battery box venting

[Bluecarpenter22]

has anyone built a battery box on the inside of there camper and then vented it out somehow? Im wanting to put at least 2 6 volt deep cycle batteries on board and inside under the dining room seat seems to be the best spot but want to vent them out for any off gassing. not enough room on the tongue and don't want to ad more weight to the tongue either. I know the vent needs to come out the top of the box i also plan on installing a fan inline. but with the top coming down not sure how to go about it.

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

ok after looking at the wardrobe for hanging cloths at the back end i find the vent that goes out thru the roof. im not going to be using that area for hanging clothes so i would think it would be a good place to put batteries and vent them out thru the vent to the roof. can put a cover over it and seal it so gases will only go up the vent. Any thoughts out there?

 

[JackandJanet]

Some of the older trailers had the battery placement inside I believe. There are a few members who have this kind and they should be the ones to give you advice. It's a bit complicated to vent through the roof, since the top has to move up and down. I'd favor venting through the side of the lower half.

- Jack

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

Jack, did you put your batterys on the tongue? I assume you have more than one if you have several panels?

 

[JackandJanet]

Yes, Blue. I was able to squeeze two Group 24 sized, 12V, deep cycle batteries in there, connected in parallel. There is not room to fit even one 6V golf cart battery in the battery box. 6V batteries are too tall.

Another member has dropped the battery box in the tongue by welding on new holding straps to get more vertical space. He was then able to fit two 6V batteries in there, connected in series. I'm not a welder, so I haven't tried that mod!

- Jack

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

Well I’ve thought about doing that as like could make a lower battery box but it makes it a little bit lower there in the front in plus as a bit more weight and I am eventually one day I have for 6 V batteries for more run time or at least more storage so it’s not gonna do me any good there I’m probably going to be back to either in the very back with that van and I can add an extra van it’s not that complicated the way it is or put them underneath the seat and then vented out the side kind a like the refrigerator is

 

[JackandJanet]

Blue, the extra battery weight in the tongue is of little consequence if you use a Weight Distributing Hitch (WDH). And, lowering the battery box about 2", which is all that's needed still keeps it well above the tongue jack foot that hangs down.

- Jack

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

But there doesn’t seem to be enough room to put four batteries on the tongue

 

[JackandJanet]

But there doesn’t seem to be enough room to put four batteries on the tongue

Not hardly! I think that would be a bit of overkill, actually. One problem with having multiple batteries is that if one fails, it tends to damage the other too. So, you end up buying more than one new battery at a time. And, if you don't think you need to, you do. Multiple batteries need to be all the same brand, model, size, and, the same age to play well together.

- Jack

 

[sam-HILO]

Jack has given you good advice..spot on.

On my 1990 25ft. Classic our battery was installed in the passenger side exterior cubby. The problem was the space didn't have enough clearance to get the battery out without shorting the terminals. DH extended the cables and mounted the battery on the tongue. He used a piece of exterior plywood and bolted to the bar. This gives no interference with raising or lowering.

 

[Treeclimber]

My 2400 Classic had a curbside mounted drawer like yours sam. But in the lowered position, the top prevented the drawer from opening-theft prevention! But after many years of road travel, the drawer started wobbling, lost bolts, etc. So I had rebuilt the entire thing in the off season. Those two group 24 batts were heavy!

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

I understand having multiple batteries can cause extra work, but when we boondock a lot and don't want to run generator I need a bit more power. plus wanting to run a dc only frig. as far as mounting on the tongue with 4 6volt batteries. that is an extra 300 pounds with the box even with a load distributing hitch that is a bit much. 2 batteries is half that but not as much power. still thinking about mid way under a seat and venting with a fan straight down. and out. or even at the back end. I want to insulate the box if at the back end as batteries need to be a bit warm in the winter. Ive got a midsize solar system at my farm house. ive got a battery box in my basement built in a box and its vented outside with a fan. when voltage hits a certain voltage it kicks the fan on.

 

[ROUGH RIDER 3]

multiple batteries

Running refrige on DC with only batteries will run all the batteries down rather quickly.

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

I realize that. You are assuming that all I was going to be doing is having batteries and nothing to charge them up are you not. I have 300 W of solar panels to put on it with a planned at least another three if not 400 W more panels going on the roof. At this point I’m going to make the battery box extremely tight as far as lead wires underneath the dining room seat I will be installing a 2 inch PVC pipe coming out of the top and going down through the floor with a in-line fan. Also will be hooking it up so that when the panels are charging it will kick the fan on so that any offgassing will be dissipated out the bottom of the trailer. I don’t have enough room on the tongue to put in the batteries that I want nor do I have anything available for drawers underneath

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

I’m also not running the propane powered/electric refrigerator off of solar there’s no way you can do that very safely I plan on running a DC compressor refrigerator probably one of the portable ones they don’t draw a whole lot of power but yet you still need to have the solar to keep your batteries charged

 

[JackandJanet]

Blue, I think we're all going to be interested in how well your plans work out. I'm a bit pessimistic, but maybe you can make it work.

I think the propane powered refrigerator is a better option, personally. It uses very little propane when in use and is quite safe.

And, even with a massive solar array, you might not get enough power during a heavily overcast day or in heavy shade.

- Jack

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

Hi Jack, yeah I will keep everybody posted. I wouldn’t be so concerned about it but my refrigerator has a leak as I smell ammonia and it cost 500+ dollars just to get the dog gone thing at least the back in part and I it put it in. Also the refrigerator door is tweaked and is not shutting properly. So basically I can get a DC powered refrigerator cheaper than a new refrigerator put in or get this one repaired. small enough on the refrigerator is my only pole 30 maybe 40 amp hours in a 24 hour day.

 

[sam-HILO]

Battery in exterior compartment.

My HiLo is so old that the battery wasn't on a slide tray. Many owners would be traveling and look in the mirror or get honked at by another motorist that the battery tray had slid open. Good think you were able to catch the problem and rebuild the slide tray. Probably better than factory.

 

[ROUGH RIDER 3]

Batteies

A word of caution, batteries do give off hydrogen gas which can burn/explode, so make sure your inline fan is explosion proof. Also, you should have a vent opening so air can be drawn into the battery box to purge it with fresh air when the exhaust fan is running.

 

[Bluecarpenter22]

I know they are. I can’t remember what the name of it is but there is a specific fan out there design for this specific reason in line I’ve got one on my solar system at the farm. it’s been on there for four or five years and it takes care of the problem because trust me I get plenty of power and they off gas a lot I have not had any issues. And yes. You need a fresh air inlet or your just wasting ur time.