Homebuilt battery box pics? - Page 5

86Scotty · 02-25-2013, 03:47 PM

A couple of folks have asked me for dimensions on my battery box, and I'm sure it's about the same as several of the others in this thread. Here goes:

My battery box is 11x8x34", which will fit the large sized marine batteries Walmart sells. Sorry but I don't know batteries by group name, as some do. I got 2 of the biggest marine batteries Walmart sells, and built the box to fit them there, inside the standard black plastic marine battery boxes. I don't love anything from Walmart, but their batteries have a great warranty and are available about anywhere I might be travelling, which was my reason for going with them. They are made by Johnson Controls, who make a lot of the batteries found at box stores and auto parts stores.

Hope that helps!

accrete · 06-03-2013, 02:58 PM

i read through the thread as the title perked my curiosity. I was planning on having van specialties install a house battery in our van conversion but now i might go it alone. In our Parkliner travel trailer i have two sealed optima batteries (the box is vented to the outside for extra safety).

Anyway, related to installing batteries in our rigs...are there owners out there that have utilized a battery such as the optima sealed AGM D27M or D31M batteries that have a vent port to attach a 1/4" vent tube that is then vented to the outside of the rig?

I am toying with the idea of placing a D31M in the rear street corner under my bed platform for running interior LEDs and MaxxFan...it would be plenty of power to run things for a week or so before needing a charge.

(pic of dual battery bay in my trailer)

Thom

86Scotty · 06-03-2013, 03:37 PM

Thom, before I built my exterior battery box I had mine in a plastic tub (with a weatherstrip sealed lid) in the back corner of my van under a shelf. I took an old hose and attatched it to the top of the box and ran it through the floor. To avoid cutting a permanent hole in the floor I went through right where the rear AC lines come through the floor, where there is a place I could make a hole without cutting metal. It worked great. With the Optimas that are sealed anyway I don't think you would have any problem doing what you are proposing. The tube will vent safely, but of course you will probably have to cut a permanent hole so I would make sure you think about it awhile before you do it.

dhally · 06-03-2013, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by accrete

...I am toying with the idea of placing a D31M in the rear street corner under my bed platform for running interior LEDs and MaxxFan...it would be plenty of power to run things for a week or so before needing a charge.
Thom

Hey accrete, it is sure fun to read your build story... similar to ours as far as Van Specialties and a lightweight minimal concept. It does seem like you are adding things as time goes on, but maybe that was the original idea?

In any case, I haven't tried what you are suggesting but did do some research in those directions.

First off, the Optima batteries seem to have lower amp-hours for the equivalent size. Basically you get less capacity for the cubic volume of space used. I assume that is because of their construction. For instance the D31M has 75AH whereas a Deka 8A31DT has 105AH and I think the space required is about the same. Optima claims to have better vibration resistance but the experience on this forum with other AGM's seems OK too.

The nice thing about AGM batteries is they are no-maintenance and they do OK in cold temperatures, so no need to put them inside the coach which takes up valuable space. So maybe consider mounting the battery under the vehicle? It can be located further forward, which should help weight balance as well. Locating further forward also puts it closer to the alternator so the charging wire is shorter. Plus I would always worry about the vent hose coming loose or the stupid thing exploding inside the van. These batteries do vent although it is supposedly controlled by a pressure regulator.

I really like our setup, which uses a battery separator to charge the house battery. We almost never plug in, and we don't have a voltmeter. Just drive it and then turn on when camped. Driving keeps it charged. Basically no worries until the battery dies in a few years.

One other consideration - get 2 batteries instead of 1... You never know what you might want to add to the van later...

Christopher Thwaites · 06-04-2013, 03:58 PM

I have a 2005 V10 12 pass. It has a battery under the hood and one on the frame. When I added solar I also added a third battery (AGM) to the space available on the frame using a stock Ford box.
I wired the third battery directly to the Solar panel via the controler. I also ran a 10 ga.wire from the the third battery to the second battery through a simple on/off battery switch. I have asked my battery folks at Interstate if I can charge the stock batteries through the solar system with this setup. They don't have an answer.The guy at Ford just sort of looked at me funny. Does anyone know if this will work and not damage either system. I only run my 12v refer/freezer with the solar setup and AGM battery now but I'd like to be able to "jump" the stock batteries if necessary.
Chris

witoke · 06-04-2013, 06:06 PM

You can charge a battery this way but you can discharge it just as easily so might want to consider a blocking diode or some sort of alarm so you don't forget to switch the secondary line down.

larrie · 06-04-2013, 10:37 PM

Another option might be to put in an on-off-on selector switch. That would give you positive isolation between two battery banks.

Christopher Thwaites · 06-05-2013, 10:14 AM

I do have an on/off switch between the AGM and the stock battery mounted on the frame. My concern was whether there was some sort of isolator between the 2 stock batteries. I've never been able to get an explanation as to how the stock batteries work. Are they simply linked and operate as one or is one primary and the other secondary? Electrical systems are definately NOT my strong suit. Thanks for the responses.
Chris

dhally · 06-06-2013, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christopher Thwaites

I do have an on/off switch between the AGM and the stock battery mounted on the frame. My concern was whether there was some sort of isolator between the 2 stock batteries. I've never been able to get an explanation as to how the stock batteries work. Are they simply linked and operate as one or is one primary and the other secondary? Electrical systems are definately NOT my strong suit. Thanks for the responses.
Chris

I have a 2009 gas van with the aux battery, and the wiring diagram. The aux battery is connected to the main battery through a relay. The relay is closed when the engine is running. The trailer wiring is powered directly from the aux battery, so a trailer would be powered only by the aux battery when the engine is off. When the van is running both batteries work together, and the aux battery can receive a charge.

The relay is located in the "smart terminal block" under the hood. It looks like an oversize fuse and can be pulled out like a fuse.

Christopher Thwaites · 06-06-2013, 10:32 AM

Thanks. That makes sense. My van has the factory trailer tow set up. Do you know if the relay connects it to the main battery when the key is in the on or start position? Or only after the engine has started? If I remove the relay will that mean the two batteries are then connected all the time? On a couple of occasions I have run the battery down by running the radio for several hours with the ignition in the aux position. That seemed odd to me but if the aux battery is only for a trailer then that might explain it. My goal is to be able to use the AGM battery or the aux
as a "jumper" in situations where the main battery is dead.
Chris