Venting the galley

Anything electric, AC or DC

Venting the galley

Postby MickinOz » Sun Aug 09, 2020 4:31 am

So I bought a flooded lead acid deep cycle battery, and a Renogy charge controller.
I want to put the battery under the galley bench.
Sharing space with an old style Engel fridge.

A few things:
1) It's flooded lead acid, it will surely emit some hydrogen
2) The Engel is in "as new" condition, it has been in the family since new so we know it's never been damaged or fiddled with by someone who didn't know what they were doing. BUT - it is so old it would probably have a mechanical (as opposed to solid state) thermostat. Thinking about sparking contacts.
3) the battery will be in a plastic box that is not sealed nor vented.
4) For weight distribution and good heat dissipation I want to put the battery in the centre and the fridge closest to the wall.

I think my options are looking something like this:
1) High and low vents in the wall that is closest to the fridge

or

2) One big vent located next to the fridge condenser

or

3) either 1) or 2) and connect a vent hose to the lid of the battery box as well.

Thoughts, anyone?
MickinOz
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1254
Images: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:54 pm
Location: Somewhere, in 379,725 square miles of South Australia

Re: Venting the galley

Postby Woodbutcher » Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:38 pm

I would seal the galley off completely from the cabin and not add any vents. Dust from gravel roads and possibly rain can get sucked into vents, unless you have a way to close them when traveling. Also the extra effort, cost and planning would not be worth the effort to me. I would buy a Marine AGM battery and be done with it.
User avatar
Woodbutcher
Platinum Donating Member
 
Posts: 4187
Images: 45
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 10:01 pm
Location: Chicago Suburbs

Re: Venting the galley

Postby MickinOz » Mon Aug 10, 2020 1:21 am

I think I may have mis-represented the situation.
My galley is sealed off from the cabin. This a camper not the space shuttle, so I won't say perfectly gas tight, I'm sure there'd be a path somewhere.

This question.is about the fridge and the battery sharing space in the galley.

The FLA was chosen over the AGM after some "robust" discussion on the forum.
Can't change my mind now, I'd be 300 bucks worse off, and to be honest I'm scratching to justify much more expenditure.
In any case, even an AGM can off-gas if things go wrong
Flexible tube and conduit is cheap for me. Essentially free - my son is an electrician and off-cuts abound.)

So I've been reading up and seems the consensus is that hydrogen rises (I guess all that stuff I learned in chemistry skool about diffusion of gases meaning it all eventually mixes was not true :shock: .)
So I may just run a vent line under the counter top from the battery box to a little vent out of the side, just to err on the side of caution.
MickinOz
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1254
Images: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:54 pm
Location: Somewhere, in 379,725 square miles of South Australia
Top

Re: Venting the galley

Postby MickinOz » Mon Aug 10, 2020 5:29 am

I wrote the last post as I was sitting outside the hospital waiting for them to deliver the missus to the truck after her latest exploratory surgery.
4 hours later we've finally arrived home. 125 miles of trying to miss the bumps on that beat up old excuse for a National Highway 1 took 3.5 hours.
There was a nap for me and a couple of "comfort stops" for my rather groggy wife along the way, but north of Port Wakefield in South Australia, National Highway 1 is a single lane each way of the bumpiest black top you ever did see.

After a very long day, I had to have a short nap on the side of the road.
The road train drivers are pretty damned good about dipping their lights, but the wankers in the 4WD's with the massive LED light bars on the roof are arrogant f*(kwits of the first order. Couldn't give a flying rat's khyber whether they are blinding you coming the other way.
Who wants to bet half of those tossers have never taken their $80,000 poser mobiles off the blacktop?
The sheer effort of concentrating in all that glare knocks the stuffing out of me these days.
Good thing I'm building a teardrop. The road side naps are gunna be outstanding.

As I'm cooking a late supper of beef sausages, I just re-read my post and realised I forgot a bit.
I'm going to vent the galley for the benefit of the refrigerator anyway.
A +45C day here is not unusual in summer. That's 113F.
So the poor old fridge will need all the help it can get.
So it is a question of do I need to take steps to separate the two?
And I think I will.
I will also take on board Woodbutchers comment about being able to close the vents on dirt roads.
It's a very good point, and on the way home it occurred to me it'd be very simple, and cheap!, to use one of the dozens of off-cuts of ply that I have to make a blanking plate secured by a wing nut.
On a happier note, while I was in the Smoke I had 4 hours to kill while waiting, so I went to the big green shed and scored a gallon of Zinsser Cover Stain oil based primer, as recommended by the Rustoleum Australia technical department for $25 less than I can buy it here at home.

P.S. We took the antique Engel fridge with us today. That is how I kept the beef sausages cool on the way home from the Dublin butcher shop.
It is definitely an ol' skool thermostat. The loud click when it kicks the compressor in is very impressive. Fortunately that is the loudest bit of the whole fridgge. If I turn the engine off, I can hear the fridge humming away behind me on the back seat, but it really is quiet.
MickinOz
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1254
Images: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:54 pm
Location: Somewhere, in 379,725 square miles of South Australia
Top

Re: Venting the galley

Postby TimC » Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:22 am

For my son's TD in the event he goes with a fridge I am working out a floor mounted vent fan (12v) to circulate air. There are many 12v case fans available which can accomplish what is needed. A low CFM (or Cubic Meter/Minute) fan doesn't draw many amps. I think I will vent this fan directly down toward the road and supply a scoop to minimize dust under the floor. A larger fan (120mm, ~20cfm) will take care of venting needs for the fridge and his AGM batteries.

Make-up air can be as simple as a few strategically drilled holes in the cabinet. Or just normal gaps in construction. You don't need a lot as is shown with battery boxes with passive vent tubes.

Some options... There area many others. Check for CFM and amp draw in the Q&A section there is a link to specs. https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-60x10mm-Replacement-Computer-Connector/dp/B00006HOMA/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=60mm%2B12v%2Bcase%2Bfan&qid=1597065725&sr=8-3&th=1
Tim
Niagara, WI
My First Benroy Teardrop Build Thread - A 5x8 Woodie - http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=63575
My Second Teardrop (partial) Build Thread - Started August '16 - http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=66939
#3 My son's Benroy Foamie team build - Started July '20 - http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=72877

Image
User avatar
TimC
Gold Donating Member
 
Posts: 1364
Images: 732
Joined: Sat May 23, 2015 4:15 am
Location: WI/MI border
Top

Re: Venting the galley

Postby MickinOz » Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:15 pm

I've noticed those passive vents are often only 1/2 inch tubing.
I have plenty of 20 mm flexible conduit to play with, complete with the slide on ferrules they terminate them with, so that is the plan. They tend to just connect them to the top of an ordinary battery box, it seems.
A little rear ward opening scoop should pull air through while travelling I'd expect.
MickinOz
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1254
Images: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:54 pm
Location: Somewhere, in 379,725 square miles of South Australia
Top


Return to Electrical Secrets

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests