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Old 15-10-2016, 06:15   #31
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

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Has anyone ever heard of a battery box explosion?
I've heard of frozen batteries exploding when you tried to jump start them on an automobile, but have never heard of any others?

Worry about the Propane, hydrogen I believe won't be an issue unless you seal the batteries in.
No.

It's not a problem but, as we see here, it is another of those myths which get perpetuated. Like trucks and automobiles, batteries are safely co-located in engine compartments without any danger where ventilation is essentially the same. In fact, diesels draw so much air that boat engine compartments are inherently better ventilated than the typical automobile engine compartment.
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Old 15-10-2016, 06:29   #32
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

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No.

It's not a problem but, as we see here, it is another of those myths which get perpetuated. Like trucks and automobiles, batteries are safely co-located in engine compartments without any danger where ventilation is essentially the same. In fact, diesels draw so much air that boat engine compartments are inherently better ventilated than the typical automobile engine compartment.
And you naturally have the engine running allways while charging..
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Old 15-10-2016, 07:01   #33
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

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Good bilge blowers are ignition protected
suck sees the source gas go straight through it
blow means the gas moved is just air
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Old 15-10-2016, 12:11   #34
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

On our own boat (small) there is only natural ventilation.

On a boat I work for (big) ventilation is forced. A continuously running system based on 12V brushless fans like you see in PC components shops.

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Old 15-10-2016, 12:15   #35
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

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Originally Posted by S/V Illusion View Post
No.

It's not a problem but, as we see here, it is another of those myths which get perpetuated. Like trucks and automobiles, batteries are safely co-located in engine compartments without any danger where ventilation is essentially the same. In fact, diesels draw so much air that boat engine compartments are inherently better ventilated than the typical automobile engine compartment.
No its not a problem? Only 3 or 4 posters have related tales of hydrogen gas exploding. Get doused with acid when a battery blows apart and see how much of a problem this isn't.
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Old 15-10-2016, 14:44   #36
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

Batteries on boats are typically installed in battery boxes.

This entire thread is based on the assumption that boat designers and manufacturers don't know what they are doing. I believe that for the most part, they do.

I would think a boater faces a greater risk of hitting an underwater object, holing the boat and sinking than having a hydrogen gas explosion from improperly installed batteries unless of course, he installed them himself and ignored all the ABYC specifications.

If you really feel the need to remove all risk, I suggest selling your boat and buying a condo well inland.
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Old 15-10-2016, 14:56   #37
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

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originally posted by rwidman;
Batteries on boats are typically installed in battery boxes.

This entire thread is based on the assumption that boat designers and manufacturers don't know what they are doing. I believe that for the most part, they do.
I beg to differ. How many boats have you seen that were equipped electrically to go cruising right out of the box? Most long term cruisers/liveaboards upgrade their battery and charging systems considerably. The batteries end up in all kinds of configurations with much larger chargers and alternators charging them, sometimes with external regulators, sometimes not.
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Old 15-10-2016, 15:01   #38
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

One boat I work on has the batteries under the wheelhouse floor. Two big 50mm tubes run up port and stb and ventilate the space outside through the sides of the wheel house with a rainproof cowl vent. Works well, they have never exploded! Also keeps the bilges well vented and condensation free.

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Old 15-10-2016, 15:25   #39
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

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I beg to differ. How many boats have you seen that were equipped electrically to go cruising right out of the box? .....................
Mine was.
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Old 15-10-2016, 17:37   #40
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

On Diesel Electric Submarines, the battery compartment is vented to the engine intakes.

On Gilana, we have a sealed wood and GRP box. The lid clamps down on a solid neoprene O-ring with 6 over-center cam latches. The electrical cables enter through compression glands. There is a 1" hose fitted to the lid and one at the bottom, rubber hoses go up to the deck where they attach to the base of Swan-Neck tubes. There is a gauze anti-flash screen in both hoses.

There is no fan, as the H2 is so slippery and light it moves out by inverse siphon.
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Old 15-10-2016, 19:48   #41
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

Quote:
Originally Posted by rwidman View Post
Batteries on boats are typically installed in battery boxes.

This entire thread is based on the assumption that boat designers and manufacturers don't know what they are doing. I believe that for the most part, they do.
.
One could presume they do, but it's not true in reality. Battery boxes, anchor lockers, ventilation and accessible seacocks just a few details gone south in many production boats.
If your boat has them sorted out properly good for you

What comes to risk it's small but there's the fifth essential lurking behind you and earning a point into the black box every now and then pays in the end
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Old 15-10-2016, 19:59   #42
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

Well guys; about this subject of keeping batteries cooler and vented from explosive gasses, we surely had lots of ideas and thoughts that some of us considered important.
We even learned what commercial boats and submarines do, and that a steel shed on deck may block our visibility forward.
The volume calculator shows us that the smaller the enclosure is, the higher the concentration of Hydrogen and the 4% figure is reached faster, so we should have a way to evacuate it and simply by making a hole at the bottom, on one side of the enclosure and another one at the top, on the opposite side, venting away somewhere, would help somewhat with the fear of blowing things up.
But to keep the batteries cooler so they last longer and charge higher and faster, more venting is necessary. That is why the small computer fan was suggested, and if it would blow onto the hot alternator, it would lower it's temperature while the concentration of Hydrogen would be not strong enough to ignite, which takes care of five problems at the same time: Reducing Hydrogen gas concentration to prevent an explosion, cooling batteries and cooling the alternator so they can charge higher and faster, besides reducing the corrosion on all those connections and components and blowing away those stinky battery acid smells.
So why not make the venting system with 3" or 4" flexible ducts as for the typical bilge blower. It's not a complicated modification and has many advantages.
Yes, add a switch for the little brushless computer fan when solar, shore or wind charging. Thanks for sharing !. Slowpoker.
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Old 09-11-2016, 21:53   #43
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Re: Ideas for ventilating battery compartment

You might be able to find a solution here Boat Engine Room Ventilation Fans and Marine Pumps*| JEC Marine who supply dc brushless marine engine room fans
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