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Topic ClosedWater in the battery box
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Water in the battery box
    Posted: 02 Aug 2017 at 4:44pm
Battery boxes will leak. I recall once after a particular rough weather period followed by bitter cold - my battery was frozen to the top in the battery box. I had not been traveling and no amount of days of condensation would have filled it. BTW it still worked and I added drain holes.
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Gene and Fonya View Drop Down
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Joined: 08 Jun 2017
Location: Irmo, SC
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Posts: 8 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2017 at 10:46am
I found mine full of water this morning when I checked after reading the earlier posts.  In my case it had to be rain entering the ventilation holes as it has been parked in my driveway since we bought it.  We have had a couple of gator gushers in that time frame.

The top of the battery was dry since it is above the case sidewalls.

I drilled a small hole low on the passenger side to drain it.

This is an area I will be modifying later on my RP-178, probably by replacing the size 24 Deep Cycle with two Size 27 AGM batterys mounted inside the trailer under the table seats as close to the axle as possible.

I have been using 12 volt AGM batterys to power my ham station for several years since they are good for indoor installation.
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Posts: 6326 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2017 at 3:26pm
I think the battery boxes were designed for places like boats or other places where containment of any battery acid would be mandatory. In these cases, one would not expect rain water to get in to the box. With ours, it is not rain, but water splashed up by tow vehicle wheels, wind-driven rain, etc. that fill the box. Drainage is mandatory for us.
StephenH
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
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Posts: 2654 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2017 at 11:53am
Ours came with 2 battery boxes. One had drain holes, and the other did not. The one without holes filled with water. We drilled drainage holes in the one that was filling with water, and the problem was solved.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Joined: 31 Jan 2017
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Posts: 80 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2017 at 11:13am
Drilling holes is fine but if the leakage wets the top of the battery enuf going to short out across the terminals and discharge the battery.  Shouldn't that be covered by the warrantee? I mean thats just a ridiculous design to put a vented battery box right under the rain runoff of the trailer. Am I wrong?
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Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Location: MD
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2016 at 7:59pm
Rain splashed in while driving, through the gaps in the lid.  Drilling a few holes in the bottom is the right thing to do.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Leo B View Drop Down
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Joined: 13 Jan 2012
Location: Lyndonville, VT
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Posts: 4517 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2016 at 9:07pm
We get a lot of condensation during temperature change.
Leo & Melissa Bachand
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JandL View Drop Down
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Joined: 29 Mar 2014
Location: California
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Posts: 364 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2016 at 7:45pm
Mine has vent holes on the top so I drilled some holes in the bottom when I installed my new box. The boxes have to be vented to allow any gas to escape
JandL
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2012 177
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Joined: 13 May 2016
Location: Hanahan, SC
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Posts: 84 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2016 at 7:26pm
Twice my battery box has filled up with water, I assume rainwater.  I finally drilled about a dozen holes in the bottom of the box.  Question?  The plastic lid on the top of the battery box is secured by a tight strap.
So, how does that much water get in the box up to the top of the battery?  Curious minds want to know.
Ron Rowland
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