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Boat Forum / Building / February 2008Battery Box
I've read the specs. for Coast Guard requirements and still have a question with regards to batteries. The starting battery is in the engine compartment. The engine is a gasoline engine. I built a tray that the battery has to be lifted up to set it in. Has a lip all the way around. The battery has only 1" of clearance on top of the battery. The battery slides under the berth deck into this tray. It's really hard to lift this battery up and out of the tray. I have a clamp that holds the battery into the tray. Question is, does the battery need to be in a box or is it OK to sit it on a tray? I worry about the side of the battery cracking and leaking the acid. Dan >I've read the specs. for Coast Guard requirements and still have a >question with regards to batteries. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >I worry about the side of the battery cracking and leaking the acid. >Dan AFAIK, I has to be in a box. It would probably be a good idea even if it were not required, especially for flooded batteries. Boats sometimes capsize or get tossed about violently. It also protects the terminals in the event something else gets loose and ends up striking the battery. I'm not really too keen on a flooded battery being in a confined space with a gasoline engiine, but that's just me. >>I've read the specs. for Coast Guard requirements and still have a >>question with regards to batteries. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > the battery. I'm not really too keen on a flooded battery being in a > confined space with a gasoline engiine, but that's just me. The battery will emit Hydrogen gas when under load. The box should be gas tight and vented overboard where a stray spark can't ignite the H2. It should also be about to hold spilled or leaked acid without leaking acid into the boat. Ok? >>>I've read the specs. for Coast Guard requirements and still have a >>>question with regards to batteries. [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >The battery will emit Hydrogen gas when under load. yes, that's true >The box should be gas tight and vented overboard where a stray spark >can't ignite the H2. Not very easy to do in most cases. >It should also be about to hold spilled or leaked acid without leaking >acid into the boat. Just one more reason to favor AGM batteries. They are spill proof, and emit far less hydrogen gas than flooded batteries. >Ok? Ok! >The box should be gas tight and vented overboard where a stray spark >can't ignite the H2. I have never seen that done. It is not required by ABYC specs or for USCG inspected vessels. >The battery will emit Hydrogen gas when under load. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >It should also be about to hold spilled or leaked acid without leaking >acid into the boat. About ninty years ago, a US sub had a H2 explosion at the dock. Eventually the Navy installed proper ventelation. Don't even ask about the gasoline subs. No venting fumes over the side while submerged.. Casady > It should also be about to hold spilled or leaked acid without leaking > acid into the boat. Id add that battry acid in the bilge is not a real problem unless............ there is also salt water. I belive that electrolite and sea water do some black magic and create some type of deadly gas.... ANy chemist out there? Bob Bob brought forth on stone tablets: >>It should also be about to hold spilled or leaked acid without leaking >>acid into the boat. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Bob Sulphuric acid plus chloride salts produces chlorine gas bob s/v Eolian Seattle >I belive that electrolite >and sea water do some black magic and create some type of deadly >gas.... ANy chemist out there? Chemist? No, not really but I did get A 's in chemistry 101,102 This is a legend originating in submarines.[ Battery acid has a concentration of one third H2SO4.] What does happen when a bunch of sea water ges into a sub battery is lots of electricity making chlorine gas by the usual electrolysis.Shorting any lead battery with sea water will liberate chlorine Casady >I'm not really too keen on a flooded battery being in a >confined space with a gasoline engiine, but that's just me. It's done all the time. The top of the battery does not need to be covered to meet ABYC specs but an insulating boot is required on the terminals. A battery tray with secure hold downs should be sufficient. >>I'm not really too keen on a flooded battery being in a >>confined space with a gasoline engiine, but that's just me. > >It's done all the time. Yeah, but I'm really not too keen on the practice. I think I made it pretty clear that that was my OPINION. If you ever had flooded batteries in a boat that got knocked over, you would likely have the same opinion that I have. >The top of the battery does not need to be covered to meet ABYC specs >but an insulating boot is required on the terminals. A battery tray >with secure hold downs should be sufficient. ABYC represents a set of MINIMUM standards. You can exceed them, and it is often wise to do so. >If you ever had flooded batteries in a boat that >got knocked over, you would likely have the same opinion that I have. Serious sailboat racers and offshore cruisers, yes, AGMs make a lot of sense. Power boats and casual day sailors, I'm not so sure. If my trawler or runabout get knocked over I've got a lot more to be concerned about than a little acid in the bilge. I once got acid in the bilge of one of my old sailboats (long story) and nothing was damaged except a transducer cable. >>If you ever had flooded batteries in a boat that >>got knocked over, you would likely have the same opinion that I have. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >the bilge of one of my old sailboats (long story) and nothing was >damaged except a transducer cable. It's obviously 'less' of a problem with a large trawler. Batteries in small power boats, however, take a real pounding, and small power boats are far more likely to have gasoline aboard. I really can't think of a single excuse for not having flooded batteries mounted in a way to mitigate acid spillage. Battery acid in the bilge or splashing around an engine or storage compartment is not a good thing, and it doesn't take any extreme measures or big bucks to avoid it in most cases. My personal frame of reference is predominately sailboats. I guess I should have stated that this is a sailboat. It's a Catalina c25. Where the battery is located, I don't think it will fit in a battery box. There is only about 1/2" clearance over the tops of the terminals. I have to connect the pos. terminal, then slide the battery half way under the deck, then connect the negative terminal then slide the battery into the tray and clamp it down. I would really have to work at contacting the positive terminal with anything. Its dam near impossible to see the terminal without lying down and performing some contortionist maneuvers. |
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