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Dear Jonathan.
I am probably the last person who should be
addressing your question since I thought (until the last couple of days that
is)
that totally
submerging lead acid batteries in oil would damage them.
But from what I've read from the advice of experts
here, (and believe me it makes my head hurt too trying to wrap my brain around
it and understand it all)
It appears the water in the lead acid batteries
actually floats on top of the acid and the acid is below the water level in the
batteries. I didn't know that. I assumed the water and acid were mixed
equally without
there being a layer of one floating above the
other. But (IF I AM INTERPRETING THE EXPERTS CORRECTLY), the water floats on top
of the acid.
At least I think that is what they said. And since
oil will float on water
I guess that means the oil will never contaminate
the acid because the oil can't get thru the water to the acid because oil floats
on water.
Also from what I interpret it doesn't matter if the
batteries are sealed or have caps and the oil may be poured
directly into the remaining air space at the top of
the cells which it would wind up in anyway because the oil would eventually seep
in thru the small vents in the batteries and fill
the remaining air space in the cells even if you
did not pour it directly into the cell yourself to top it off. So (IF I am
interpreting their advice correctly), the experts are saying that you not
only
can top off the cells in the batteries with oil,
but the batteries are then surrounded by oil in a completely oil filled pod that
will stop any water pressure from trying to get in
as long as ALL the air is bled out of the batteries
and pod by pressure bleeding the oil filled pod like a car's brake system. Then
if I am understanding correctly, the hydrogen bubbles up thru the oil to the top
of the battery pod
and into a funnel shaped device that is connected
to an overpressure valve of some sort and this hydrogen forming causes an
increase in pressure in the pod that opens that overpressure valve at the top of
the pod
just long enough for the hydrogen to exhaust out
whereby the pressure in the pod drops again and the valve closes. Did I get that
correct gentlemen? Please tell me because I want to make sure I am correct and
not giving bad advice.
One thing I am curious about is if the hydrogen
and oxygen seperate from the water in the battery, won't that mean there is
a loss of water in the battery and therefore why would the hydrogen then create
enough overpressure within the pod to
cause an overpressure valve to open and exhaust the
hydrogen out? Wouldn't the volume loss of water in the battery just be replaced
by the hydrogen and oxygen and therefore the volume would be the same and there
wouldn't be an overpressure
created in the pod at all? I believe I am
thinking wrong. Please someone tell me why?
The vacuum created in the pod if you use hydrocaps
or hydrolators that causes a catalytic conversion between the hydrogen and
oxygen using platinum metals in the hydrocaps to promote the oxygen and hydrogen
to recombine and make water again.still has me
puzzled.
At first I didn't believe there could be any loss
of volume in the pod since I believed the H2 and O would totally recombine using
the hydrocaps and therefore there could be no vacuum since there would be no
loss. I doubted. I even ignorantly told an expert that he was
wrong!!!
From now on after telling an expert he was wrong
before I fully understood the causes for this vacuum that I was
talking about (I made the same mistake about the batteries submerged
in oil!!) I am going to ask questions or sit back and read before I say
something is
incorrect that I do
not totally understand and make a fool of myself
like I have several times already! Lol. I have learned a valuable lesson and am
humbly chastened.
I believe the experts on this vacuum thing, I just
don't understand what causes the vacuum. I have tried to think of what might
cause it.
Does it have something to do with water being
composed of TWO atoms of hydrogen and ONE atom of oxygen? I don't
know.
Does it have something to do with when the
oxygen and hydrogen are seperated some of the oxygen somehow gets bonded to
something else and forms an oxide or something and therefore there is not enough
oxygen from the original separation to recombine
with the hydrogen, and therefore in order for the
hydrocaps to recombine H2 and O into water, the H2 has to use O from the ambient
air in the pod because the original oxygen it seperated from is now decreased
and this creates the vacuum?
Again I don't know. But I sure wish someone would
please explain this in depth so we can understand exactly what causes the
vacuum. Hint, hint. Lol.
Now my head is hurting again and I haven't even
gotten around to asking Phil what I should replace my scuba regulator
equalization system with! I believe Phil. But it sure was a letdown to
hear that the simple scuba regulator system I had
envisioned for my wetsub pod and motor pressure
compensation was not going to be either totally safe or sufficient. Gotta get
back to Phil on what other types of valves to use, what they are called, where I
can get them, how to hook them up.....
ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!
Kindest Regards,
Bill Akins.
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