Bob C Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 The coach battery box in my Escaper is broken. I want to install a large deep cycle battery in the spring. Nobody sells "vented" battery boxes locally and the mail order joints all want $35 to $50 plus shipping for the larger sized boxes. Can I build one from wood and vent it out the same hose that my old small sized box uses? I saw what I thought was a wooden battery box in one of "waiter's" posts. Is this ok to do this? I would think that as long as it seals up and not conductive it should work. I also like the way that he installed his inverter. I just bought a 750 w and was thinking about using his idea on the location for the install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craige Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 My battery box vented thru a grill to the outside. I wanted to add a second battery so I removed the old one and built a bigger one in its place. I used an FRP covered plywood that I got from Home Depot. I put the FRP on the inside and sealed it with silicon caulk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 A little caution about putting the inverter too close to the battery the out gas from a charging battery will corrode the board in the inverter unless it's very well vented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Bob; What you seen was a piece of plywood that was screwed to the top of my battery box (Battery box is plastic), and the inverter was mounted to the plywood. Is you battery access door vented?? A wood battery box would work, probably use exterior plywood, make sure the vent(s) are on top ((Hydrogen gas floats up) John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 My battery is installed under the sofa/bed and is vented to the outside by a hose. I was thinking about making the box from exterior plywood, caulking it and venting using the same hose to the outside. I can mount the inverter separately but was trying to save space. I had not thought about the gas from the battery except in terms of being explosive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Venting while driving should be no problem I think the issues would be charging while plugged in as waiter said hydrogen is very light so venting at the top would be a good ideal a big boom might be a lot worse then losing an inverter but you will need some type of opening lower for fresh air movement. Can you mount the inverter on the other side of your box? A truck dealer did a box van for us (Sheriff dept.) that we used as a emergency mobile center and we lost one of our 2000 watt inverters to corrosion from the batteries I ended up moving them to the inside of the van. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 My battery is installed under the sofa/bed and is vented to the outside by a hose. I was thinking about making the box from exterior plywood, caulking it and venting using the same hose to the outside. I can mount the inverter separately but was trying to save space. I had not thought about the gas from the battery except in terms of being explosive. Sounds like that will work. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 I was planning on putting a hole near the bottom of the box to let the air flow by convection. I guess I will mount the inverter a couple of feet away with 6 ga wire that I already have.. Is this wire heavy enough for a run that short? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 6 ga should be OK as long as the run is short. Hole near bottom should be OK also. Maybe find a plastic tray to set battery on in case of any spill. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 I plastic tray will be added under the box. Good idea just in case of a leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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