Mrs Sea Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 We now have a Fiat Doblo LWB and are converting it to a mini camper. We got windows, a Fiamma Turbo vent and a diesel heater fitted by a motorhome convertor. He put in a leisure battery for the heater, Turbo vent and internal lighting. The battery and the diesel heater have been placed in what would have been the foot well for the crew seats, if this had been a crew van i.e under the floor but inside the vehicle. We asked for a Gel battery but a Calcium battery has been fitted instead. It doesn't seem to have a vent pipe and is only partially separated from the heater by a semi sealed bulkhead but isn't sealed to prevent fumes going into the van itself, except by a lid in the floor. Several questions having Googled calcium batteries:- 1) Should a calcium battery be housed next to a diesel heater? 2) Is a calcium battery suitable as a leisure battery? 3) Is a calcium battery safe inside a vehicle with no vent to the outside? 4) Is there a problem if the main 'under bonnet' battery is Lead Acid? Glad to hear your thoughts and advice. Clearly we want some knowledge to argue our case to get a Gel one fitted, which we originally asked for and agreed. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Sea Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Sorry to be a pest but wondered if anyone had any thoughts re my battery conundrum?! Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 1) Should a calcium battery be housed next to a diesel heater? 2) Is a calcium battery suitable as a leisure battery? 3) Is a calcium battery safe inside a vehicle with no vent to the outside? 4) Is there a problem if the main 'under bonnet' battery is Lead Acid? Just very quickly as busy this week. 1. All Batteries should be positioned away from direct sources of heat. So if the diesel heater case can cause the battery to get warmed up excessively then it should be re-positioned. 2. Most modern lead acid batteries be it flooded, AGM or sealed us Calcium in the plates. I am assuming you have a flooded Calcium battery but you have not said if it is a Starter battery , Dual purpose or Leisure Battery. So info on its make/model would be useful. As you have a diesel heater this when in use would put heavy demands on the leisure battery so depending on how you intend to use and how deeply discharged it can get it may or may not be suitable and the Gel would be better as it copes with deep discharges much better. 3. All batteries should be fitted in a ventilated area even Gel as under fault conditions all batteries can gas. If inside the vehicle it should be in an ventilated area or ventilated locker and if of the wet flooded type a vent tube must be fitted to take any gassing to the outside world. 4. No. I think you really mean lead acid flooded. However if you fit a Gel, you will need any on boaard chargers/power supplied to be suitable for Gel batteries. As long as you have an Automotive type Gel leisure battery then it will have been designed to cope with alternator charging. If you have a gel in the enclosed box under floor , you really should provide some ventilation. You do not need much with a Gel but you do need some. Under fault conditions such as when they age or an over voltage charge condition they tend not to release very much gas but it is still dangerous should it collect in a completely enclosed area. Hopefully I have provided a starting point for further discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Mrs Sea???? Are you there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 We agree 100% with Brambles, especially about moving the battery away from the Heater unit. One of the big, quality battery manufacturers lists the life of one of it's batteries as 7 - 10 years when used at 20 degrees C, but only 2 years at 40 degrees. So keep it cool, but ideally not 'outside' as low temperatures can reduce efficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Sea Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Hi Brambles Thank you for your reply. Sorry but we were on holiday and unexpectedly did not have computer access. The battery is a 'wet cell' type Calcium Leisure battery. Make/Model Lion 679 Leisure. I do appreciate your lengthy answer. The heater is vented properly but the battery is not. The compartment they are in has a mini bulkhead between them and a distance apart of 40cm. I will try and upload a photo of the position of the battery and heater tomorrow but too late tonight. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Sea Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Thank you aandncaravan. I was aware that heat wasn't good for a battery but not to that extent. The heater itself is vented and does not get very hot. Only the metal bracket at the end furthest from the battery is hot to touch. As I said to Brambles, there is s bulkhead built between the heater and battery but the battery is not vented in any way and the whole underfloor area is not sealed. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 40cm should be fine especially as you have a bulkhead. However you do need to have a vent tube added to the battery and plug the unused vent port at other end. The tube pipe should be routed to the outside world. Lion Batteries are a rebadge brand owned by Eurocarparts and I have no idea what the quality is like but at a good guess are cheap budget batteries and 110 Ah ones can be found with the Auto Elite badge very cheap. This does not mean it is a bad battery but certainly not a premium quality brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Sea Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 Thank you Brambles. Hopefully attached is a photo of the footwell 'locker' with battery on right and heater on left with bulkhead and some red insulation in the middle. The heater is vented but the battery doesn't seem to have any kind of vent port or anywhere to attach a pipe. We can certainly make a hole in the floor to allow any gas to escape but not directly through a pipe. We paid £90 for the battery which was the agreed price for a gel battery so still feel we should be getting what we asked for and not something inferior. Thanks again for your comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Attached pics need to be smaller than 100kbytes in size. You will not get a 100 Ah gel battery for £90, or even a 80Ah for that matter. More like twice the cost. edit. Ahhhh, you have managed to post a pic now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Ahhhhh! was not expecting that when you said 40cm and insulation. The insulation appears to be around the hot air outlet pipe. If the insulation is efficient then should not be a problem but I would rather see an air gap between the insulation and the battery where air can flow. Unfortunately cannot see the ends of the battery cover. There should be a small hole either end of the cover insert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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