Battery Box

ChopperBill

Well-known member
In my quest to find a battery box I came across a storage box at Lowe's. (4) 6 volts fit in with some room to spare length wise. It is a little taller than I would like but would be perfect for those using the T145's or such. It has 400# capacity, not that I will ever be lifting 240 lbs of batteries! It has a pretty good top and even has provisions for locks. Best part, less than $20.
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Uncle Rog

Well-known member
Good job, I used 2 marine 2 battery boxes and used pvc fittings,weatherstipping and duct tape to seal and vent with 1-1/4 plastic hose to tie into the stk vent. Having all four in one box sounds, and probably is, cleaner.......
 

ChopperBill

Well-known member
The dealer just put my 6 volts in two separate group 27 boxes and ran one vent hose to the other and just slipped the tops on. There was about a 2 inch gap between the tops and bottoms. Worthless to even vent them with that set up. One of the OEM boxes has a neat adapter bolted in. Couldn't have worked out any better because it will fit great in the new box and the top seals up pretty good.
 
Talking about venting. My dealer installed a second battery and put it in the front storage compartment. The plastic case that it's installed in has no openings for venting. It's the style for travel trailers that sits on the tongue frame. So I have some mods to perform.
Questions I have are: The stock vent opening with the hose running to the battery box is at the front of the trailer in what I would assume is a high pressure area. So while traveling, the air goes in towards the battery and blowes the fumes to ??. For the battery that is located in my front compartment, the fumes are just going into the compartment which is not very air tight and mixes with the ambient air and I assume become non-volatile.
And while the trailer is sitting the fumes are probably rising and exiting the vent hole???
Any physics/chem majors out there that can elaborate on safety and remedy?
Jim
 

Goldenwingers

goldenwingers
The fumes that escape from the battery box are very corrosive so if there is the possibility that they could get to any electrical equipment it will corrode any relays or connections so you need to install them so the gasses vent to to the outside. I do not consider myself a physics/chem major just using what common sense I can muster up. On mine we installed the batteries in a box made from plywood and caulked all joints with silicone and under the hinged top I placed foam weather stripping and placed a hasp type latch so it pulls the lid down tight on the weather stripping and placed a vent in the bottom to the storage compartment to the outside of the trailer.

Don
 

ChopperBill

Well-known member
This is what I ended up with. The vent must work pretty good because you can smell the fumes coming out the front opening. What happens going down the road I don't know, but the top is pretty snug. The OEM box had a vent hole in the bottom and the tube running out the top, but it was worthless the way the dealer hooked everything up. Suppose I could vent the box out of the bottom also. It will be on my endless list of things to do. Lifting those batteries up and into the box while being stooped over would have been a lot easier 15 years ago!
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leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
15 years ago, we would have been juggling those batteries, while opening the door whistling Dixie.

Today...I can just handle the whistle part.None
 

Uncle Rog

Well-known member
Nice install chopper, I would not be too concerned about venting, the batteries vent mostly while being charged, especially if you have a "season" mode on your charger...
 
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