Battery Box Design noob style

[mljager]

Magnificiet exchange of ideas on this forum. Thanks for allowing me to participate.

I'm designing a battery box for an RV solar power system. Space is at a premium. Freeing up even a couple inches is worth a little extra hassle. So, my question is: Must I allow space between my batteries for air circulation?? Presumeably air exchange/circulation for cooling and heating my batteries while inside the box is a good idea. But is it necessary - really? I see both approaches (on U-tube) and there's seems to be no data on which is right. Has anyone found that their battery bank was saved from doom becuase they allowed for air circulation? I will vent gases from the box. Can do that regardless of how tightly I pack the batteries in the box.

Designing the box for 4 - Crown CR-430's. These are W 7 1/4" x H 16 1/4" x L 12 1/2".

Thanks in advance for any insight.
Cheers - Mike

[Mike90250]

It depends on how hard you charge the batteries. If you are hitting them hard, they will heat up and the hotter ones will age and die slightly faster, so more air space would be helpful. If hard charging is only going to happen occasionally, tight packed won't hurt much.

[mljager]

Mike90250 -Thanks for the response. I doubt that I'll tax the batteries too hard in the RV. I won't be running airconditioners or welders from these batteries. All the appliances are new and basically energy efficient. The microwave, toaster oven, blender, are the power hogs in my situation. All will run for short bursts.

Unless I discover some definitive data on the value of spacing the batteries - am planning to pack them in tight. Will have the airconditioner and the heater vent blowing on the outside of the battery box to help keep the batteries in the 70-80 degree zone.This is all new too me - and an interesting learning/experiment.

Suppose I'll need an internal temp sensor so I can see for myself what's going on inside the box.

Cheers
MIke

[Mike90250]

Your charge controller will have (the good ones anyway) a battery temperature sensor to be placed on the batteries.