Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
House battery frame and venting, Post 6
With the vent fan enclosure done next up is the vent outlet. Here's what I bought to be the outlet on the side of the van. It came from a online marine store. It fits a 5/8" ID hose.
First decide where I want to mount it on the side of the van. It has to be higher than the level of the batteries but not too much higher to keep the hose run as short as possible. It's a trade off. It also has to be where the inside of the outer "skin" of the van can be reached so I can tighten the nut on the vent fitting.
Here's a picture of the inside of the van shortly after I bought it. Look just above and to the right of the fuel intake "hump". There is a roughly oval shaped indentation on the inside metal framework. That's the area I'm aiming for.
Here's that same area with the insulation in place. I've already drilled a pilot hole in the location I picked.
The view from the outside of the van. Having cut and drilled so many times on this van already it shouldn't be that big a deal putting another hole in the side but there's still plenty of trepidation before starting the drill.
Use the hole saw sized for the vent fitting and drill through the van.
On the inside of the van I'd cut the insulation before drilling but it was still in the way.
Perfect use for a couple binder clips.
Need to drill a hole on the inside metal framework layer that will allow me to work on the vent nut so size the hole saw to the nut.
Mistake. I should have used the pilot hole as a guide for the larger inside hole before drilling through the outer skin. Without the pilot hole to keep the drill centered I tried to hold the drill steady. The scratches in the metal show I wasn't totally successful at keeping it centered.
Here's the fitting in place and tightened down. There is enough room between the fitting and the edges of the hole in the metal framework to work needle-nosed pliers. In this picture the scratches have already been painted over.
The view from outside. I used silicone II on the hole edges before tightening to try and keep it watertight.
The vent hose attached to the inside of the vent fitting. The green hose in this picture has been changed out for heater hose which has a thicker wall and is less apt to kink.
The vent hose attached to the fan enclosure on the vent lid. In this picture you can see how the top of the lid is angled so the hydrogen will rise towards the fan enclosure end.
Here's an example of serendipity. I originally was going to have the bungee hold downs on each end of the lid but the fit is too tight between this end and the sofa-bed end. So moved the hold-down to the front of the lid at that corner. Started thinking about how to create an attachment point when I noticed my far less than perfect welding on the battery frame had created a little spur. The hold down hook fits it perfectly.
continued -
With the vent fan enclosure done next up is the vent outlet. Here's what I bought to be the outlet on the side of the van. It came from a online marine store. It fits a 5/8" ID hose.
First decide where I want to mount it on the side of the van. It has to be higher than the level of the batteries but not too much higher to keep the hose run as short as possible. It's a trade off. It also has to be where the inside of the outer "skin" of the van can be reached so I can tighten the nut on the vent fitting.
Here's a picture of the inside of the van shortly after I bought it. Look just above and to the right of the fuel intake "hump". There is a roughly oval shaped indentation on the inside metal framework. That's the area I'm aiming for.
Here's that same area with the insulation in place. I've already drilled a pilot hole in the location I picked.
The view from the outside of the van. Having cut and drilled so many times on this van already it shouldn't be that big a deal putting another hole in the side but there's still plenty of trepidation before starting the drill.
Use the hole saw sized for the vent fitting and drill through the van.
On the inside of the van I'd cut the insulation before drilling but it was still in the way.
Perfect use for a couple binder clips.
Need to drill a hole on the inside metal framework layer that will allow me to work on the vent nut so size the hole saw to the nut.
Mistake. I should have used the pilot hole as a guide for the larger inside hole before drilling through the outer skin. Without the pilot hole to keep the drill centered I tried to hold the drill steady. The scratches in the metal show I wasn't totally successful at keeping it centered.
Here's the fitting in place and tightened down. There is enough room between the fitting and the edges of the hole in the metal framework to work needle-nosed pliers. In this picture the scratches have already been painted over.
The view from outside. I used silicone II on the hole edges before tightening to try and keep it watertight.
The vent hose attached to the inside of the vent fitting. The green hose in this picture has been changed out for heater hose which has a thicker wall and is less apt to kink.
The vent hose attached to the fan enclosure on the vent lid. In this picture you can see how the top of the lid is angled so the hydrogen will rise towards the fan enclosure end.
Here's an example of serendipity. I originally was going to have the bungee hold downs on each end of the lid but the fit is too tight between this end and the sofa-bed end. So moved the hold-down to the front of the lid at that corner. Started thinking about how to create an attachment point when I noticed my far less than perfect welding on the battery frame had created a little spur. The hold down hook fits it perfectly.
continued -
