2nd Battery under Driver Seat?
 

Hello,
I have a second battery here, which I would like to install with disconnect relays under the driver's seat. The battery is about 7 inches high.
Does the battery fit under the driver's seat? What do you all mean?
Unfortunately, because of illness, I can not expand my seat to try or measure it.
Thank you for your answers
Pony

Not mine because there's a fusebox there. I have no idea about your van.

Not sure about the Vans but if Chevy ever did put a diesel in it there should be a spot under the hood for dual batteries.

I guess you haven't looked under the hood of a van lately, Irish. :p You can't fit anything in there.

The factory location for second battery is on the frame rail drivers side.

nope sure havent lol.
so to the OP whats wrong with on the frame ???

Well routing the wires from the outside in can be a lot of work. 7" is a pretty small battery. I would probably put it inside.

what is this batter for anyways? that sounds like a powerwheels battery

Maybe his van actually looks like this:
:p

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R2u6hHtjMhU/maxresdefault.jpg

You cannot install a battery inside the cabin of a vehicle. It needs to be vented outside, and be able to drain if it boils over.

He might be an inch short in his measurement but 7" sounds about right. Batteries come in all shapes and sizes. Personally, I don't know why he is asking us if it will fit under the seat. Surely he has a tape measure? At the same time, I am not really sure we should be mocking unless they really deserve it.

About mounting batteries on the inside, that was exactly the reason why I finally elected NOT to mount two batteries inside and why I became delayed in my new bid to frame mount them. A member here has since instructed me otherwise, but I am more comfortable having them hang underneath. The added expense of cable runs is not pleasing, but I aside from individual component hook-ups, I am lucky as I already have the factory wire left over from the two harnesses I previously bought. I am going to buy one more frame mount, then I will buy two batteries at the same time to ensure they are similiar as possible before pairing them into married service.

I've used a battery inside the cabin for years, and so have other people I know. Most batteries are sealed, and even then the amount of hydrogen gas is miniscule and disperses quickly. (especially a small one like that). It's fine. If I had a bank of a dozen batteries then yeah you would have to address it. I have never seen or heard of a battery boiling over, but it was a in a purpose made battery box if it did. I think you would have to do something pretty extreme like put a wrench across the terminals or plug it into a wall socket.

You are probably right. My concious tells me to do otherwise however. Battery corrosion and interiors doesn't seem like a good mix.

PS. I half installed my radio if you are ever interested in checking it out. I already want to upgrade it to something more complicated, which was really always the plan, this was only a stop gap measure. I might sell it. I don't I just.. have these plans I want to follow through with, but reality keeps telling me to park those plans and accept that good enough is far more than good enough. I have great sound and a ton of features. Not everything I could ever want, but probably everything I could ever actually need.

My point was about the vapour from the battery right under the driver. Even if it was a sealed battery I would not want it there. The battery in the rear of our hhr and my cruze are far from the driver and under the floor mat by the spare tire.
As for boiling over, you wouldnt see it, it happens while being charged while driving if the battery is faulty or old. If you see a clean spot on the black plastic on the top of your battery, then it is likely losing fluid while being charged.
The last time I had one like that load tested, they took the battery and put it in a case and hooked it up.... a few minutes later it was foaming at the mouth.
You can get reloaction kits for moving a battery to the trunk....but under the seat is too close in my opinion.

Hello everybody,
Thank you for the numerous answers.
It is a GMC Savana Explorer Limited SE from 11/2006, not the pink one in the photo. ;)
The battery does not exhaust, it is a gel battery. It can therefore be installed without ventilation in the interior.
Unfortunately, I can not attach the battery to the frame as this is not allowed in Germany (here I live).
Greetings
Pony

No. Charging would only warm it up not boil it. Plus these modern vans have smart charging systems, so overcharging is a thing of the past.

When you get a battery load tested, they always crank it right up so they can sell you a new one. A battery would never experience that kind of load unless you're cranking it for 5 minutes or something. Charging current is nowhere near load current so you can't compare the two.

Anyway he wants to put in an aux battery. Not a primary starting one. I used to beat the heck out of my aux battery. I'd suck over a 100A out of it for extended periods and never had a problem.

I would still put it in battery box to protect it though.

http://canadiantire.scene7.com/is/im...id=225&hei=225

I have experienced a battery boiling over in a modern car, so it can happen. The regulator in the alternator went bad. This caused my battery to blow the top of a sealed battery and spit battery fluid all over the engine compartment.

Well, I ordered my second auxillary battery mount, so once that comes I am ready for batteries. I am thinking yellow top Optima's but maybe it doesn't matter. I could get cheaper deep cycles on Craigslist used that will probably be good enough. I can get new yellowtop's cheap, but for even cheaper I could probably buy a lot of different options. Any advice?

These will be segregated unless the ignition is on. Likely I will trigger it via the RAP but I have not decided yet.

Don't get the yellow tops. The company was sold off and now they are overpriced garbage.

Just get a reputable brand of deep cycle from a dealer (I can recommend a place near you). Since you're mounting them to your frame, you don't need to pay 2x or 3x more for an AGM. Flooded is fine.

Sounds right to me. They were always good batteries when I bought them in the past for vehicles, lasted longer than vehicles, but I trust that's a good opinion. I can get them for $150 supposedly new each, but on CL I could get used something-rathers for $40-50 each. Mind you I want something strong and stable. Deep Cycle. Point away. There's always Princess Auto or Wall Mart. At the end of the day, they are just batteries.

You might disagree, but the important thing to me was buying a matching set, as close to manufacturing times as possible.

when were they sold off? im kind of upset about this but truth be told when you have a red top in one of your trucks from 2005 that i got used, its kind hard not to believe.

Maybe you could mount it behind the drivers seat in a metal box with a lid ''just in case'' of battery trouble / over charging , etc. with a drain hose and a small side vent for fumes . This would also give easy access for maintenance [cleaning posts , etc.] and I would add a manual heavy duty cut off switch between batteries as I am not a fan of automatic systems but what ever you prefer. My 87 g30 bucket van has a Onan generator and it's battery in a metal enclosure behind drivers seat with a large side vent and most other bucket vans are set up the same with some only powered by a bank of batteries. If it's a matter of looks I guess you could cover the box with a good looking wooden box over the metal one and this set up should give you the bust of both worlds. Just an idea I thought might help. Good luck and when your done I hope you post some photos . Remember just because a problem is impossible doesn't mean it will not happen , lol .

Bought by Johnson Controls around 2000
https://powerpulse.net/johnson-contr...ima-batteries/

Then last year, Johnson sold it again to BBP who's got some shady ties to the Saudi prince.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/johnson...s&page=1&pos=1
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/06/p...ter/index.html

I wouldn't buy used batteries. You can't open them up so you never know what you're getting. I don't think Princess has any decent deep cycles.
https://www.cdnrg.com/locations/branches/vancouver

They are close enough I guess. Makes me feel like there will be excessive markup from a specialty place like this. I was going to take another look on CL, but honestly if I broaden my search I might pick up decent batteries for $20 each. Cannot really go wrong at that. People buy things and don't use them, or sell off perfectly good stuff all the time. Looking at that page I have a headache because I have to do my math all over again. I spec'd out what I was going to buy three or four times without doing so. The storage capacity/ratings. We will see what I do. I might just shove anything in there at this point. Sometimes I am extremely picky, but if a project takes too long, I just lose care. I could probably even go 6 volt wired in series. I'd have to look at all that again.

Thanks for the link.

Those of you who use a 2nd battery must have a preference. Deep cycle or regular?

Unless it's for starting a diesel, it's not a matter of preference. Deep cycle is the right choice.

from working with diesels i know its kind of important to have the amps matching.

Maybe I am just better read up on all this stuff than others. Then I forget, so I ask.. only to find myself swirled with different... takes. I believe the types of batteries you install all depend on your application. Your actual use. Matching is important when you pair. At the same, if things work well enough they work well enough. I am considering buying stuff and I might make a mistake because I am blank in my choices. I am not hard headed about any specific details. Not all batteries are the same. Every between cells. When they sit, if some are at lower voltages and others at higher voltages, storage wise, they are constantly balancing. It's just best, if you have the luxury, to match them as best you can.

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I am aggravated these days. The simplest of things are not working out. I am being very low key. I am having to accept work where-ever it comes, even if that's entering relations that normally I would avoid which means I might go to job six extra times, be in such chaos from someone else chaos that I lose tools, then find myself on a hook for getting paid, then sucked into that string where you accept another job and another job and on and on... never really attained the In/Out/Paid/Reset dynamic I need to move forward and thrive. I had to go pay someone a visit last night. Great guy. We both do not know what I should be paid. He sends me money, yet it is still unfinished business. The one and only partner I ever had. I walked over twenty years ago, never having a partner again, now.. lol

Saved my Life. I don't know what you guys do but.. I just.. need independence. No thumbs.

I should have went down there today. I kind of started looking for batteries, but I just... I have been 'blah' all day. It's strange, I swear. I amped to do something.. no money or no time. Give me money and time weeks later and... I cannot even remember why I want or need to do something. I had things marked on Craiglist too... great deals on things I need to replace. They are there for weeks and then suddenly two days before I put money in my pocket. It's like a cycle. That's just one of them I go through. Everything in my life is like that in some ways. I mean everything.

hey Guys...
now i am almost finished with the second Battery.
Unfortunately the Battery is to high, to fit under the Driver seat in front of the Fusebox. So i had to move it behind the seat. That is not sexy, but if i get swivel Consoles, the Seat itself gets about 2 inch higher and the the Battery fits completely under the seat.
When i am ready, i will post some Pics.
Greets from Germany
Pony