Leisure Battery is water needed

Had a look at my 2014 Danbury. Leisure battery seems good was wondering do they need top up of distilled water or are they maintenance free ? bit confused as you can unscrew inspection chambers on cells so thought you might need to add water also there is what looks like a little "inspection Bubble" which kind of looks green ?

Thanks

Ardigon wrote:

Had a look at my 2014 Danbury. Leisure battery seems good was wondering do they need top up of distilled water or are they maintenance free ? bit confused as you can unscrew inspection chambers on cells so thought you might need to add water also there is what looks like a little "inspection Bubble" which kind of looks green ?

Thanks  

The inspection bubble is exactly that. The green indication is showing the health of the battery - so green is good. If it goes black then the battery is in trouble.

It's a long time since I've heard of someone topping up with distilled water.

thanks was hoping that was the case

Many of the batteries in the campers do need maintenance ie checking and topping up with distilled water. My leisure battery is/was one Exide Dual ER350. I’d been having problems with the one the bus came with so checked it out on the Tayna website which gives a link to a Exide data sheet. It confirms it’s low maintenance and does need topping up with water. I popped the plastic cover off (not very easy but I think that seal is why the new batteries are not like the old one which had a wobbly cover and needed topping frequently) Anyway there they were all the plates poking out above the fluid. Not good! It also smells of bad eggs. Tried topping up and reusing but still didn’t keep a charge.
Therefore just got a new one. That has has give my the problem of venting make sure you remove the little red transit vents on the sides. If you don’t the pressure will build up and could eventually explode 🤯
My problem now is venting it out of the van. The starter battery is fine as it’s basically outside already But the leisure battery inside the living area, not good. Needs to be vent with the little tube it comes with. See my first post. What have everyone else done.

Some leisure batteries come with tubes but they are not really vent tubes. Where fitted they plug in then describe a circle, I believe the idea is that in the event of any acid exiting the vent it travels to the lowest point of the circled tube instead of dribbling down the side of the battery.

I would say that venting outside is counter productive - a healthy battery doesn't smell, an unhealthy battery may smell of sulphur - at which point replace it - it's toast. You are better off smelling it it won't harm you.

I've also got an Exide ER350, and it came with exactly the sort of tube that ozzyian describes.

Hi All
I’ve checked with Tayna and they say “ I would recommend venting this to outside if it is installed into a living area. “
The elbow and tube about 250mm long is supplied for venting. I’ve looked into this a lot more and feel the following conclusion is correct. Comments and advice appreciate
1/ if your starter or leisure battery is installed in the engine bay, no problem venting not required but make sure the transit plugs are removed if it’s a Wet cell battery or it will fill with pressure and eventually explode 🤯
2/ if your leisure battery is inside and it’s the type that has small vent holes it needs venting outside.
3/ if it has two vent holes, only one needs venting and the other must be plugged with the transit plug. (If you’ve lost it, A bit of duck tape should do)

When lead acid batteries are charging they give off hydrogen gas which is highly explosive needs vent out. (Exide ER350 vents it out via a small 4mm hole on the side at the top.
All major car manufacturers that have internal battery mounting (in the boot, under seats etc) which are fitted with batteries that need venting have venting tubes fitted to the outside. If they bother to do it shouldn’t we? Hydrogen gas doesn’t have a smell, is lighter than air so will come into the living area and is highly explosive
The bad egg smell is Hydrogen sulfide caused by over-charging a lead acid battery. “The gas is colourless , very poisonous, flammable and has the odour of rotten eggs. ... As a simple guideline, hydrogen sulfide becomes harmful to human life if the odor is noticeable.” Check your battery .
It may need topping up with demineralised water to just above the plates. Don’t overcharge it, use a smart charger I have a NOGO Genius2 which I use on my starter battery. I’m not sure about the leisure charger, is it smart?
I’ve also put this post on my original enquiry “Leisure battery venting” as I feel I’ve gone off topic and don’t want Tim to tell me off

Where is your leisure battery located and how are you thinking about venting it?

Hi
I’ve a Rio set up and the battery is under the R&R bed. The venting is a problem. I’m not sure how it can be done. I’ll further describe things in the other post. “Leisure battery venting”