Battery Compartment on MKI's - Venting?

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

Hi, has anyone been concerned with venting of the battery compartment? A lot of people, (myself included), tend to use the shelf right above the batteries for canned food and dry goods storage. It finally dawned on me that with the batteries located in there you are essentially containing the off-gases from battery equalization in the same place that food is kept. I suddenly feel really stupid for keeping food in there. Not worried about the cans, but I have kept pasta and such in there...
I thought a solution might be to add a fan, like those used on computer towers, to push the air out of the compartment. It could be installed in the wall of the fiberglass tray that the batts sit in, which would vent out to the locker under the quarter berth. Fresh air would be pulled in through the little 'anchor' cutouts in the cabinet doors.
I'm not sure if the battery compartment design stayed the same on MKII's....
--Mike

 

[Benny17441]

Vent or no vent, I would not store food in a battery compartment. The gases are corrosive to metal cans also. Not saying the risk for contamination is overly high, just that it would be hard to gauge whether the food had been contaminated or not. Don't know if running computer fans 24/7 would provide a practical solution. Perhaps placing the batteries inside an air tight box vented to the outside might be an alternative.

 

[Maine Sail]

Hi, has anyone been concerned with venting of the battery compartment? A lot of people, (myself included), tend to use the shelf right above the batteries for canned food and dry goods storage. It finally dawned on me that with the batteries located in there you are essentially containing the off-gases from battery equalization in the same place that food is kept.
--Mike

Mike,

You should not be equalizing batteries in a closed compartment. When EQing the battery compartment should be wide open and you should have access to the batteries. The boat should be well ventilated while doing this and EQing should always be a manual and attended event not automatic..

All battery compartments whether they contain GEM, AGM or flooded batteries need venting in the top most portion. Passive vents/grates work just fine for this. The best option is a low vent and a high vent which creates a circulatory effect.

Beyond that the only things that should be in a battery compartment are battery cables, the fuses, terminal protection, the batteries and boxes.

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

Thanks guys,
I definitely have the Dunce Cap on today. If there's any small solace to be had Maine - it's in the fact that I haven't had the capabilities to properly EQ before. As twisted as that might be!! I'm on a mooring and only had 60W panel with a Sunsaver 6.

The dual 'passive' venting is a great idea.
Isn't my new Genasun GV-10 going to try to EQ automatically? I think it wants to do it every 30 days if memory serves.
Attached is a random photo I found on the net of what the compartment looks like. The removable shelf we store stuff on sits just below the height of the anchors and batteries are in a fiberglass 'deep pan' or hanging tray below that.
I'll obviously get that food out of there...but damn, it'll hurt to give up that storage space!

 

[The Garbone]

Um, that is the nav station. And also were I keep my 2 house cells. Mine did not come with a tray but I purchased 2 marine battery cases that fit perfectly in the opening with the handles on the lip and hold my batteries.

I think storing cans on a shelf halfway up the space would be fine provided there is no way they can fall and short the posts.

On our boat I use the space for my DC distibution busses and shore charger.

Hydrogen gas rises and there are vents in the doors and also if you look there is an opening near the bulkhead/hull were the wiring goes up to the selector switch. Then the gas goes up and out the companionway hatch.

 

[Maine Sail]

Isn't my new Genasun GV-10 going to try to EQ automatically? I think it wants to do it every 30 days if memory serves.

The GV-10, when set for flooded, is only 15.0V, every 30 days for 2 hours. Yes it will gas slightly more than at 14.6V but not like it would at 15.5V+. Trojan's & many other batteries charge at 14.8V every day for absorption. If you want to disable EQ on the Genasun then just remove the jumper and set it for "sealed" batteries...

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

Thanks.
I better leave it set for flooded since we never go to a dock, but when I leave the boat I'll just make sure the doors are open. Best I can do until I rethink the batteries a little more. I appreciate the input.
Garbone, yes, the top portion is the nav station and chart drawer.
However, on mine there is a floating shelf, and below that a Catalina-made battery compartment set in the lower portion of the cupboard. I'll take a photo next time I'm out.