Ok, so I'm a mechanic for 20+ years and have seen battery's leak and even blow up twice(due to overcharge/heat) but I'm no battery master, so is it safe to allow batterys in your cabin, and under your bed etc. while sleeping!
Battery's in bed
- Thread starter sailnewbie
- Start date
Invest in a "smart charger" then you won't over charge them.... or... don't charge the batteries while you're in bed.
It depends. Are they properly secured, cables connects clean and tight, fluid levels correct, charger in good working order temperature compensated, batteries in good shape? Probably just fine. Flooded lead Acid (FLA) batteries will gas and sputter acid when they are charging. The gas is explosive hydrogen, the acid is hydrochloric and is extremely corrosive. When I moved my house batteries into the cabin I switched to Absorbed Glass Mat lead acid (AGM) and installed a new smart charger with temperature compensation.
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I think the compartment cover and the cushion will provide some protection. As a mechanic you are likely more exposed to batteries than the average sailor but yet you have only seen just 2 explosions in 20+ years. It would be a fair assumption to make that in both of those instances the cars were being worked on for some kind of problem in the electrical system. The probability of a battery exploding are much higher than normal when the battery or the electrical system are faulty and being operated. A bad battery being overcharged is indeed much more prone to an accident than a healthy battery being charged by a quality charger in good working order. Also you do not mention the timing of those two exploding batteries as many things have changed in the past 20 years. We now have better batteries and also the proliferation of smart chargers that will control the charging currents and even cut out if it detects a fouled battery. Like others have said keep the battery in good working order by periodic maintenance and check up testing, keep it in a vented battery box well strapped in position and keep the terminals clean and tight to prevent arcing and connect a good quality smart charger. With all safeguards your sleep should statistically be much safer than your drive to the marina was.
And I'm thinking that with all the past and current sailboats manufactured with the batteries in the cabin, and with the lack of news stories reporting battery injuries, it's probably safe enough. On my Catalina 28, there are two batteries located under the port side settee. Either it's safe, or there are some really diabolical bastards at Catalina.
Both my batterys and all wiring are new and with a dual bank smart charger so all should be fine,(knock on wood) mostly I was just worried about any fumes whether at charge or not. The batterys are marine batterys but have those pop tops on them to fill as needed.
A healthy battery being properly charged does not produce much gassing. Hydrogen gas is not toxic but it can displace oxygen so in large quantities it can be an asphynxant. I don't think you have to worry about battery gas collecting in such large amounts.
Marine house batteries tend to get deeply discharged, which puts the charge cycle in bulk charge - that is where batteries gas, heat up and bubble acid. Make sure you have a smart charger with temp compensation, keep your batteries watered. Hydrogen gas is not toxic, it is explosive. There are battery cell converter caps to manage H and acid, have not used them.
Since you seem worried about something normally caused by a short, are your batteries fused within 6" of the terminals?
It takes a spark to ignite the hydrogen gas. So if your battery storage area is well ventilated, your connections are clean and tight, and your charging system is not overcharging (causing boiling, excessive loss of water and excess gas buildup), chances are pretty slim for an explosion. I've never worried about this on my boats.
That said, being an ex- auto tech myself for quite a few years, I remember well the crappy exploding batteries the Peugeot factory put in their cars in the early 80's. Always exciting for the customers. They always blew on startup of the car.
That said, being an ex- auto tech myself for quite a few years, I remember well the crappy exploding batteries the Peugeot factory put in their cars in the early 80's. Always exciting for the customers. They always blew on startup of the car.
My stuff should be good, but yes the customers are always best! I'm a diesel mechanic which is minimum 3 batterys sometimes four so when one goes your always hopeful its only the one!