That's 500 pounds of cells!

The biggest problem posed by even a couple hundred pounds of LA cells in a van is the corrosive effect of the sulfurous residue that batteries also emit. Apart from that, any battery anywhere poses actual explosion danger if it is mishandled (like for instance working carelessly with metal tools above uncovered connections). Worry about that more than venting some little toy battery, even the toy one can cost you your eyesight if you toy with it.
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Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

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[r39o]

So do I or don't I add vent holes to the top of my unsealed plastic battery box under my rear seat?

Me thinks not because it would be provided if the makers thought it was required.

The box should contain most of the bad stuff my battery may produce, i think. Right, that the idea of such enclosures?

As an aside, my wall AC powered smart battery charger causes my batteries to gas "some" from time to time...emmm.....
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1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)