LocostUSA.com

Battery and/or accusump in passenger bay? Anyone see any issue with safety if lightweight battery and/or accusump installed either at passenger foot or front of seat under thighs? I am having a hard time finding a spot for stuff due to the heater and 4” intake plumbing and huge filter for the LS3.

As long as you have it in some sort of box or enclosure I'd think the battery would be fine. Just have some sort of venting system and route the cables so the passenger can't get caught in them.

Having hot oil lines near the driver/passenger seems less than ideal. I'd be more worried about putting the Accusump somewhere else than the battery.

_________________
-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

So are you back at the build?

Re: the battery, I built an open-top box in the passenger footwell for my full-size car battery. My firewall shelf is steel, so it was a relatively easy thing to make a hanging battery box. The top of the battery is just an inch or two above the shelf. If you did something similar, it would prevent the passenger from kicking around thigs they shouldn't and may provide enough room for your heater?

I am now removing that hanging box and closing up that area to switch to a small PC-680 battery. I have had some passenger issues with footroom.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I have a PC680 laying flat at the front end of the passenger footwell. It's in a metal frame around the bottom and is pinned to keep it from lifting out. The footwell's big enough that there's plenty of space - one of the benefits of going mid-engine

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Don't batteries vent nasty fumes? As I recall, I get that funny "I'm doing acid but not the fun kind" taste in my mouth when I get around batteries?

_________________
***************
Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.

Lead-acid batteries do, but many of us use the sealed type that can be installed in any position. Also, since we're building open-top cars, the fumes can't accumulate.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Odyssey batteries are sealed, as in not vented, and can be positioned any way except laying on the label.

My PC625 is going strong after 4 years

Why can't you lay them on the label? I've never heard that.

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

The nasty fumes lead acid batterys emit are hydrogen.

That would cover up the part that says "Don't lay this on the label". Kind of a Catch-22. Maybe it also says things like "Do not drop on foot, with a picture of a flat foot...

_________________
Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

Yo-
On the Accusump part of the original question: My homie James had an Accusump fail catastrophically in the trunk of his TR6 once. Made a helluva mess. I don't know how often that would happen, they're not known for it, but it obviously occurs. If it were to happen with a passenger sitting essentially on top of it, that could be a bad, bad situation. I'd avoid the sump in the passenger compartment at all costs.

My .02, but for you guys, "No Charge!"

JDK

I don't think the fumes are as nasty as the subsequent Hindenburg re-enactment.

Don't quote me on this but I thought drycells could still emit hydrogen gas if the battery started to fail in some fashion that caused it to vent?

_________________
-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

Getting somewhat technical: The Odyssey batteries and all other AGM style batteries such as Optima's are not "Sealed" or "Dry Cells", they are called "nonspillable" lead-acid batteries. They have been around in retail markets since the late '80's. The charging process of any lead/acid battery will create a gas consisting of both Hydrogen and Oxygen. Old style wet-cell lead-acid batteries vented this gas to the atmosphere and needed to be topped off occasionally to prevent the cels from going dry. Plus they needed to be located in a fresh air to dissipate these expolsive gasses. Under "normal" conditions, the AGM battery's valves seal these gasses from the atmosphere. The AGM battery will recombine these gasses back into the electrotyte/cell chemistry. The AGM battery is basically leak-free under these conditions and does not require topping off with distilled water nor fresh air. However, as in everything, the battery can only do its job under certain controlled conditions. The rate at which the gasses can be recycled or recombined, is greater than the rate it is normally created under charging. If your system charges at too high a voltage, as in the alternator puts out an unregulated voltage, or just too high, the gas can be produced faster than the battery can recombine. This creates an over-pressure condition in the battery. The valve (cap) is designed to open under this pressure and safely expell the gas to the atmosphere. This maximum voltage is 15 volts. A few alternators (and some external battery chargers)will exceed this maximum so care should be taken.

The reason an AGM battery should not be used upside down is that this safety vent (valve) will not operate in that orientation thus potentially creating an explosive battery. Actually they can be operated upside down, they just cannot be "charged" upside down; a small important detail since we are using it in a vehicle with a continuous charger attached (alternator). I see nothing in my owner's manual mentioning the "label" or it's relavence to the mounting orientation. But on the label itself, placed across the top of the battery, it states "Not recommended for inverted use"

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

If the battery were in the inverted position, where would the label be?

Yikes, I wouldn't want to get my girlfriend all oiled up due my accusump woes... Mmmm, Synthetic.

I did the braille and it came with an alu cover, so will mount in the footwell. I'll stick the accusump behind the radiator. I want to keep the line to the oil galley as short as possible given the LS motor's propensity for starvation over 1g. I cannot swing a drysump yet and am not sure it's really needed.


-I cheated this time and went with a stalker. I was deployed for a year, so spent the blood money on a roller and matching trailer. I still need to wire everything and finish the bodywork. It's got an LS3 crate motor and all kinds of coolness. To make the stalker different, I opted for Birkin rear fenders and caterham csr "style" fronts.