Batteries in a C3

[Tom73]

I know that the original batteries in C3's (at least through '74) had caps with vents on them that connected to hoses and ran out of the bottom of the battery compartment to vent the battery fumes.

But what about the modern "maintenance free" battery. The battery compartment is sealed at the top to keep fumes out of the passenger compartment. So is it safe to use these batteries without some type of vent setup to vent any fumes outside?

tom...

 

[Vette/Berlina-coupe]

Hello Tom: -your concern is indeed a legitimate one; -however generally speaking, battery-building experts say that a healthy battery does not really vent noxious-fumes, --it is when it is older and nearing replacement time that fuming becomes a serious consideration. Therefore, realistically, -it would seem that a minimum 1/2"-hole placed at each of four-sides of the battery-compartment might be a wise precaution! Had an internally shorted battery "explode" on me a few years ago in an old-car having an under-seat battery, Damn thought somebody put a bomb under the car, --the gas within the battery combined with its sulfuric-acid is not a pleasant thing to consider, and when I touched the starter-button, the Starter's several hundred Amp-draw electrically activated the battery's internally eroded conductor-resistance which failure caused a spark(or glow) therein which ignited the Hydrogen-gas, ---and KKaaaBOOOM!!! Hendenburg all over again (luckily it just lifted me upward, -like the greatest fart on record)... Bob vH
:duh