Toxic battery fumes!

[FestivaGuy37]

I was told by several people that I am going to die of toxic battery fumes. My battery is located in my festiva right under the dash glove box. Does anyone know if it truely is really bad for me or is it malarkey. People put batteries in open trunk hatch backs.

[project b6t]

if it isn't a sealed battery (optima) it is supposed to in a sealed box with a hose air vent going out side. Acid fumes are bad :roll:

[Dave G]

I've had two cars that were designed with the battery inside (MG & VW). On the other hand, those fumes just can't be good for you... I would think it would be best to put it in the engine compartment if at all possible.

[Deathshead]

There is alot of wives' tales about batterys, just like the one where "they say" that you should never smoke a cigarette with the hood open near the battery. How many people have you ever heard were blown up by smoking near a battery?

especially when there is all kinds of sparks that can come from, battery terminals,altenator, plug wires, coil, etc etc..



And ya, All aircooled vw's had batterys under the back seat, among other makes and models.

[oxbrain]

In any other car, I'd say never do it. The fumes are poisonous. In a car like the festiva though, which isn't exactly air tight, go for it.

When I was testing my engine I left the exhaust unhooked just before the cat. No exhaust smell at all.

[project b6t]

yeah i was just saying, its a lot safer if you spend the 40$ to get a battery box kit.

[mechanicaldj]

There is alot of wives' tales about batteries, just like the one where "they say" that you should never smoke a cigarette with the hood open near the battery. How many people have you ever heard were blown up by smoking near a battery?

i think you missed something:

never smoke near a CHARGING battery,
the battery can produce HYDROGEN gas, which for some silly reason likes to blow up if ignited :roll:

[oxbrain]

A car battery doesn't make that much though. Maybe a couple grams of h2, not enough for you to even notice.

Now an electric car that is sealed and you charge it can be a hazard. Same with forklift batteries.

[FestivaGuy37]

battery fumes

Well maybe I'll get one of those sealed battery containers just in case. Well cigarettes will probably kill me first, and the festiva does have a lot of air flow to it. We shall see.

[Kraig]

Battery

Ever seen a car battery blow up? It's makes enough hydrogen to make quite the explosion ............

[mechanicaldj]

and i have a question,

why is the battery located up front anyway?
for better weight ratio (front to back) it should be located in the back of the car

[5.0zone]

I have seen a battery explode, blow the entire top off. Nearly scared the crap out of me. I was about 2 foot away from it when it went.

[packrat427]

I have been boiling my battery all day!! creating all kinds of hydrogen gas .
I have 1 cell that is dead ,just started yesterday ,done the shake shake to try to reduce the pile of deposits that have built up and are touching the bottom of the plates grounding it out ,I did nothing for a while ,then finally I started to see MORE HYDROGEN GAS coming from that cell :lol:

It was a success,finally the battery showed signs of charging in the front cell after cooking it all night ,I load tested it today ,with my Milton battery tester for 10 sec ,it never dropped below 500 amps .
I think it will live a while longer.

[gdawgs]

[quote="Deathshead"]How many people have you ever heard were blown up by smoking near a battery?
[quote]

I know of two people who have had batteries explode on them. Not a good thing. Luckily they weren't severely injured, but it could definitely cause some serious damage.

Why on Earth do you guys put your batteries inside anyway??? There's a perfectly good spot for it under the hood. Who gives a rat's kiester about weight distribution, it's a Festiva not a friggin' Indy car!