Venting trunk mount battery?

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plumkrazee70

plumkrazee70

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I have a trunk mounted Battery in my 70 swinger and it has been that way for years. However, it has always been sitting on a battery tray bolted to the floor with a battery hold down.

I just added a plastic marine battery box to it with a lid. Do I need to "vent" the battery in anyway? If so, what is the best way?

This is just a regular battery, not an Optima.

Thanks!
 
only needs to be vented if it is in a sealed box, only needs to be in a sealed box if you don't have the proper firewall separating the trunk from the passenger compartment, a marine type plastic battery box is not NHRA legal, I wouldn't worry about venting it
 
"Need." What a word, LOL

If this is anything aside from an Optima look alike, it SHOULD be vented, and MUST if you go to any race outfit.

ANY conventional battery produces explosive and corrosive fumes. "What this means" is that anything in the trunk is open to attack, AND it's an explosion hazard.

By the way, NHRA won't approve plastic boxes unless you have a firewall between the trunk/ back seat.

Venting CAN get "Pretty Red Neck." One "redneck" way would be to put the entire battery into a heavy plastic bag, and tie it tightly around say, a piece of heater hose run through a fitting in the floor trunk.

Otherwise, "some batteries" can be provided with caps with vent fittings or maybe "get out" the JB weld LOL

tiny-trunk-battery-01.jpg


Somebody claims these were used on Corvairs

http://www.corvairkid.com/images/Delco_vented_caps.jpg

http://www.restorationbattery.com/r59s.html
 
If I remember days of being a tech at sacramento raceway.... the reason is in the off chance you wreck on the track ...that bulkhead will keep the acid off the driver and rescue personnel. the venting for the fumes to not build up... same for street id suspect, if you get in a wreck you dont want that fluid coming at you....
 
Charging batteries produce hydrogen gas.

This has little to do with acid, a lot to do with the Hindenburg.

Vented caps routed through the floor is how the factory did it lb super stocks and such.

I would definitely enclose and vent it properly.
 
jos51700 said:
Charging batteries produce hydrogen gas.

This has little to do with acid, a lot to do with the Hindenburg.

Vented caps routed through the floor is how the factory did it lb super stocks and such.

I would definitely enclose and vent it properly.
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little to do with the acid? wrong on that one.... as I said the sealed box and or bulk head in between the driver compartment and the trunk is there for a reason...Especially at the track... good god in the time it takes to run the 1/4 or 1/8 do you really think fumes are top priority? not enough time to build enough to matter...
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.

I am not planning on racing it, just want it to be safe.

So can I drill a hole in the lid insert a grommet and then put a hose from the lid through a hole in the trunk of the floor?
 
plumkrazee70 said:
Thanks for all the replies guys.

I am not planning on racing it, just want it to be safe.

So can I drill a hole in the lid insert a grommet and then put a hose from the lid through a hole in the trunk of the floor?
Click to expand...

Yup, that's how the nhra approved box I have is setup. You drill a hole into the box, grommet it, and pop a hole in the floor. This box was $60 but it comes with a metal hold down and the like. I used to have my battery tray bolted to the floor with the stock hold-downs on it, then a walmart marine box and strap, and decided since I have my kids in the car, it should be more robust.

But I don't think that marine battery box truly seals the entire box, so it's just venting to the trunk space, and you'd need to seal it for a tube to outside to do any good.
 
Two tips.
1) The optima is by far the cheapest battery you will ever buy, if you consider it on a cost per year. Mine is pushing 15 years and still going strong. I mighta paid $130 or $140 for it. That comes to just about $10/year. It comes with top and side posts, and,as its a group24 battery, it will fit nearly any car.
2)Its sealed already. Spiral-cell technology! Just get it.
Just make sure,for safety sake, to bolt that beast to the frame with serious bolts and crossbars. At 60 mph, if that thing comes loose, it will seem to weigh in the neighborhood of 360 times its normal weight.
It stops for nothing!
 
I too am thinking of buying either an Optima or a "look alike." This by the way is a huge change in my thinking
 
If you were going to put a regular style battery in the trunk you could go with one for a 2000-05 Buick LeSabre . They are factory mounted under the rear seat and are designed to have a vented hose attached and go through the floor.
You can purchase the vent hose kit .
 

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blown71duster said:
If you were going to put a regular style battery in the trunk you could go with one for a 2000-05 Buick LeSabre . They are factory mounted under the rear seat and are designed to have a vented hose attached and go through the floor.
You can purchase the vent hose kit .
Click to expand...

you could just run a non vented sealed battery too. still like a sealed rear firewall tho.
 
famous bob said:
you could just run a non vented sealed battery too. still like a sealed rear firewall tho.
Click to expand...

You have to be careful here. Not all "sealed" batteries are truly "sealed." Most lead-acid car batteries are not, and still must be vented. So far as I know, only special batteries such as the Optima type (AGM). Some "more conventional" lead acid batteries are actually sealed, but not all of 'em
 
AJ/FormS said:
67Dart
Before you put your money down on an Optima, check out their website. They're very specific about applications.
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I probably won't buy an Optima "brand" rather a look alike.
 
Well thats ok, I just meant for you to check out the technology. They are not for everybody, every application. And I know you're a nice guy, so I'd hate to see you unhappy with an expensive purchase, especially if I sat back and said nothing, when I could or should have.I have a feeling tho that you're quite up to speed on those.
So,feel free to ignore me.

I've never regretted putting that heavy beast back there.And the Optima in the back has absolutely zero corrosion problems back there. In all the years its been back there, I have never ever cleaned the terminals. And every spring I hit the disconnect, hit the gas, twist the key,and,Vroom Vroom!
 
Actually any comments you have would be more than welcome. I've certainly seen controversy about them. One change "will be" in my car after repaint is a trunk mount battery. I originally was not going to do that. One reason, LMAO was because I came across a cable kit cheap on CL LOL
 
My 300c has a vented battery in the trunk, I am sure it is easy enough to get one with a vent built into it.

Back in the day I put a metal battery box out of a mid 60's van in a whole I cut out of the floor behind the passenger rear wheel. The Box was a clam shell type so half of the battery was below the floor. Made venting real easy. :)
 
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