Xtra ventlation for wardrobe/battery

[Hotel California]

Just been cutting a hole in the removeble panel to acces the rear lesure battery .
Behind and under the wardrobe sits lots of electric parts of your Cali , in hot temperatures it is possible the inverter gets into a fault modus when overheated .
My inverter sits under the fridge , on newer models ( think 2013 and up) inverter sits in that rear leusure battery compartiment .
So placed a venilation opening as extra inflow of cooler air.
Together with the fact i removed the plastic cap in the left front cabinet under the sink/ coocker there's more airflow....you also could remove the cap in bottom of the wardrobe where'r you can hang clotings
Here some pic's step by step and the result....
Maybe some of you will get inspired!

 

[WelshGas]

Nice piece of DIY. I think I might consider that mod. Thank you.

 

[rippers]

Nicely done.

 

[bvddobb]

I've even seen people put a ventilator there


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met behulp van Tapatalk

 

[Hotel California]

I've even seen people put a ventilator there


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met behulp van Tapatalk

I know , they sell it at CC in Amersfoort , a ventilator that fits in the hole afther removing the cap under the coocker to ventilate the fridge engine....
My solution is cheaper and don't need any electric connections , it will do the trick for now , i think if one go travelling to say , north Africa , or very hot places a fan is probally a better solution

 

[dannosail]

Do we know what kind of sustained ambient temperatures this extra ventiliation is likely to be needed?

In the UK we don't usually get sustained temperatures above 30 degrees so I would have thought it unlikely to overheat unless you have sun on the front windscreen, the van closed and the fridge set at -18.

However in Southern Italy or Spain maybe it can be a problem for the early and late Calis?

Tidy Mod though!

 

[rippers]

I'm off to Almeria in August my Cali is 2015 and as you say the inverter is above the battery, praying I don't have issues with the fridge. Its been in the 40's last two years

 

[18hunts]

I believe battery compartments are meant to be sealed of from habitation areas.

 

[rippers]

I believe battery compartments are meant to be sealed of from habitation areas.

I think it depends on whether the battery is sealed or not. The one under the seat isn't that well sealed to be fair.

 

[rich-s]

Maybe, but the panel in question is certainly not air tight before this mod. It only rests closed with a 1/4 or 1/2 turn lever on the back to hold it shut. I wouldn't have thought that this modification would have any safety implications. But I am prepared to bow down to greater knowledge on this.

Edit: Rippers got there first

 

[rippers]

I just had a search and open vent batteries produce hydrogen when they charge so need to be vented to the outside. I can't see VW suppling batteries like that, hopefully someone will come on and tell us whats what

 

[dannosail]

I just had a search and open vent batteries produce hydrogen when they charge so need to be vented to the outside. I can't see VW suppling batteries like that, hopefully someone will come on and tell us whats what

Correct, sealed does mean sealed and the leisure battery under the front left seat is not in a separate compartment. OEM batteries are Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries which are sealed unlike 'traditional' lead acid where you often had to top up with distilled water due to the battery 'gassing off' (hydrogen) during charging. Hydrogen is clearly expolsive and dedicated ventilation would therefore be essential.

In this instance it would seem that the risk by increasing vent to the battery (especially since the other leisure battery is not enclosed) is sufficiently low when compared with a battery or inverter exploding or catching fire due to overheating.

 

[Hotel California]

@everyone,
The batterycompartment in the back is definatly not sealed ....take a close look at the wardrobe fitting , it has all around spaces !
And is your battery under your front leftseat in a seald space....?
Let me know if your Cali has does options , ours does not
The battery has a overflow rubber tube that leads gasses outside the verhicle , as long you don't remove that rubber tube you should be fine.

 

[Andy]

Both of the leisure batteries have small vent pipes that go through a hole in the floor.

 

[Andresz]

I do not think this solution is likely to be efficient, mainly by the fact that the air inside closed van is at least as hot as inside the compartment. In fact inside the van it could be even hotter considering that compartment is cooled by the water tanks accumulating colder temperature.

 

[Hotel California]

I do not think this solution is likely to be efficient, mainly by the fact that the air inside closed van is at least as hot as inside the compartment. In fact inside the van it could be even hotter considering that compartment is cooled by the water tanks accumulating colder temperature.

I'm not trying to make miracles happend but think for a minute....
All your electrical parts like fridge and inverter are in a closet , between two panels , the inside of the van behind the wardrobe is not insulated so the sun on the metal carbody heats the space up ....this vent creats " some" xtra circulation behind the wardrobe .
When i am on site , there's always some kind of ventilation as in , the roof opend by the zippers , sliding window , air- vent in the boot , airscreen in the front side window,sliding door opend
So ventilation and automatic xtra cooling of the inverter and fridge motor.
Cost me about 4 euro .
Don't think the watertank is gonna cool much , the water will pretty fast warm up!
One can do wathever they want with it , but i think it is a plus .....

Ps , got the tip afther discusing the fact of the inverter going in alarm from overheating, from the biggest and most selling VW camper/california dealer in Holland , they don't talk nonsens

 

[WelshGas]

Hot air rises and in a California, in the sun, the temperature at the highest point will be greater than at floor level. So having a vent in that inspection panel, and the fact that I do not think the wardrobe unit is air tight above should allow there to be a flow of air upwards IF the temperature around the battery and charger unit ( it is definitely the charger unit in my 2014 California ) is greater than the temperature in the California. What might improve this mod even more is to ensure there is a good passage of air upwards out of that compartment rather than depending on fitting tolerances as a vent. If you get my meaning.

 

[reserves]

I'd have just taking the cover off and kept it somewhere safe

 

[Andresz]

I'm not trying to make miracles happend but think for a minute....
All your electrical parts like fridge and inverter are in a closet , between two panels , the inside of the van behind the wardrobe is not insulated so the sun on the metal carbody heats the space up ....this vent creats " some" xtra circulation behind the wardrobe .
When i am on site , there's always some kind of ventilation as in , the roof opend by the zippers , sliding window , air- vent in the boot , airscreen in the front side window,sliding door opend
So ventilation and automatic xtra cooling of the inverter and fridge motor.
Cost me about 4 euro .
Don't think the watertank is gonna cool much , the water will pretty fast warm up!
One can do wathever they want with it , but i think it is a plus .....

Ps , got the tip afther discusing the fact of the inverter going in alarm from overheating, from the biggest and most selling VW camper/california dealer in Holland , they don't talk nonsens

I think it is difficult to judge without proper temperature measurement inside the van and inside the compartment in various conditions. But if I recall well, I have a feeling that on a hot day, the water from the tap is usually noticeable colder than the air in the van, that would indicate that the compartment do not keep pace with temperature rising in the van, so compartment is simply warming slower. But of course it is subjective, not supported by any scientific evidence.

 

[Hotel California]

@Andresz , you got a point but still think that one vent or removing the panel will cool more than the watertank .
Let's just keep it in the middle , i am happy with what i did and by showing it on the forum , might give others the idea to do it also!

 

[Andresz]

@Andresz , you got a point but still think that one vent or removing the panel will cool more than the watertank .
Let's just keep it in the middle , i am happy with what i did and by showing it on the forum , might give others the idea to do it also!

There is definitively space for improvement. I myself had fridge overheat shut down in some occasions on a sunny days. VW made a good step moving the inverter away from the fridge motor, so they do not heat each other. If this step was sufficient I do not know. If the problem still persists I would rather think to install an electric fan, making active air flow cooling.

 

[Hotel California]

Seen the fan that fits in the hole in the cupboard , maybe will be installig that aftherwarts , it coast more and uses power from the lesurebats.
And if a fan is installed a xtra vent like i just made is for sure a plus letting air in/ out...!

 

[Andresz]

Seen the fan that fits in the hole in the cupboard , maybe will be installig that aftherwarts , it coast more and uses power from the lesurebats.
And if a fan is installed a xtra vent like i just made is for sure a plus letting air in/ out...!

One remark: I think such a fan should be supplied by a low voltage cut-off circuit. If you supply it directly from the batteries, there is a high risk of flattening and destroying them.

 

[gKastelic]

Hi Where you buy plastic ventilation opening?

 

[Hotel California]

Hi Where you buy plastic ventilation opening?

Local DIY shop here in Belgium
It's not plastic but aluminium