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
Hi 2112,
I've heard the "bark of the hydrogen hound" in chemistry class and seen the Hindenburg* newsreels so I know there is an element of risk in having the batteries inside the van but have tried to plan accordingly. I fell safer with my arrangement than I would with AGM batteries and no plan for venting like I've seen others do.
I'll PM you abut the electrical gain for more details.
*Hindenburg Trivia* Herbert Morrison ("oh the humanity!") died here in this town in 1989. He and his wife moved here because it was her home town.
But what if you experience a charging malfunction that causes excessive offgassing?This one got me thinking. There are three ways I'll be changing the house batteries. When plugged into 110AC, off the solar cells and via the van's alternator. Both the 110 AC charger and the solar control are "smart" chargers so I'm not worried abut them overcharging. The alternator is another story. The van's PCM should notify me via the dash alternator light if the charging system starts operating outside of it's normal range but I'm going to add a backup. The house batteries will be tied to the van starting system through a solenoid relay. I'll incorporate a voltage measuring cutoff to the solenoid circuit. If the van's charging circuit starts putting out excess voltage the solenoid will disengage separating the two electrical systems. That will hopefully take care of charging malfunctions.
Even though you are using brushless DC fans that does not make them inherently explosion proof.True. That's why I added a spark arrestor between the fans and the top of the batteries.
.. with time the acid will eat away at the electronics within the fansTo compensate for this I bought 12 identical fans. That's also why I designed the fan enclosure the way it is. The microcontroller will monitor the fans performance through it's current usage. If that current changes enough in either direction it would sound an alarm so I'll know to check the fans. If there's a problem I just pop in a new set of fans.
I've heard the "bark of the hydrogen hound" in chemistry class and seen the Hindenburg* newsreels so I know there is an element of risk in having the batteries inside the van but have tried to plan accordingly. I fell safer with my arrangement than I would with AGM batteries and no plan for venting like I've seen others do.
I'll PM you abut the electrical gain for more details.
*Hindenburg Trivia* Herbert Morrison ("oh the humanity!") died here in this town in 1989. He and his wife moved here because it was her home town.
