Venting Battery enclosure

May 22, 2017
42
Catalina 310 Lake Carlyle
Hello Mates
Has anyone figured out how to vent the battery enclosure, particularly vertically? My 310 and another 310 in my marina had CO monitor go off due due to hydrogen. My new monitor went off due to boat batteries just needing some di water but my friends went off when a couple cells went bad suddenly.
My previous Catalina 27 had batteries in the cockpit locker so they vented to the atmosphere. I'm hoping someone has resolved this issue of venting.
I've topped my batteries off and am waiting to see if alarm goes off again.

I called Kidde and their customer support sent me this info:
Kidde Technical Support:

7. Maintenance
Move the CO Alarm to a remote location, to prevent possible damage or contamination of the sensor, prior to performing any of the following:
• Staining or stripping floors or furniture, painting or wall-papering,
• Using aerosols or adhesives
! WARNING: Reinstall the CO Alarm as soon as possible to assure continuous protection.

The following is a list of substances that at high levels can damage the sensor or cause temporary readings that are not CO readings:
  • Ethylene, ethanol, alcohol, iso-propanol, benzene, toluene, ethyl acetate, HYDROGEN, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide.
  • Also most aerosol sprays, alcohol based products, paint, thinner, solvent, adhesive, hair spray, after shave, perfume, auto exhaust (cold start) and some cleaning agents, and propane.
They emphasized that if alarm goes off, hunt for reason why.

Thanks
Frank Hines
310 #17
Lake Carlyle, Ill.
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Has anyone figured out how to vent the battery enclosure, particularly vertically
That's a tough one as there is so little H2 being released, it's unlikely you'll ever set up any kind of "stack effect" to cause the H2 to be pulled from the enclosure. If you get another alarm even after watering the battery, you may want to consider general ventilation of the cabin as a whole. Nicro solar vent ? ? ?
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
It's a fact of life that CO detectors give false alarms. It is also true that they are difficult to ignore, so vent the boat until it shuts down, check and see if anything could be producing CO near you and go back to what you were doing. The level of concern should only be directly related to finding a possible source of CO. Most important is replacing the unit by the Manufacturers Expiration date.
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
I’m not seeing how the CO alarm going off is such a bad thing. It’s telling you that there’s an issue with your batteries. Maybe some confusion if you think it’s a CO issue, I guess.
 

JRT

.
Feb 14, 2017
2,039
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Good thread, I saw battry powered CO dedectors at Home Depot last night and almost got one for our 310. But see boat specific ones might be better. I'm not sure the need as we are day sailing, motor only with the hatch boards out and usually have the ports open for ventilation.
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
We have used box store CO detectors for years. You get about 2 years from them before they start going off for no reason. We have a hardwired one but still have yet to install it. Tough finding a good location on the 310 where wiring isn't exposed and looks bad.

We ran lead acid batteries for 9 years with out any ventilation issues. That battery area is not air tight. If I where concerned I would probably set something up with a small computer fan to exhaust the space.
 
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