Few more jobs ticked off my long list...
- Thread starter JayTea
- Start date
Im sure someone will be along to confirm or deny this, but I thought for safety reasons the battery or batteries were nowadays supposed to be kept seperate from the accomodation, and vented.
The Marine 1-2- both switches are very much out of favour these days, and independent individual switches are the preferred route. Some of the 1-2-both switches are break before make, some are make before break, and a lot are really poor quality, with issues causing 12V fires
JayTea said:I also moved the inverter out of the wardrobe and secured it to the cupboard where the batteries were originally fitted.
Jobs list is now in single figures...
Not over impressed with the cable security on the plug in the inverter outlet!
Good to see you having such good progress with maintenance and improvements JayTea.
Well done
You deserve a cuppa, or maybe a shandy or two
Well done
You deserve a cuppa, or maybe a shandy or two
Damian
Moderator
Thingy said:
You are absolutely right.
Batteries should be installed in a battery compartment which is sealed from the inside of the van and the batteries vented to the exterior of the van by means of a tube of minimum 10mm I/d from the top of each battery.
If the compartment is inside the van it should have an air sealed lid and the compartment vented to the exterior of the van.
The minimum low level vent size is 80mm2 and the minimum high level vent is 80mm2
The batteries should also be placed on a tray to catch any electrolyte and the walls and floor of the compartment should be of corrosion resistant material, or treated with anti corrosion paint.
Damian
Moderator
Listen chaps, I don't want to start a range war here, and I'm sure Damian is correct in his reading of the regulations.
But, my Royale is now 41 years old. It has the battery mounted in a small cupboard in the kitchen, by the left hand entry door. There is one small vent in the floor, and the door is not sealed. It was built that way back in 1978, and has been heavily toured all over Europe by its three owners, of which I have been one for 21 years, and I'm still not dead!
I'm not saying Royale's way is right, but it was right at the time, and I see no reason now to change it.
But, as in all things, you pay, you choose!
But, my Royale is now 41 years old. It has the battery mounted in a small cupboard in the kitchen, by the left hand entry door. There is one small vent in the floor, and the door is not sealed. It was built that way back in 1978, and has been heavily toured all over Europe by its three owners, of which I have been one for 21 years, and I'm still not dead!
I'm not saying Royale's way is right, but it was right at the time, and I see no reason now to change it.
But, as in all things, you pay, you choose!
Damian
Moderator
emmerson said:
There are hundreds of things that were OK on the day, but are not OK now.
Batteries in gas lockers , batteries in locations such as yours, gas lights, etc etc .
The problem is that any new installation must be done in accordance with current regulations.
I don't know if it is a legal requirement or not, but it is certainly a caravan industry code of practice, and for good practice.
The gases a battery will produce include hydrogen, and as you probably know it is explosively flammable. So you don't want that or any of the nasty smells batteries can produce floating around inside a caravan or car.
Even though the batteries you have claim to recombination units, and are only likely to release gas when damaged, it's not just mechanical damage that can cause them to vent. Over charging, or drawing too much current, then the fact you have two batteries in parallel, could mean large currents might flow between the batteries if a cell goes down, if the batteries discharge fully for some reason, then the may be damaged and release gas. You or a subsequent owner may need to change the batteries at some point, and the replacements may not be recombination types.
There is also the possibility of liquid spillage if the batteries are damaged.
You don't appear to be a person who likes to take unecessary risks, and I have seen the results of battery problems, including overcharging, where a sealed battery physically expanded and was very hot, lucky not to have exposed, I have also seen the aftermath of a battery that did explode, a rather nasty mess. I suggest you do an internet search for "caravan battery explosions" and check out the images.
The gases a battery will produce include hydrogen, and as you probably know it is explosively flammable. So you don't want that or any of the nasty smells batteries can produce floating around inside a caravan or car.
Even though the batteries you have claim to recombination units, and are only likely to release gas when damaged, it's not just mechanical damage that can cause them to vent. Over charging, or drawing too much current, then the fact you have two batteries in parallel, could mean large currents might flow between the batteries if a cell goes down, if the batteries discharge fully for some reason, then the may be damaged and release gas. You or a subsequent owner may need to change the batteries at some point, and the replacements may not be recombination types.
There is also the possibility of liquid spillage if the batteries are damaged.
You don't appear to be a person who likes to take unecessary risks, and I have seen the results of battery problems, including overcharging, where a sealed battery physically expanded and was very hot, lucky not to have exposed, I have also seen the aftermath of a battery that did explode, a rather nasty mess. I suggest you do an internet search for "caravan battery explosions" and check out the images.
Hello Emerson,emmerson said:
There are many topics where traditions have evolved and have apparently served our predecessors well, but any self respecting person should be thinking, is this way of doing it logical? Or is there a fetter way.
I have no gripe with a tradition if after reasonable scrutiny it proves to be the best or most sensible approach, for example agreeing to drive on the left in the UK.
Ah, that's why so many drivers get cross with me! I drive on the right!ProfJohnL said:Hello Emerson,emmerson said:
There are many topics where traditions have evolved and have apparently served our predecessors well, but any self respecting person should be thinking, is this way of doing it logical? Or is there a fetter way.
I have no gripe with a tradition if after reasonable scrutiny it proves to be the best or most sensible approach, for example agreeing to drive on the left in the UK.
Perhaps I should change my name to Ludd.
I would have thought that two batteries weighing about 26kg each would have a significant effect on the nose weight if they are to the front or rear of the axle?
I would have though the days of twin batteries were coming to an end anyway with the rapid developements in the quality of solar panels.
Damian-Moderator said:
Damian, I understand where your coming from, but if it's your own caravan and you are not doing it to sell as a business, venture, do you have to go by regulations, obviously a dealer could not sell it on, unless maybe " bought as seen".
As a follow on to my last posting, I would think a Service engineer could also refuse to give a service certificate due to non compliance. But then again there is no requirement to have your caravan serviced by an engineer, unless you want to.
JT with so much battery and Solar power, I am thinking you will be touring on non EHU sites, good for you mate.
Damian
Moderator
Quote " Damian, I understand where your coming from, but if it's your own caravan and you are not doing it to sell as a business, venture, do you have to go by regulations, obviously a dealer could not sell it on, unless maybe " bought as seen". "
In answer to this question, it matters not whether it is your own caravan and only used by yourself, or in the future sold on, any work carried out must comply with current regulations.
A dealer could not sell it as "bought as seen" unless he removed the non complying components.
It is correct that a service engineer would not issue a certificate as the installation fails to comply, and any engineer worth his salt, and reputation would not countenance such a disregard for the regulations.
After all, it is the safety of all the occupants that is at stake, never mind anyone else who may be caught out by an unexpected situation due to a fault with such an installation.
As for the OP saying regular inspection and maintenance would suffice, I fail to see what he means, there is no way of "inspecting" a battery other than looking at it and seeing a big black lump .
Sealed batteries are just as much at risk as non sealed types, the difference with sealed batteries is that they have more electrolyte inside them so less need to check the levels, other than that they are the same.
In answer to this question, it matters not whether it is your own caravan and only used by yourself, or in the future sold on, any work carried out must comply with current regulations.
A dealer could not sell it as "bought as seen" unless he removed the non complying components.
It is correct that a service engineer would not issue a certificate as the installation fails to comply, and any engineer worth his salt, and reputation would not countenance such a disregard for the regulations.
After all, it is the safety of all the occupants that is at stake, never mind anyone else who may be caught out by an unexpected situation due to a fault with such an installation.
As for the OP saying regular inspection and maintenance would suffice, I fail to see what he means, there is no way of "inspecting" a battery other than looking at it and seeing a big black lump .
Sealed batteries are just as much at risk as non sealed types, the difference with sealed batteries is that they have more electrolyte inside them so less need to check the levels, other than that they are the same.
To add to all this, for anyone thinking that this is an unlikely scenario, my current battery is a three year old replacement for one that scred the hell out of me. We had the caravan connected up at home, and on the day of the trip, I was disconnecting the hook up lead and noticed that the battery was swollen way way out of shape on all four sides and the top. I had to postpone for a day whilst I had the charger properly checked out and of course disposed of the offending battery, but yes, for me, a very close call.
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