Battery mounted in the cargo area of an SUV?

[hidesertwheelin]

I'm wanting to mount a battery in the back of my Suburban in the bottom of the spare tire well is. My plan is to weld a battery tray in the bottom of the well, so I can bolt the battery in place. I also plan to build an sleeping platform that will cove the battery, but will still provide a access door. The battery would be used to power a future fridge, 12v lights for camping, and a small inverter for small 110 devices. I guessing I should use a sealed battery? Do I need to provide any cooling to it (small 12v fa)? Also, my plan is to use this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009Z6CW7O/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009Z6CW7O&linkCode=as2&tag=knowledgepubc-20 to charge the battery at camp sights. I am going to make a stand and mount it under my roof rack when transporting. Am I missing anything? Is this a bad idea?

 

[pugslyyy]

Sounds like a good plan. Sealed batteries (like Optimas, etc) are always a better choice than wet batteries. Shouldn't need a fan for it. You'll need something (an MPPT charge controller ideally) to connect the solar panel to the battery.

Do the math on the power for the fridge - that will be your biggest load. I found that without solar I could run an Engel for several days in 110+ degree desert heat off of dual Optimas and still be able to start the truck when it was time to leave.

Mick Longley used an old golf bag caddy as a mount for his solar panel - I always thought that was a slick idea. Allows you to park in the shade but put the panel in the sun.



The one thing you don't mention is whether you plan to charge the battery from the alternator as well (I imagine you do) - so you will want to set it up so that your alternator and the MPPT work happily together.

 

[Scrib]

I hope so, because I'm doing the same thing! I'm going to use a Deka Group 31 AGM which provides 105 AH (~52 AH available). I figure that, worst case, the fridge will use half of that (~2.5 AH for 8 hours = 20 AH, which is less than half of the available 52 AH from the battery). In lieu of solar, you might look at a Sterling charger.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

The one thing you don't mention is whether you plan to charge the battery from the alternator as well (I imagine you do) - so you will want to set it up so that your alternator and the MPPT work happily together.

Yes I do. Can I run it to my current isolator? Or do I need one specifically set up for 3 batteries? I really suck at electrical. I have a friend who is going to help me with the solar part.

 

[hoser]

My understanding is most if not all "sealed" batteries still have some sort of pressure relief valve. So, if placing in the passenger compartment, it should be in a box that is vented to the outside. Can't really think of any cars built in the past 5 years that have it's battery in the passenger compartment. Is there?

 

[SSF556]

My understanding is most if not all "sealed" batteries still have some sort of pressure relief valve. So, if placing in the passenger compartment, it should be in a box that is vented to the outside. Can't really think of any cars built in the past 5 years that have it's battery in the passenger compartment. Is there?

Yes there is....Current and previous generation Mercedes ML350 have the batteries located directly under the front passenger seat.....I believe there are more OEMs who mount the batteries inside the passenger compartment....not a big deal and I will be doing it on my Grand Cherokee when I got to a 2 battery system. It does help with cg...gets a heavy item low in the vehicle.

 

[Bretthn]

First generation VW Touaregs have their batteries mounted under the passenger seat as well. Not sure about the newer models though. I would be interested to hear if they were vented to the outside or not...

 

[hoser]

Quick search on the ML350 and Touareg batteries and they are indeed located in the passenger compartment.... but they both have a vent tube that leads to the exterior. Chances of something bad happening are probably very slim but car companies are taking precautions for a reason. I suppose if you get a battery designed with a vented line.... or battery box, you should be okay.

 

[SSF556]

Current MY Grand Cherokee has the battery in the same place as the ML350...under the pax front seat as well.

 

[hoser]

And vented to the exterior too.

 

[nemoaz]

VW vans had regular batteries mounted inside the vans. Some vanagons had multiple. There are no vents on the battery boxes.

 

[Eric S.]

And vented to the exterior too.

View attachment 172009

Don't suppose that battery well is a separate piece from the body?

 

[hoser]

I checked a few AGM battery companies and most said something to this effect:

(Lifeline Batteries)
6.1 Release of Ignitable Gasses
All lead acid batteries, including VRLA batteries, produce hydrogen and oxygen gases during normal charging. Even though VRLA batteries are designed to recombine these gases internally, the recombination efficiency is less than 100%. Small amounts of hydrogen and oxygen are released from the pressure relief valve during charging. Normally, the hydrogen gas dissipates very rapidly and never reaches a concentration level that is hazardous. However, if the battery is installed in an enclosure with minimal airflow, the concentration of hydrogen could build up to a high enough concentration to be of concern. Hydrogen can ignite at concentrations as low as 4% in air. For this reason, never install a Lifeline® AGM battery in a sealed or an airtight container.

Odyssey did say their batteries were approved for use in the passenger compartment but didn't go into any more details.

 

[chromisdesigns]

So did the classic Bugs -- battery was under rear seat. And when they leaked, they corroded out the floor pan under that battery. I was driving home from a gig in my '67 bug one night near Christmas, in the snow, and when I slowed down to take a corner into my neighborhood, the car died. A bit of investigation revealed a battery-shaped hole in the pan under the seat...the thing must have been running just on the generator for a while, as I hiked back a few blocks looking for the battery and never found it!

Battery enclosures should be acid-proof and vented, no matter what kind of battery you have.

 

[JJackson]

So did the classic Bugs -- battery was under rear seat. And when they leaked, they corroded out the floor pan under that battery. I was driving home from a gig in my '67 bug one night near Christmas, in the snow, and when I slowed down to take a corner into my neighborhood, the car died. A bit of investigation revealed a battery-shaped hole in the pan under the seat...the thing must have been running just on the generator for a while, as I hiked back a few blocks looking for the battery and never found it!

So the bug had the self-venting option, if anything leaks it just makes it's own hole to get out.