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Battery Relocation? The Battery Box!

Dan Fredrickson

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Sacramento, CA
We made these with the Fabricator in mind. These are made of 1 piece of steel, no welds needed! We made them with very tight tolerances so the battery will not move around and the top plate is also cut in a shape to fit the battery. They have no prederermined location holes cut in them so you can use them as best suits your project without having to workaround someone elses idea of how it should be done! they are very easy to combine to mount dual batteries too, just cut and paste!

normal_Battery%20Box1.jpg


We used mild steel because stainless just isn't necessary in something that is not a show truck and why add $50 to the cost if you don't have to? We make these only for an Optima battery so far but let me know if you want them for another popular shaped battery. The battery can mount to either side and they are unidirectional so you can't mount them wrong!

normal_Battery%20box%205.jpg


These are $59 before the NAXJA discount.......Enjoy!
 
Very nice! Now, would this be compatible with, say, a poly battery box for cargo space mounting? I've been thinking of moving my battery back there (and probably adding a deep cycle,) but I've always done pax area mounts using boxes with outside vents. This looks like a ROCK SOLID mount, but I will still want to fit it into a box and vent to outside (and I'll suggest the same to anyone who wants to put batteries inside the cabin...)
 
5-90 said:
Very nice! Now, would this be compatible with, say, a poly battery box for cargo space mounting? I've been thinking of moving my battery back there (and probably adding a deep cycle,) but I've always done pax area mounts using boxes with outside vents. This looks like a ROCK SOLID mount, but I will still want to fit it into a box and vent to outside (and I'll suggest the same to anyone who wants to put batteries inside the cabin...)
no need to vent an optima Jon, and this mount is only made to fit an optima. it's a sealed battery, drycells. no liquid acid inside to require venting.
 
GrimmJeeper said:
no need to vent an optima Jon, and this mount is only made to fit an optima. it's a sealed battery, drycells. no liquid acid inside to require venting.

The vent isn't just for overflow - it's also for the outgassing that happens (with any rechargeable cell) under charge. You seal the box to keep acid contained, you vent the box to prevent buildup of hydrogen. Make sense?

The Optimas still have vents on top of them - they have to.
 
5-90 said:
The vent isn't just for overflow - it's also for the outgassing that happens (with any rechargeable cell) under charge. You seal the box to keep acid contained, you vent the box to prevent buildup of hydrogen. Make sense?

The Optimas still have vents on top of them - they have to.
yes i know what you mean... but are the rechargable batteries in your cellphone or home cordless phone vented? the rayovac or other brand rechargable AAs or D cells or whatever size you may have?

the optimas DO have vents on them, but they are drycell batteries, not gel or liquid cells. i'd imagine the amount of gas produced is negligable(sp?).
 
I will not pretend to be a battery expert, in fact I despise all things electronic!

However I would think the poly type box is made for a generic type battery, maybe made in 2 sizes? If it is, the Optima is somewhat smaller than a typical battery and it may fit inside fine. I haven't tried it.

I designed these as a holdown that will not let go, I will guarantee that!
 
Dan Fredrickson said:
I will not pretend to be a battery expert, in fact I despise all things electronic!

However I would think the poly type box is made for a generic type battery, maybe made in 2 sizes? If it is, the Optima is somewhat smaller than a typical battery and it may fit inside fine. I haven't tried it.

I designed these as a holdown that will not let go, I will guarantee that!

Dan - I mean in no wise whatever to disparage your work - far from it! Given a chance and funding, this is going to solve a problem I was gearing up to have anyhow... This would be idea for mounting a battery in an alternate location underhood, on its side, or whatever - so you're definitely on the right course here! Looks like it's about three times thicker than most of the chassis as well. Does it ship in the white? If it does, and it's mild steel (looks like it) without any kind of surface treatment, you may want to advise people to paint it tho. Atmospheric corrosion sucks...

Grimm - all recargable batteries are vented, regardless of chemistry. It's less obvious with smaller cells, since the charging current is so much smaller (a cell phone battery or a AA rechargable charges somewhere around 50-100mA. An automotive battery can charge anywhere from 10-100A, depending on depth of drain...) So, the larger automotive battery, charging at a higher current by several orders of magnitude, will outgas more while charging. This makes ventilation important.

I just checked the charger for my cellphone - it supplies all of 40mA, just below the low end of the range I gave. So, that's not even a major issue. For conventional "dry cell replacements", you'll find vents built into one of the terminal caps if you take the thing apart (for Ni-Cd or for NiMH - I haven't taken apart a Li-ion cell yet.)

The Optima and the Odyssey batteries aren't true "dry cell" units (with a "paste" electrolyte,) the Optima is an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) and the Odyssey is a gel cell, as I recall. They still use an acid electrolyte, vice the alkaline electrolyte used in smaller cells (the acidic chemistry allows for greater power density as a function of either mass or volume.) Acid electrolyte cells will outgas more, making ventilation more important.

I think the typical battery box is sized for a BCI group 24 battery - which is considerably larger than the 34/78 form that Optima uses. But, if you give me the width of the holddown you've developed as mounted (I see the flanges where the two parts attach,) I can check that out for you.
 
Well Jon, i stand corrected, and i will have a convorsation with the Optima rep next time he comes into my store. You are obviously more versed on the subect than I or the print materials i have available to me.

i will concede to you now, but we shall see...


:cheers:
 
GrimmJeeper said:
Well Jon, i stand corrected, and i will have a convorsation with the Optima rep next time he comes into my store. You are obviously more versed on the subect than I or the print materials i have available to me.

i will concede to you now, but we shall see...


:cheers:

Hey - if I'm wrong, please let me know! But, having played with more than a few rechargable batteries of various types, I think I'd only be wrong if they've changed chemistry significantly (and when I talked to Optima, it wasn't about battery chemistry...)
 
Now that's pretty damn nifty.

My only concern is the proxcimity of the top pieces "wings" to the posts, I'd try to get as much space between the posts and metal as possible, probably at least 2" to allow for a standard terminal clamp to rotate without touching the top brace (that way in case a cable gets tugged on with loose terminals you don't end up with a direct short to ground, direct shorts suck ;) )
 
5-90 said:
Hey - if I'm wrong, please let me know! But, having played with more than a few rechargable batteries of various types, I think I'd only be wrong if they've changed chemistry significantly (and when I talked to Optima, it wasn't about battery chemistry...)

You're right 5-90.
All rechargeable batteries vent durring a charge and also when a cell within the battery is weak or dead. Being a Battery Technician (for the worlds largest battery manufacture), I've lit up a few batteries because of the Hydrogen Gas they expel during a charge (7,000 lbs, 1000+AH, 80 volts).

Nice design on the box!
 
To answer a couple of questions.....

I have no idea of what you mean "in the white" and I have been working steel for 30 years? They do come bare metal and I would assume they would be painted after that person decides how to mount it. I would not want to have to remove paint to weld it in place. I think painting it would be a given.......

The "wings" are out of any normal cable placement position and the body is below the cable mounting posts' and the raised surface around them. The top piece mounts flush with the surface of the battery, my goal was a tight container for the battery. I think the only way you may arc it is if it wasn't mounted securely and it broke free and was hang upside down from the cables alone. We must make the assumption that it is mounted securely.
 
Dan Fredrickson said:
To answer a couple of questions.....

I have no idea of what you mean "in the white" and I have been working steel for 30 years? They do come bare metal and I would assume they would be painted after that person decides how to mount it. I would not want to have to remove paint to weld it in place. I think painting it would be a given.......

The "wings" are out of any normal cable placement position and the body is below the cable mounting posts' and the raised surface around them. The top piece mounts flush with the surface of the battery, my goal was a tight container for the battery. I think the only way you may arc it is if it wasn't mounted securely and it broke free and was hang upside down from the cables alone. We must make the assumption that it is mounted securely.

Dan -
"In the white" is exactly what you've described - mill state, no coating (galvanising metal means it's not "in the white" anymore.) More than anything else, I thought it would be a good idea to clarify that for everyone else - I was sure you had your reasons for leaving it bare, and you just confirmed that (and it's a very good reason. No argument whatever here!)

Geoff -
I also see what you're talking about, although it doesn't look at issue with the side posts. If it's something you're concerned about, since you have to paint/coat/whatever it anyhow, use something like Plasti-Dip for the top strap (that dippable/brushable vinyl coating you can also use on tools and such) as an insulating layer. That's my initial thought, anyhow. "The only trouble with making something completely foolproof is that you can't underestimate the ingenuity of a complete fool." Credit where credit is due - Dan's done a very good job with design, but he's not responsible for it anymore once it leaves his shop.

@Veeb0rg -
All common Optima batteries are BCI 34/78, so you should have no trouble with fitment (the only ones I've seen different so far are the 6V batteries, with only three cells.)
 
This is a nice peice of work! I ordered one and am impressed with the quality workmanship. It was better than I expected. Also, the shipping was incredibly fast. I'll do business with these guys again!
 
This is right off of Optima's website, as you can see they say to install the battery in a ventilated are when charging or in use.
optimawebsitepicoo5.png



Exelent work on this as well as all your other parts. Are you planning on marketing these to hot-roders?

~Alex
 
alex22 said:
This is right off of Optima's website, as you can see they say to install the battery in a ventilated are when charging or in use.
optimawebsitepicoo5.png



Exelent work on this as well as all your other parts. Are you planning on marketing these to hot-roders?

~Alex

I haven't yet but most of them seem to want chrome or aluminum and quite a few want them in the trunk which would be fine but the ventilation rules would prohibit that.
 
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