Battery charger safety and location

[JOHN COOKSON]

One More Shot

According to this outfit a correctly functioning charging system will emit a negligible amount of hydrogen. A bigger danger is for the charger to malfunction and cook off the battery and generate a lot of hydrogen.
It's important to monitor the electrolyte level and add water when necessary. After awhile you will get a feel for how often you need to add water. If anything seems out of the ordinary investigate. For awhile when ever I needed to add water to the battery I'd come back in a day or two and check the level again.
There are very few absolutes in life except death and taxes. We drive on the road aware of the dangers and take precautions against problems and hope to hell our fellow motorists are doing the same.
The only way I can attach to the forum with this computer is with a PDF file.

TRUE GRIT

[GregH]

I might be missing something obvious here but I thought the OP was asking about chargers and the potential dangers with the gasoline fumes - the only reference to an answer I could glean was about whether the charger had the J1171 ignition protected standing...

am I THAT out to lunch? What did I miss? LOL

[ndutton]

You are correct Greg however in the first post Barbara also mentioned mounting the charger close to and just above the batteries. Her concerns over mounting the charger in the engine space with a gasoline engine were spot on hence the mention of the J1171 standard but proximity to the batteries opened up additional considerations.

It turns out, and I don't think it was mentioned, all the hoo-hah about battery venting is already covered in her case by the engine space ventilation system.

[hanleyclifford]

You are correct Greg however in the first post Barbara also mentioned mounting the charger close to and just above the batteries. Her concerns over mounting the charger in the engine space with a gasoline engine were spot on hence the mention of the J1171 standard but proximity to the batteries opened up additional considerations.

It turns out, and I don't think it was mentioned, all the hoo-hah about battery venting is already covered in her case by the engine space ventilation system.

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/....H-02.1989.pdf We can read about the hoo-hah here:

[JOHN COOKSON]

After Reading Posts 17 &18........

An occasional fuel leak out of the air intake but nothing that a back flush won't unstick.
. "Everyone" says I need one so I'm looking at installing a Promariner 12amp charger for 2 batteries to keep it operating and maintain the batteries. Is this safe with a gasoline engine? The charger would be located about 4 ft away from the engine. The instructions say not to install near the batteries due to the gas emission but my 1st preferred location would be about 3 ft above and outboard of the batteries, bolted to the deep locker bulkhead separating locker from cabin. Thoughts on safety a/o location issues? Thanks.

If it is any comfort to BLH I have my charger (actually it's a maintainer) bolted high up on a locker bulkhead about 4 feet above the batteries and ~ 1 foot outboard from the batteries. The charger is ~4 feet from the engine and there is a cutout in the locker wall to get to the side of the engine so the space is hardly fuel vapor proof.
What is with the "occasional" fuel leak and back flush drill? My A4 doesn't do that.

TRUE GRIT

[Van_Isle]

What type of batteries, conventional flooded lead-acid or sealed like gels or AGM's? If sealed, the concerns of dangerous off-gassing while charging are eliminated. The only other consideration I can think of is ignition protection within the engine space. I researched the charger you're considering and could not find the ignition protected J1171 Standard listed, however the unit is 100% waterproof so in my opinion it meets the intent of ignition protection even without the certification.

ProMariner may not list the standard, but the manual states "built-in over-voltage, overload, over-temperature, reverse polarity and ignition protection" Website has a similar statement.