Battery Vent

[Riwright]

I want to put some venting in the rear battery compartment of my 3124KS. Right now there doesn't seem to be anything to allow gases to vent.

I don't expect a lot of gases as I am installing a 3-stage charger. From what I read the largest amount of gas is produced when the batteries are overcharged so hopefully gas won't be a huge problem.

But of course fortune favors the paranoid.

There will be two batteries back there so hooking up hoses to the boxes would be a pain. I was thinking I could just vent the compartment. The top of the compartment feels like a thin wood material. Less than an inch above it is the bottom of the bed. A hole in the top would allow gases to move outside.

What's under the floor? Can I just drop a hole in there with a drill bit? Will I hit something?

A couple of holes (with something to keep the mice out) would give me flow through ventilation that would do a pretty good job of venting a lighter-than-air gas like hydrogen.

Thanks.

[Joesjunk]

I have a 3124KS with a battery vent on the battery box that is vented through the wall of the TM. What year is your camper?

[Riwright]

It's 2003.

I could go through the wall but it would be more work. It would show so I'd need to make it clean. I'd also have to run hoses from two battery boxes.

[ShrimpBurrito]

In the picture in the first post of this thread:

http://trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1696

....you can see what the vent looks like in the 2720SL model, and it's in the wall. Mike simply raised the vent in that thread (and you can see the old location covered by a faceplate), but otherwise, the vent design is OEM. Easy to do.

Dave

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=7497

[Riwright]

Yes, that looks like nice work.

Where did you get that nice vent?

[Brittany Dogs]

This is just a guess but I bet that a flooded battery produces the same amount of gas during a charge with a three stage charger than with single stage but just does the gas release slower, over time. Yes, overcharging will boil the acid producing excess gas. The amount of gas released is mostly based on how discharged the batteries are and how well the battery accepts the charge rate. But gas is still produced and should be vented.

Using a AGM or gel cell battery produces less gassing if I recall from my reading of these batteries but even these batteries produce a little gas through a small hole in the battery (usually in the top of the battery).

[scrubjaysnest]

The only time gassing occurs is when enough current is pushed into the battery to make it bubble. This usually occurs if the battery is over charged or during equalization which is intentional short term over charging where the voltage is raised above 15 volts. AGM and GEL cell batteries don't like over charging so that should never happen with the proper charger.

Originally Posted by Riwright

Where did you get that nice vent?

Stock battery vent in wall. Modified dual battery box to slide over stock vent. Google "RV battery vent" and you should be able to find a number of options. Good luck!