batteries in pressurized compartment...?

["asmyth" <asmyth@hsomail.com>]

Dear support group,

I am afraid with all the excitement over the intellectual property issue, my
teeny question about batteries went unanswered. Is the answer too obvious? I
can't imagine nobody has encountered this issue... sealed batteries in a
pressurized compartment, therefore they get squeezed. Do I need to drill a
hole in them? Or is that a Tarzan solution? After all, don't the makers
claim AGM batteries don't leak even if the case cracks? On the other hand if
there is NO air in them, I'm OK. But I don't feel like cracking open a brand
new battery to find out.

On another note...

I just took a painful decision over the weekend. I'm building my sub one
discrete system at a time, and just completed the control surfaces and
controls, most of the work being the manufacture of 4 actuators. This was my
first completed system, and it made me feel almost *done* because I can now
stand in my garage with a joystick and "fly" a virtual sub consisting of
nothing but control surfaces and the hardware to move them! (SOS, call a
shrink, I've done that for hours).

Well, the actuators work great, probably even well enough, but now they are
functional they only seem to inspire new ideas for making better ones. And
considering the unforgiving environment our boats have to function in, I've
decided I'll shoot for the best actuators I can make, even if it breaks my
heart and -- more importantly -- delays the project. Sigh, the first set of
actuators took me 8 months. Fortunately some of the improvements are
simplifications, so the second set should be much easier. But just in case,
I'll complete only ONE of the new design first. Who knows, it could give me
more ideas.

- Alec Smyth