Re: [A/S] battery venting

[Howard Lefkowitz <wa3vez@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had an Audi which also had the battery under the rear seat.  Flooded
batteries give off excess oxygen and hydrogen when being charged.  If the
Hydrogen accumulates in an area, such that the percentage of hydrogen to air
gets to 4% or more it becomes highly flammable and any spark can set it off.
The solution is to make sure that the battery is well vented and none of the
gases can be trapped in any pockets.  Also battery gases and any boiled over
water is highly corrosive.  As far as I know neither VW or Audi puts the
battery under the rear seat any longer.  If you need to put batteries inside
a coach than a truly sealed unit (gel or AGM) if the answer.  Here is an
excellent reference on batteries:

www.westmarine.com/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMicro/site_search.d2w/report

Check the Battery Chemistry section.  (Expand the message to full screen so
that the URL is not divided into two lines.)

Howard