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Not a stupid question batteries can be very dangerous.It should vent through the nozzle when charging,make sure it is in a safe place and do not make any kind of spark near the battery when its charging or even just after as the gases are explosive as i found out when i was putting the battery back in a Toyota van and i earthed the live connection with the spanner on the body and it blew up in my face as i was leaning over the battery.

Luckily i was at home and had plenty a water on hand but it went every where and made a right mess.

Don't forget to drain the water and the toilet flush if the van is going to be there during the cold weather.

Andy 

Normally that little nozzle connects to an "L" shaped plastic elbow joint which in turn fits onto a plastic hose, which, in the caravan, goes down through a hole in the floor and vents the battery.

However, most modern vans do not have that arrangement. I suspect it is because, on a van, batteries are only trickle charges and therefore will not give off any dangerous levels of gas.

In the house, the vent nozzle will be enough to vent the battery and I would only loosen the caps if I was giving it a high charge.

see looking after your battery

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/datasheets

We were always taught to loosen the caps, just on the off chance of a blocked vent.

Quote: Originally posted by motley on 01/9/2009

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We were always taught to loosen the caps, just on the off chance of a blocked vent.

 

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Quote: Originally posted by motley on 01/9/2009

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We were always taught to loosen the caps, just on the off chance of a blocked vent.

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Do you loosen the caps when you are on a site and hooked up to the EHU?

Most batteries in caravans do not even have the proper hose venting the battery through the floor and are more usually in an enclosed battery box, yet when hooked up to the mains, these batteries are being charged!!!

Most batteries in caravans do not even have the proper hose venting the battery through the floor and are more usually in an enclosed battery box, yet when hooked up to the mains, these batteries are being charged!!!

agree but a home on the kitchen floor and being charged at a higher rate it may be safer.only seen one explode at the garage a long time ago and i would not have liked to be there when it did.

If a battery was being charged to the point of it exploding, it must have been chardged at the high setting.

Trickle charging, as one would both in a caravan and overnight in the home, does not require any extra venting other than that built into the battery at manufacture.

However, if one feels safer then by all means loosen the caps, however I would not have thought that a kitchen would be the place to charge a battery if I was worried about any escaping gas and the explosive qualities of that gas.

Quote: Originally posted by LobeyDosser on 01/9/2009

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If a battery was being charged to the point of it exploding, it must have been chardged at the high setting.

Trickle charging, as one would both in a caravan and overnight in the home, does not require any extra venting other than that built into the battery at manufacture.

However, if one feels safer then by all means loosen the caps, however I would not have thought that a kitchen would be the place to charge a battery if I was worried about any escaping gas and the explosive qualities of that gas.

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Hi the battery exploded when i caused a spark a few minutes after it had been charged in my garage with a normal car battery charger.

I keep a motorcycle on charge with an optimate charger and if i need to charge the caravan battery i use that but i am very carefull now with the spanners.It was not a nice experience as i was very close to it as the battery was in a well behind the seat in the van.

Andy