John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Feb 20, 2014 11:45:01 GMT -8
Do you have a recomendation on how to ventilate a battery if you put it inside? Also, recommendations for a battery?
Venting a battery is not hard, just make sure it's in a sealed box, and has a plastic tube venting it to atmosphere under the trailer.
But here's the MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER. If your working with a battery mounted inside a battery box, no mater if the box is mounted inside or outside the trailer, it's going to have hydrogen fumes around it. The fumes are very explosive with only a small spark. You can do two things that will greatly minimize the safety risk. 1) Never disconnect the cable at the battery end, disconnect the ground cable end "away from the battery first". 2) Blow a little air inside and around the box after you remove the lid to dilute the hydrogen gases which tend to just lay in the box.
As Bill already mentioned a battery explosion is no laughing matter, but it is easily managed with proper working methods.
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Mar 15, 2014 13:15:36 GMT -8
Good tip about disconnecting the other end of the cables from the battery, but hydrogen's much lighter than air, it can't "lay in the box"...
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ladywendolyn
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1964 Golden Falcon
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Post by ladywendolyn on Mar 15, 2014 15:45:24 GMT -8
Is there a way I can bookmark this thread so that I can find it when we start our wiring in the spring?
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Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Mar 15, 2014 16:58:34 GMT -8
Top bar, "Prev" "1" "2" "Next" Actions>
Bookmark is in the dropdowns under actions.
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Mar 21, 2014 13:10:52 GMT -8
For battery venting, I'd put in two: an upper escape vent for the lighter hydrogen, and a lower inlet for fresh air. With the right-shaped fitting underneath the trailer on the inlet vent, one could use the air movement while towing to "power" the ventilation.
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John Palmer
Senior Member
Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Mar 22, 2014 20:44:17 GMT -8
For battery venting, I'd put in two: an upper escape vent for the lighter hydrogen, and a lower inlet for fresh air. With the right-shaped fitting underneath the trailer on the inlet vent, one could use the air movement while towing to "power" the ventilation. I like your idea. Kind of like a vented engine compartment on a boat, with an inlet and outlet.
It would be easy to fab, and would be out of sight.
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Post by bigbill on Mar 23, 2014 3:41:44 GMT -8
Don't forget to make it mouse resistant.
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restoguy
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Undetermined so far 1500 Shasta
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Post by restoguy on Mar 23, 2014 13:17:38 GMT -8
Do you have a recomendation on how to ventilate a battery if you put it inside? Also, recommendations for a battery? Some batteries have venting Ports that simply require a 3/8" tube to run the gasses to the exterior. I built a sealed system in my 71 prowler with 3 deep cycle 12volt batteries under the front couch I used a sealed box with a 2" hole through the floor and another hole with a fan attached that only runs while charging. I'm using a charge wizard battery tender and it works really good. We can camp for 8 days without needing power. More if we worried about conserving but we never do. Install led lighting everywhere and you will be set. |
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restoguy
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Undetermined so far 1500 Shasta
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Post by restoguy on Mar 23, 2014 13:20:54 GMT -8
Also instead of buying an overpriced box find a cooler that will fit and modify it. They have a great seal and are easy to vent.
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Sept 26, 2015 15:52:03 GMT -8
An old thread once again answers my questions. And adds new ones. I like this wiring diagram. Very simple.  A question about the hot wire from the battery to the breaker. When the car is hooked up to the camper would this act like a bank of two batteries? And if a camper battery was not hooked up, would this just draw off the car battery? And lastly, would the hot wire to the breaker act to charge the camper battery? I know the answers, more of less, but I thought I'd double check with people who know for sure. |
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Post by vikx on Sept 26, 2015 21:28:27 GMT -8
Most of today's cars use the hot line as a charge line. It's only "on" if the ignition key is on. Also, the wire gauge from the vehicle battery to the 7 way receptacle is not large enough to do much but charge the trailer battery.
If the charge wire is always on, using 12 volts in the trailer can drain the vehicle battery. In olden days, a solenoid cut the power to the receptacle when the key was off. Nowadays, not sure how all that computer cr*p works... Diodes are used.
Hope this helps.
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Sept 27, 2015 4:03:09 GMT -8
So if hooked up like the chart suggests there will be a trickle charge to the camper battery but for a solid recharge (unless driving a long way with the trickle) a maintainer hooked up to a land line would be needed?
Can the camper battery be overcharged by the constant, unregulated trickle? Or is the charge coming from the car so small it's a none issue?
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Post by vikx on Sept 27, 2015 21:31:29 GMT -8
The vehicle seems to top off the battery pretty well with an active charge line. I've been "told" that the wire gauge is too small to overcharge a battery, especially with the long run from engine compartment to the back. Just a couple hours driving will charge the battery. I always use a maintainer when on shore power so the battery gets a "smart" charge. No overcharging, but keeps the battery happy. There are different maintainers, the higher quality are a little more money, but less likely to fail. A friend had a battery blow up on his Land Commander a few months ago. We had used a Schumacher $20 1.5 amp maintainer. Walmart did a free exchange for a new battery under warranty (about a year old). We replaced the charger as well, but it appeared to be working correctly.  The battery was in a side compartment as in many Aristocrats. No real info as to the why of it. |
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Sept 28, 2015 4:57:57 GMT -8
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Post by vikx on Sept 28, 2015 21:14:33 GMT -8
I think the Battery Tender brand are pretty good. There are a few sophisticated brands/models, but they cost around $200. Not really wanting to spend that when a converter will do far more.
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