will water damage sealed lead acid batteries?

[mnplus1556]

i'm currently building an ebike and have built wood boxes to put all my batteries in. the only thing is there are no lids on the boxes; on the top it is just exposed battery. if it rains while i'm out will it hurt/damage my batteries? also the motor is 100% exposed. would the motor get damaged in rain?

here's my motor:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ELECTRIC-SCOOTER-BIKE-1-000-WATT-1-4-HP-DC-MOTOR_W0QQitemZ260671580602QQihZ016QQcategoryZ26226QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ht_500wt_1156

thanks!

 

[torker]

Sealed lead acid could take a lot of rain. The motor not as much although you would have to get it pretty wet to give trouble. The main thing would be to dry it out between uses if it did get wet. The throttle and connectors will be the most likely to give trouble.

 

[dumbass]

Lead especially SLA will likely not be effected by rain but due to the wire attachments of most other type of batteries I would not recommend this. Remember water is very conductive and will cause shorts.

You do relize that motor is a direct drive (no gearbox reduction? So you will need to do a major reduction in your gearing.

 

[liveforphysics]

Lead especially SLA will likely not be effected by rain. However, while it maybe a far reach it is possible to short the battery if the rain water can cause a brige between the pos and neg terminals. Remember water is very conductive.

You do relize that motor is a direct drive (no gearbox reduction? So you will need to do a major reduction in your gearing.

Rain in a low pollution environment falling onto clean plastic would actually be an extremely weak conductor. Remember, pure water can not conduct electricity at all. Some CO2 and other things absorb into the rain as it's falling to make carbonic acid that gives it some ions in the solution to conduct a wee little bit.

 

[mnplus1556]

ok thanks guys. any ideas on how to cover the motor from rain??

 

[XRuss]

YEA, WID A LID.....

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

You can buy a 4 X 8 ft sheet of coroplast (corrugated plastic like the "Vote For Me" signs) for less than $15 and if they will sell it in smaller sizes (talk to a local sign shop) you might only pay $5 for something that would cover the top of your battery boxes and just attach it with zip ties or duct tape or some screws if you can use the screws into the wood of the boxes.

Do you have any pictures of your set up?