Hi,

Cleaning out my trunk yesterday I noticed
the battery vent tube was not connected. When I tried to connect it to the battery, the connector's end was a different shape than the Interstate battery's. Has anyone connected this tube to an after market battery? if so how did you do it?

TIA,

Tom
1995 993

 

Hey Tom,
I replaced a dead battery a few years ago, and used a factory battery,odd enough it didnt even have a vent connection, so i tucked the hose behind it, and have not connected it in years and every thing seems fine, when I first replaced the battery I was a little paranoid, but nothin ever happened so I guess I can live with it....
Where in NJ are you?

 

GeoC2cab,

Thanks for the info. The vent tube is probably not that important. Since it is there I would prefer to hook it up.

I see you are from Butler. Right now I live in Mahwah, probably only 20 minutes from you.

Tom

 

There was a thread on this from the old board and I would seriously rethink the importance of the vent tube.

Its purpose is to shunt hydrogen gas away from the enclosed space. Recall the Hindenburg? Hydrogen gas trapped inside the electrical compartment (993's harness, fuse box and termination points all are in this area) is a recipe for disaster. Now I know its just a little gas, a big space and fairly unlikely....but few things in life are more exhillarating than exploding sulfuric acid lead shrapnel rocketing towards your eyes.

So, drop by your hardware store and by several sizes of vinyl tubing. These can be nested inside eachother to fit a variety of different ID's of vent tubes. Alternately, you can drop by a pet store, and go to the aquarium department for tubing size adapters.
Interestingly, some aftermarket batteries (Pep Boys) have vent tubes at both ends of the cell bank, in which case those can be connected to a single tube with a "y" connector. On the batteries which have no vent tube, nothing is needed as these are trully sealed units and the H2 gas is recycled with the cell's chamber during the charge/discahrge cycle.

 

I have an Interstate.

The battery's black rubber tube (~5") connects to the clear vent tube via a ribbed
internal plastic connector. Looks like
the same type of connector you might
see at a hardware store in the sprinkler
section.

tim

 

I just replaced my battery with a porsche battery. It was cheaper than the Optima and fit was perfect. (114 vs 135)

My vent tube connector was busted so I got one from the dealer. Connector fit was not great, just shimmed it a bit to make a tighter fit.

If you don't have the connector or the one in the car doesn't fit, try the dealer? They didn't charge for one...

good luck!

-travis

 

My connector was missing from the tube when I got my car, so I used a 90 degree ell made for drip sprinklers. Applied a little heat to make one end oval to fit into the battery vent.

I had never seen one of these tubes, and thanks to the group here, it was identified for me.

 

Tom / Geo - North Jersey here also - Riverdale to be exact.. practically Neighbors ...
Meet?

 

Carmen,

Riverdale is right between me and Geo. Would not mind meeting up sometime. Any suggestions as to a place?

Tom

 

Tom,

I noticed the same problem on an Interstate battery installed by a previous owner on my '97 C4S. I went to my local Interstate dealer, and he supplied me with a free adapter to route the OEM vent line to the side-mounted vent on the Interstate battery. Two minute fix and free.