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Thanks Stan.
That answers my question about how the hydrogen was vented from an oil
filled battery pod. I didn't know the acid would stay below the water in the
cells and therefore the oil would never reach the acid.
But how do you rig a valve to dump the hydrogen as you mentioned? Does the
valve sense the increase in pressure and vent the hydrogen when the pressure
rises? Also if the hydrogen is created by seperating the components of
water
and that water was taking up volume in the battery and therefore the pod
itself, and when you vented the hydrogen, wouldn't that now create a loss of
volume in the pod and create a slight vacuum within the battery pod? Or is there
a collapsable bag of oil
that is connected to the battery pod that will automatically replenish
the loss of volume with oil?
Also where would the oxygen go that seperated from the water when the
hydrogen was created? Ouch! My head is hurting again. Lol.
Kindest Regards,
Bill Akins.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2005 2:37
AM
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] A safety
improved, battery pod/motor, using air as a wat...
Cousteau's subs used oil-filled batteries. Each battery was encased
in a battery box with a shallow inverted funnel acrylic lid. The
gasses rose from the cells to the neck of the inverted funnel, where there was
a valve to vent. I'm sure topping off the battery acid was a major
chore.
Since oil floats on water, you can eliminate air spaces without
contaminating the battery acid, and since oil is non-compressible, pressure
compensation is not required. As far as I know, oil filled lead acid
batteries are pretty much the standard for deep diving subs.
Stan
In a message dated 1/30/2005 12:26:48 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
ojaivalleybeefarm@dslextreme.com writes:
That sounds very thorough, but on the epoxying
the end of the wires you might want to look at Dan Lance's Submersible
Penetrators presentation at the 2004 convention. It takes what you are
doing a little bit further and adds a layer of safety precaution.
There is a connection incased in the epoxy that in case of it getting pulled
out the wires simply separate leaving an epoxy seal at the
transition.
By using gel batteries can the hydrogen
gas problem be mitigated? I was planning on using gel batteries or
AGM.
I have been considering filling my whole
battery compartment with oil. As long as I make that space as minimal
as possible the actual amount of oil used will not be very great. Also
the pod for the batteries does not have to withstand the ambient
pressure so it can be made out of a lighter material and it does not
have to be cylindrical. I am planning on using mineral
oil. If the batteries need to be inspected or replaced then I would
drain out the couple of gallons of mineral oil at that point. Then
refill the space with oil upon completion of battery change
out.
Brian
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