Inverter in same compartment as batteries?

OldSmokey wrote:

TakingThe5th wrote:
I have an electric golf cart with electronics next to flooded batteries. One day I unplugged the charger and "hit the gas". One battery under the seat exploded, blew the top off and lifted me about two inches as the seat rose. Your call -

Inopportune to say the least. !

I suspect a bad battery, overcharging and a faulty or high resistance battery post.. I have seen them melt and arc before my very eyes..

I had been working the golf cart hard doing yard work and was charging the batteries during lunch so I would have enough juice to finish my day. The mistake was not raising the seat to get more ventilation. Everything was in good repair aside from this unusual charging sequence. The petal setup created the spark that ignited the trapped hydrogen gases when I "hit the gas". But OldSmokey and I share the same concerns about the ways hydrogen can react to faulty situations which might justify separating the batteries from electronics.

I my MH, Winnebago put the inverter in a separate compartment behind the same door as the battery banks, but the upper compartment (inverter+electronics) is sealed when the door is closed by a gasket on the upper shelf. The lower battery compartment has 6x9 opening in the rear-top of the compartment for venting when door is closed.
It helps to use sealed lead/acid batteries = less off-gassing.

I agree with the fact, off-gassing is quite detrimental to electrical wiring and appliances. Matter-of-fact, just allowing electronics to sit unused for months can be detrimental. DW was injured in a wreck Feb '16, so our MH sat unused until last week. When we began our short trip the CD player didn't(still doesn't) work.

TakingThe5th wrote:
I have an electric golf cart with electronics next to flooded batteries. One day I unplugged the charger and "hit the gas". One battery under the seat exploded, blew the top off and lifted me about two inches as the seat rose. Your call -

Inopportune to say the least. !

I suspect a bad battery, overcharging and a faulty or high resistance battery post.. I have seen them melt and arc before my very eyes..

some points to note here:

The two gasses emitted from a charging Lead Acid battery are hydrogen and oxygen. neither of these is corrosive to unprotected metals. Oxygen will cause accelerated oxidation that's all.

Both flooded and AGM batteries will emit gasses under certain circumstances, that puts them in the same category.

the corrosion you see on posts is due to acid VAPOR condensate, usually a product of overcharging.


Lithium is another story altogether. they self destruct rather too quickly to worry about gasses.. !


FLA's should not be charged in a sealed container, a well ventilated container is ok, a purged container even better.

I have an inverter located in a battery pack of my own RV, the box is purged with a fan and poses no reasonable threat. as a precaution ( and I'm a little anal with these things ) I fitted a sensor to the fan that will disconnect the main breaker should the fan fail. So this is possible if the necessary precautions are taken to mitigate the gasses. I do this myself as I understand all the issues. for a less technical enthusiast I would say not to do this..

Gas. Spark. BOOM!
If you have AGM batteries you can ignore the above!

DiskDoctr wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
An uplifting education...

I see what you did there! LOL.

My problems occur at a higher level :-)

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
An uplifting education...

I see what you did there! LOL.

Now if I can convince the ocean to go "Absorbed". Salt air is the big meany here. No outside inverters. No inverters near windows. Sigh.

GordonThree wrote:
Mine have been in the same compartment for four years now. No explosions, no corrosion. I'm using Duracell AGM batteries.

x2. AGM, no problem. Li, no problem.

An uplifting education...