Battery box for everstart maxx marine?

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

Ok, I know those everstart max marine batteries have fumes, but are good for the money. COULD I make a box that was totally sealed, and hook a fan up to it so the fumes are pumped outside the car? I was looking at 12 volt inline fans, and figured I could make a box to hold probably 2 batteries for like $30...

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[DBBOOM 10+ year member]

Summit racing sells a battery enclosure that provides a vent pipe to plumb the fumes out of the car. You could visit their site to look at it and build something similar.

 

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for the tip. You think this would be ok to do though?

 

[smoka 10+ year member]

If you make the box as small/tight as possible and seal it tight, then you would just need to run a tube to vent and wouldn't need any fans. When the batt vents it would create positive pressure which would push the gas through the tubes. This is how factory vent tubes work (not many cars have them).

Otherwise you can vent straight to the vent caps like I did. I haven't found the time to post a build log yet but heres a few pics.

 

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

Wow, that is awesome. Should those maxx marine batteries have those vent tubes on them? I have a port hole thing that I already run my power wire through, so that would be easy.

Where did you get the supplies for that?

 

[DBBOOM 10+ year member]

Thanks for the tip. You think this would be ok to do though?

I used to build them for friends when we were into racing. Made them out of sheetmetal. We lined them with weatherstripping to keep the batteries from rubbing. I used 1/2'' nylon hose for the vent tube. The lid can be attached with clasps that can be picked up at most hardware stores. Also applied weatherstripping to the mating surface of the lid to ensure a tight seal.

 

[smoka 10+ year member]

Wow, that is awesome. Should those maxx marine batteries have those vent tubes on them? I have a port hole thing that I already run my power wire through, so that would be easy.
Where did you get the supplies for that?

The tubes/fittings are from home depot and ace hardware. If you look closely at the vent caps on these batts, you will see 1 small vent on the side of each cap. It would not be easy to connect a tube to that small vent, so I just plugged it up and drilled my own 'vent'.

I just removed the caps, drilled holes on the tops, used loctite super glue gel to hold everything together. I also used loctite/silicone to plug the 1 vent on each cap. Then I used clear silicone just to double check that everything was air tight. I then installed the caps with the new fittings. Finally I attached everything and drilled a hole through my side panels to vent outside at the rear tire well.

I know the pvc fittings and tube will be fine with the acid fumes, but I'm not sure how the glue and silicone will hold up over time. I plan on checking it every few months just to make sure everything is ok.

It would be much easier to make/buy a box, but my space was very limited. If you try this its not hard, but you have to be very careful when messing with the battery vent caps!

 

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

The caps are the actual caps that can be removed to the acid resevoirs? Haven't really looked at batteries that closely...

 

[smoka 10+ year member]

The caps are the actual caps that can be removed to the acid resevoirs? Haven't really looked at batteries that closely...

Ya, they can be 'carefully' removed with a flat head screwdriver. Then when you replace them you need a rubber mallet (or I used a hammer and a piece of mdf) to snap them back in.

I rinsed the caps thoroughly in water and let them air dry over night to make sure I wouldn't touch any acid. Also I made sure the open holes were covered well so no dust/etc would fall in to the acid.

 

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

Anyone else ever done this?

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

no we all just bought sealed batteries like you are supposed to

 

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

Actually I've always heard you could, but you had to vent them to the outside of the car.