I mounted an optima battery in the hatch of my 89 camaro
does it need to be sealed and vented if it is behind the plastic molding of the interior and out of site?

 

Id seal the box if it is in the car with you so any fumes dont stay in the car. Or just vent it to the outside.

 

would there be any problems with tech inspection if it wasnt inside an apporved box?

 

Is this one of the supposedly bullet proof optima batteries? I have one of them and need a ton more info on them. I heard the reason they are used in performance cars are for one safety but also because the materials they use in the battery dont breathe and hence no rust? Is having the battery in the hatch a danger mine was there all last summer?

 

Normal lead-acid batteries release hydrogen when they charge which is an explosive hazard....this is the reason for the "sealed and externally vented" box requirement. Optima's are non-vented batteries which don't release any fumes when charging. Whether or not a tech inspection would still require the box probably just depends on whether the inspector knows this or not.

 

Is there anything you dont know? Got any more info on these batteries? I boiled one after i tried to jump start the car and apparently that is a no no with these batteries so i was wondering if you know anything more or know of any sources for do's and dont's with this style optima battery

 

Under NHRA and IHRA rules all batteries even the Optima batteries must be in a sealed and vented box if inside the driver's compartment.

Sticking it behind the plastic molding in the rear is still inside the drivers compartment.

The other option is to buy or fabricate a rear firewall to isolate it.

The battery itself must also be securely mounted. Since the battery is not in the factory location, you also need a kill switch mounted to the rear. The kill switch must shut off all power to the car and kill the engine when turned off. Buy and read the rulebook for all the info on what's required to have a relocated battery.

 

thanks for the info guys. I guess i'll get to fabricating a for it now.

 

If you put it on the floor in the hatch, and installed one of those locking hatch covers (the fold down type, not the ones that pull out), could you put some seals on that and get away with it? What does vented mean, it actually needs fans or an active airflow, or just some kind of hole to get outside.

It wouldn't be hard to seal the spare tire area off either would it? just make some seals from silicon, cover the holes, make up a couple walls for either side (noone will ever see it, so it doesn't matter), and vent it.

 

Well what are you doing with your car? Is it a track car or a car that with rarly see track use. Seal the box and just run an air tube to the outside of the car. Very simple.

 

Vented means the sealed box has a vent hose that goes to the outside of the vehicle.

A marine battery box commonly found at auto parts stores is not an acceptable sealed box.

Moroso makes the most popular sealed box but Tayler also sells an aluminum box that passes a tech inspection.

 

http://www.taylorvertex.com/batkits.html

Found the link to Tayler. Their box is cheaper than Moroso.

 

Ok that seems a little easer than sealing off an entire section of the car. I don't see a price though. And how does that vent (sorry, new at this)?

 

The box comes with a fitting and a plastic tube. You drill a hole in the floor and feed the tube through it. The box itself isn't 100% air tight since it's a 3 piece box but Tayler claims it's complient with rule 8:1

www.summitracing.com has them listed. There's 3 kits available and the difference in the prices is the size of the wires included inthe kit. The cheapest kit is $113. The kits are available without wiring which will lower the price even more because the Moroso battery box is only $97 and I know the Tayler box is much cheaper.