Hi all, when we bought our van the 12v system was powered by a deep cycle lead acid "wet" battery which, in the 2002 Jayco Heritage, is located under one of the seats, possibly installed by the previous owner.
Take care out there.
Hi ..
My 1999 Jayco Westport has the factory installed 'sealed' wet battery under an inside seat. so perhaps it was not the previous owner who did the installation in your case.
Your experience has prompted me to have a look at my venting arrangements.
Thanks for that.
(Edit)
RESULT OF MY CHECK OF VENTING .....
The battery is in a vented battery case.
The adjacent rectifier/charger unit is built into a well sealed compartmen. I put a bit of silicone round the cable entry holes.
There is a vent hole from the under seat area into the external water filler hatch ... but there was no vent to the outside of the hatch. Easily fixed with a piece of wire mesh to replace the solid swinging hose entry cover .. done in 5 minutes. I'll test it out when the glue dries, if I can find someone who smokes ... or a bee keeper maybe. (joking)
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 28th of August 2012 01:00:54 PM
Magnarc said
04:12 PM Aug 28, 2012
Hi all, when we bought our van the 12v system was powered by a deep cycle lead acid "wet" battery which, in the 2002 Jayco Heritage, is located under one of the seats, possibly installed by the previous owner. We woke up one morning to a horrible smell, the battery had "cooked" during the night and, according to my auto elec, we were lucky that it had not caught fire. We now have a 120A/H AGM battery which is totally sealed and maintenance free, (so I am told). I send this post to alert all our Nomads to this problem, do NOT have a "wet" battery in an unvented enclosed area, my ignorance of this could have had disastrous results for us both and, possibly, any van that was next to us at the time.
Take care out there.
Delta18 said
04:45 PM Aug 28, 2012
From what I have read you were very lucky you did not suffer a fire or explosion as that 'cooking' battery was giving off highly flammible Hydrogen gas.
Again, from what I have read here and other forums <fori???> your new 'sealed' battery should be in a vented compartment too as it CAN give off the same hydrogen gas.
Now you've given me something else to worry about. Mine is under the seat which becomes a bed behind the drivers seat. Was there when I got it but of course a different battery now. There are vent holes into the compartment so hopefully that will be enough.
Delta18 said
06:48 PM Aug 28, 2012
You won't have any worries there Happy, that area is not sealed and will be able to vent quite well to outside air.
Cheers Neil
Magnarc said
08:08 PM Aug 28, 2012
Hi all,
If my experience alerts others then I'm happy. Delta you say that even sealed batteries can give off gases, Full River, (maker of our battery) website states that this will only occur where overcharging is happening and a good quality controller will detect when the charge is complete and cut off the charge. I can only accept this advice on the assumption that they know what they are talking about, however, you are correct that, in certain circumstances, and AGM battery will emit gasses. Thanks to all for their interest.
Peter_n_Margaret said
04:32 PM Aug 29, 2012
Magnarc wrote:
We now have a 120A/H AGM battery which is totally sealed and maintenance free, (so I am told).
Not so.
AGM batteries are described as "VRLA" which means Valve Regulated Lead Acid.
They do not emit gas normally but can do so if a problem arises. A valve will open to allow gas to escape if the internal pressure gets too high. That gas is hydrogen and is flamable in the right mixture with air, so in some specific circumstances an explosion is possible.
The best way to avoid that is to use a good quality charger, to avoid anything that might cause a spark in the battery compartment and to vent the area where the battery is stored.
Hi ..
My 1999 Jayco Westport has the factory installed 'sealed' wet battery under an inside seat. so perhaps it was not the previous owner who did the installation in your case.
Your experience has prompted me to have a look at my venting arrangements.
Thanks for that.
(Edit)
RESULT OF MY CHECK OF VENTING .....
The battery is in a vented battery case.
The adjacent rectifier/charger unit is built into a well sealed compartmen. I put a bit of silicone round the cable entry holes.
There is a vent hole from the under seat area into the external water filler hatch ... but there was no vent to the outside of the hatch. Easily fixed with a piece of wire mesh to replace the solid swinging hose entry cover .. done in 5 minutes. I'll test it out when the glue dries, if I can find someone who smokes ... or a bee keeper maybe. (joking)
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 28th of August 2012 01:00:54 PM
Hi all, when we bought our van the 12v system was powered by a deep cycle lead acid "wet" battery which, in the 2002 Jayco Heritage, is located under one of the seats, possibly installed by the previous owner. We woke up one morning to a horrible smell, the battery had "cooked" during the night and, according to my auto elec, we were lucky that it had not caught fire. We now have a 120A/H AGM battery which is totally sealed and maintenance free, (so I am told). I send this post to alert all our Nomads to this problem, do NOT have a "wet" battery in an unvented enclosed area, my ignorance of this could have had disastrous results for us both and, possibly, any van that was next to us at the time.
Take care out there.
From what I have read you were very lucky you did not suffer a fire or explosion as that 'cooking' battery was giving off highly flammible Hydrogen gas.
Again, from what I have read here and other forums <fori???> your new 'sealed' battery should be in a vented compartment too as it CAN give off the same hydrogen gas.
Some reading here if you are interested...and you should be
And here....
Cheers Neil
You won't have any worries there Happy, that area is not sealed and will be able to vent quite well to outside air.
Cheers Neil
Hi all,
If my experience alerts others then I'm happy. Delta you say that even sealed batteries can give off gases, Full River, (maker of our battery) website states that this will only occur where overcharging is happening and a good quality controller will detect when the charge is complete and cut off the charge. I can only accept this advice on the assumption that they know what they are talking about, however, you are correct that, in certain circumstances, and AGM battery will emit gasses. Thanks to all for their interest.
Not so.
AGM batteries are described as "VRLA" which means Valve Regulated Lead Acid.
They do not emit gas normally but can do so if a problem arises. A valve will open to allow gas to escape if the internal pressure gets too high. That gas is hydrogen and is flamable in the right mixture with air, so in some specific circumstances an explosion is possible.
The best way to avoid that is to use a good quality charger, to avoid anything that might cause a spark in the battery compartment and to vent the area where the battery is stored.
Cheers,
Peter