Battery Vent Tube Questions

So a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that the AC Delco AGM 12V that I had installed by a trusted shop when I bought our Gen 2 did not have a vent tube. I called the parts department at my local dealer and was told that they did not stock this item as it was not part of factory equipment. I then went online to toyotapartsestore.com and ordered a Vent Hose for a 2007 Toyota Prius priced at $7.95, plus shipping. I few days later, I got an Email saying "The status of your order has been updated to On Order", but my credit card was never charged. After a few unreturned phone calls to the Sales Department, I have given up and purchased a few feet of 1/4 inch Outside Diameter vinyl tubing from Home Depot. The pictures of the tubing and my installation are attached.

Is this likely to do the job in the unlikely event the battery becomes overcharged and begins to expel hydrogen gas? I believe I was able to push about 1/4 inch of the tube into the hole in the side of the battery. It seems fairly secure, but I guess it is possible that it could get jarred loose when I am traveling down the road. Would it be advisable to squeeze a gob of silicone sealant around the connection to the battery to secure the tube and prevent any gas from escaping around the side of it? I have pushed the tube into the side of the battery until it can go no further. Is that the wrong way to do it? Does it need to have some clearance for the gas to enter the tube from the battery or is there a relief valve that opens up in front of the tube when the pressure inside the battery exceeds a certain threshold?

Thanks for any help any of you can provide.

 

Thanks. I did not know such a thing existed, but I see some online at a reasonable price, and will probably order it, unless anyone on this forum comes back and recommends not using it for some reason. I'm still curious about the actual mechanism for venting the gas. I'm guessing there is something that keeps the inside of the battery from being exposed to the open air. I'm hoping I haven't shortened the battery's life by sticking a tube into the side of it.

 

Is there no possibility that the DC to DC converter could malfunction and overcharge the 12V? I would like to think that, but I believe there are others on this forum who have suggested that may not be the case.

 

I wondered if an elbow might be necessary since there is not a lot of clearance between the battery and the side of its compartment, but the tubing seems to be stiff enough that it did not compress with the gentle bend I put in it. If the elbow has ridges on it that would help keep it from sliding out of the hole, it might be worthwhile putting one on anyway. I will look into that.

 

Thanks for the idea, but if adding an elbow from Home Depot and possibly ordering silicone tubing from an online source is sufficient to do the job, I will probably not go to the trouble of visiting a salvage yard and pulling one off a wreck.

 

Hmm, when I plug that part number into a Google search box, all I'm getting is references to a BMW forum in German. Unfortunately, I'm not as fluent in that language as you are in English. Thanks, anyway. I'm hoping what I have is good enough.

 

That's the battery I have, alright. I was thinking there might be a hole on the other side as well, as some apparently have a hole on both sides, but running my finger along the top edge (I'm not able to see the other side at all), I don't feel any interruption to the smooth surface. All the same, I'm still wondering how it really vents. Looking at the close-up view of the hole, it seems as though there is a solid piece of yellow plastic preventing anything being inserted too far into it, although from the photo there is a hint that the solid yellow plastic comes to an end right before the top. It almost looks like my tube is too thick to allow any gas through such a small opening. Maybe as Sam implied, it is a fake hole, in which case I really am wasting my time.

 

It looks like any of those would help, but per my comment in #18, I might be about to abandon the whole project.