Covering a maintenance free battery with stainless sheet (1 Viewer)

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Quick question, I'm trying to find a good place to mount a couple of busbars for the main battery. My engine bay is starting to get quite full, so I was thinking of placing a sheet of stainless over the top of the battery, which will be held down by the battery hooks.

Even though they claim maintenance free batteries are sealed units, I still have this niggling feeling that there will be some venting on the top face?

Anyone have any strong opinions?
 
AGM and gel type batteries are considered sealed (SLA) or valve-regulated (VRLA) lead acid batteries. While they don't vent under normal operation, they do generally have a vent and can vent under a battery fault condition or over charging. You want to make sure that you do not cover the vent. It may be on top or on the side.

I did something similar with my FLA battery using strips of aluminum bar held down by the battery hold down. It is a solid mount and very close to the main battery terminals to minimize unfused wiring. Problem is I get corrosion buildup around the bar over time and occasionally have to take it apart and clean with baking soda. I assume this is due to the acidic gas escaping from under the vent caps and reacting with the metal. A sealed battery may not have this issue.

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AGM and gel type batteries are considered sealed (SLA) or valve-regulated (VRLA) lead acid batteries. While they don't vent under normal operation, they do generally have a vent and can vent under a battery fault condition or over charging. You want to make sure that you do not cover the vent. It may be on top or on the side.

I did something similar with my FLA battery using strips of aluminum bar held down by the battery hold down. It is a solid mount and very close to the main battery terminals to minimize unfused wiring. Problem is I get corrosion buildup around the bar over time and occasionally have to take it apart and clean with baking soda. I assume this is due to the acidic gas escaping from under the vent caps and reacting with the metal. A sealed battery may not have this issue.
That looks very similar to what I want to do, so I'm hoping that it's going to work.
Plan F is to relocate the compressor, but that's going to take more effort than I would like to invest.
 
I would be careful about adding items on or around the battery that might be conductive or increase the chance of random "shorts to ground" etc. I don't think putting a sheet of stainless over the battery itself would be a good idea. do something in the area behind the battery where possible. I have similar issue, I'm going to setup some blue sea marine fuse panels to clean up some wiring but space is a problem.
 
I would be careful about adding items on or around the battery that might be conductive or increase the chance of random "shorts to ground" etc. I don't think putting a sheet of stainless over the battery itself would be a good idea. do something in the area behind the battery where possible. I have similar issue, I'm going to setup some blue sea marine fuse panels to clean up some wiring but space is a problem.
Agree that stainless sheet doesn't immediately make sense, but I have piles of it laying about. Much like SDnative, I will probably only use a strip just big enough to mount the busbars to, that will help eliminate any accidental shorts.
Now that I'm thinking, I might even put some self adhesive rubber matting over the sheet.
 
So in this arrangement with the battery hold down pinning two bus bars, aren't you relying fully on the powder coating alone to prevent a short across the battery hold down itself? What am I missing here?

EDIT: Nevermind it looks like the breakers are isolated from the busbar itself by design.
 

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