Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 09:47:02 -0500
Reply-To: Ry <rylincoln@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ry <rylincoln@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Battery placement alternatives
In-Reply-To: <20101001093312.C7WC4.2009768.imail@eastrmwml32>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
When installing the extra battery under drivers seat, I got it with a vent
kit so that runs a little tube down a small hole I drilled and outside the
van. We're not talking about a lot of hydrogen, but better safe than sorry.
This could be done with the main battery as well to address concerns of
hydrogen buildup... something I'm not discounting entirely but that I'm not
very worried about.
$0.02
-Ry
http://www.google.com/profiles/rylincoln
On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 8:33 AM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
> Oh, I don't know the answers to those questions. I just pointed out the
> situation, and that VW had addressed it in the battery box design. Like
> most of us, I assume that the engineers knew what they were doing -- but if
> they did know, that expertise is obviated now, since the gaskets no longer
> fit tightly on most of the vans -- their being 20+ years old.
>
> DMc
>
> ---- Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
> > how much hydrogen is actually produced from battery during use?
> >
> > would the hydrogen actually go down that vent?
> >
> > and is the seal on the lid gas tight? never mind hydrogen gas tight.
> >
> >
> > Answer me those questions three ere the other side you see.
> >
> > alistair
> >
> >
> >
> > On 30-Sep-10, at 5:47 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> >
> > ---- B Feddish <uprightbassghost@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > > How about moving it under the drivers seat?
> > >
> > > Seriously, what is wrong with the current battery location? You
> > > could put it under the passenger seat but that is where most of us
> > > keep their aux batteries.
> >
> >
> > But, with regard to " .... what is wrong with the current battery
> > location?": One thing is the outgassing of hydrogen from the
> > battery. Hydrogen is explosive when mixed with oxygen. VW addressed
> > the problem by small vents in the battery box, and a gasket on the
> > lid (to keep the gas out of the van). But for most of the vans, the
> > lid no longer fits tightly, so the gasket is not functional. The
> > other thing is, what happens when the van rolls, and the battery case
> > fails to contain the battery acid? Such failure is not likely, but
> > it only takes one time to be a tragedy.
> >
> > I, too, have thought about the battery location. Some compound the
> > concern by adding an auxiliary battery under the driver's seat, or
> > under the rear passenger seat.
> >
> > I think Scott Daniel has frequently commented on this, or at least
> > has commented on it, if not frequently. His solution is to use space
> > in the engine compartment, in front of the right tail light, for the
> > battery. I don't know if he has actually put one there. It would
> > mean a much smaller run of cable to the alternator, for sure.
> >
> > BTW, prior to the 1950s, it was common for American built sedans and
> > pickups to have a battery box under the floor of the passenger
> > compartment. Only in the early fifties were batteries moved to the
> > engine compartment in nearly all cars.
> >
> > David McNeely
> >
>
> --
> David McNeely
>
|