EP18 Our 12v lithium (LiFePO4) batteries are illegal. Narrowboat vlog, off grid living, boat life,

While Emma is tucked up in bed getting over her cold/hangover (you decide which one) I go about making our battery bank conform to the regs set out in the boat safety scheme.
If you're after lithium batteries on your boat check out life batteries for reasonably priced units and 2nd to none customer service. www.lifebatteries.co.uk/
Music this week from;
#Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/cruen/camping
uppbeat.io/t/cruen/when-thing...
uppbeat.io/t/cruen/city-streets

[@christinetaylor6897]

Oh, im obsessed with boat names, I love looking at every name. Thank you so so much for taking the paint lid off with one hand, done beautifully, so grateful! Great box building, I made a flat pack shed this week, it was made of sugarpaste for a cake. Well done with all the cooking.... I think. Emma hope you are feeling better. You wont be after that joke! Best wishes Christine x

[@WilliamGladstoneNo91]

I do love a funny boat name I think my favourite so far was a slightly rotund gent cruising on the aptly named 'wide man on narrowboat'
I'm glad you appreciate how much I suffer for my art 😂🤣 however, I can't help but think there may be a slight undertone of sarcasm 🧐
Nice work on the shed cake 👌 I don't know how I'd fare decorating a cake, I have little patience when it comes to fiddly things (or cooking in general to be fair) hence my go to dishes are jacket potato or beans on toast 🤣😂
Fingers crossed 🤞 she'll be back with us next week 👍

[@robinwatts7079]

Hi Ant, hope Emma is better soon. I am not up on lithium batteries, but lead acid batteries give off explosive gasses when charging so is there enough ventilation in your super new battery box. I shall try your tip for sealing the edges. Cheers!

[@WilliamGladstoneNo91]

Hi Rob, you and me both I can't stand her complaing about how ill she is any longer 😂🤣
The LiFePO4 batteries we use are inherently safe and not to be confused with other sorts of lithium that are prone to thermal run away, they are a dry technology so no gassing to worry about and so they can even be used in any orientation.
🤔 hmm... I had checked the boat safety regs before I made the box (part 3.1.1) and as far as I understood it, because the starter battery is a sealed lead acid (I know it can still vent) it didn't need ventilation. Happy to learn othorwise though. The box isn't airtightness whether this is classed as sufficient ventilation (if it's needed) I don't know.
I may have to do some more digging 🧐before my boat safety examination, thanks for the heads up 👍 your welcome to the edge sealing tip, it looks like it's gone on well.... we shall see how it fares over time.

[@robinwatts7079]

@@WilliamGladstoneNo91👍

[@fionamcnair1178]

Hope you are feeling better Emma. Looked like Sophie was in charge on the towpath 😂
Ant, what do you call a sick bird? Ileagle! 🤣🤣 Give the pooches a cuddle from me. Halfway through France now on our way home xx

[@CruisingTheBroads]

Just to forewarn you, if you get a BSS inspector who knows what they're doing, they're likely to fail it as it stands. If a bolt works loose in one of your link cables, the loose end can potentially short against an opposite pole. They might insist that the terminals are insulated to mitigate the risk. With the starter battery, if they raise an issue with venting, most "wet" batteries have a vent hole, which you can plug an adaptor into, then connect to windscreen washer tube or similar which can be run to clear air for ventilation. It looked as though your battery might have a port near the right hand terminal.

[@WilliamGladstoneNo91]

Thanks for the tip on venting the starter battery, I'll have a look at getting that sorted for when the boat safety man comes knocking.
In terms of insulating the terminals, how does that work then? Surely that could be said about any positive cable on the boat. Im happy to learn otherwise but I've never seen a battery with insulated terminals. Sometimes people put insulated covers over the end of the cables (instead of putting a lid on their battery box) but even that wouldn't stop anything shorting out if the connection came loose.

[@CruisingTheBroads]

@@WilliamGladstoneNo91 BSS procedures 3.1.3 - "All battery covers or terminal covers....must not allow any metal part of the terminal or connection to be exposed". Your terminals are exposed and, if you look around 15:40, your leads have the potential to touch another terminal if one comes loose. If the leads touch, you'll be placing a dead short across the alternator (which may be unfused) or any other charging device connected to the batteries. I suspect some inspectors might well overlook it, but I'd want them to be picking up on it, as it shows they know what they're doing and are capable of flagging real safety concerns elsewhere. You just need some rubber boot style terminal covers. Worth doing for your own safety as much as anything, as the last thing you want is a fire around lithium batteries.

[@WilliamGladstoneNo91]

I recon you'd struggle to find many boats out there with a positive lead that couldn't touch the Hull, or another negative terminal, if it worked loose.
I read 3.1.3 before I started the box. The lid for my box covers all the points in it;
"All metal parts of battery terminals and connections must be insulated or protected by battery covers or terminal covers.
All battery covers or terminal covers:
•
must be made of insulating material; and,
•
must not allow any metal part of the terminal or connection to be exposed; and,
•
must be free of signs of damage or deterioration"
If I remove the lid then it doesn't meet the requirements but with the lid on I see no issue (apart from possibly the venting as already discussed)

[@CruisingTheBroads]

@@WilliamGladstoneNo91 it's your boat, do as you will with it. Just don't be surprised if a tester won't put their name to a certificate because there's a genuine fire risk. They might also insist on straps for individual batteries, or query the position of the isolator, which I couldn't see and which needs to be "as close as practicable" to the batteries.

[@WilliamGladstoneNo91]

LiFePO4 batteries aren't prone to thermal runaway and should not be tarred with the same brush as certain other types of lithium batteries. The media has a lot to answer for in scaremongering about "lithium" fires when there are many types of lithium batteries.
I appreciate your concerns but the lid on the battery box covers all the requirements of 3.1.3 I fail to see how the rubber boot terminal covers you mention stop a bolt coming undone which is what you are suggesting, no? The terminal covers meerly cover the terminals (the same as my lid does) if anything the lid is safer than some types of terminal covers which just slide over the cables so could move over time with vibration.
The battery box meets all the requirements of 3.1.2 so no straps will be needed.
The isolator is cleary labeled and mounted on the other side of the bulkhead in the engine room, which is as close as practicable to the batteries. 👍

[@RVO3VOM]

That joke was (-). I think I heard Emma’s eyes roll.

[@WilliamGladstoneNo91]

Are you (+) you didn't enjoy it. That is a sound i know very well 😂🤣