House Battery installation

[Greggd]

We have a 2007 EB-50 that came with a Decca 4AGM house battery that I replaced last Friday with the originally specified LifeLine 4AGM . Even though I am very observant and meticulous about servicing I never gave the House Battery a thought as it was a sealed system ! I did continually monitor this Batterie's charge condition but never thought to check on the actual securement of the Battery ? What I found made me cringe as this substantially large and heavy unit was held into the underbody mounted framework with a pair of Medium weight Zip Tie's threaded through aBattery Box lid . Even though I never had any difficultie's with this factory installed configuration I wondered if any of you had experienced any problems and figured out a more secure means of attachment , I am looking for ready made Clamps that might work if not I will have something fabricated ! Incidentally the Black Battery Box Lid broke into three pieces when removed and showed signs of being crushed with vertical Battery
Movement , I believe the single lid was used as a means of keeping the Battery from shorting out on the Frame .
Greggd
PS Any of you interested in these Mil Spec LifeLine Batterie's can will call them here in Azusa , California at a substantial savings , they even have an installer that will changed it out at your home for a reasonable price ! If you want the contact information I will be happy to share with you via a PM
Greggd

[Scalf77]

I posted this a couple of years ago, http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/vie...php?f=14&t=287 At first I did not think much about the broken tie wrap, Then when I went to reinstall the replacement battery I figured it was probably the root cause. Note: My tie wraps were going the rope handles. Also there was this thread where John K says
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/vie...ttery+zip+ties

The zip ties are basically just there to secure the battery during installation. The battery mounts inside of an angle iron frame, with a sheet of 1/8" thick ABS plastic underneath it. The battery is secured two ways. There is an ABS cover that was designed to act as a spacer between the top of the battery and the bottom of the van floor to keep the battery from rising out of the angle iron frame once installed. There is also a small gap (about 1/4") between the angle iron frame and battery case sidewalls. This gap is filled with Sikaflex sealant which secures the battery to the frame. The Sikaflex sealant also prevents small pebbles from becoming lodged between the angle iron frame and battery case, which will wear a hole in the battery case.

If you don't have the ABS cover or Sikaflex sealant, you'll need something more than the zip ties to secure the battery (and to prevent small pebbles from causing major problems).

While I haven't seen a battery ever come out of the angle iron frame, I have seen the damage a couple little pebbles can cause!

John K.

While I respect all the input we have received from John K on the forum, I would have to say I politely disagree on this issue. I have two of the tie wraps installed on each side for a total of four. I also used much larger ones than the original. I use to check them monthly, now it is down to quarterly.

-greg

[Greggd]

Greg,
I found no evidence of any insulating barrier and of course I did find the damaged ABS Liid . I for the life of me cannot believe that I missed this installation procedure with all of the cleaning , torquing , and touch up painting that I do . The fact is that I noticed the Zip Ties attached to the Polypropylene Battery Handles but assumed that they were flopping preventives for the Handles not a means of securement .I am going to install something more substantial for peace of mind and if any of you have any ideas be sure to share .
Greggd

[charlie56]

I added 2 nylon tie straps to better secure the battery to the bracket.
viewtopic.php?p=47647#p47647

So far they have done the trick.

[daveb]

Originally Posted by Greggd

Even though I am very observant and meticulous

You Gregg? That's an understatement.
Maybe it's because I could eat off your garage floor or because your van undercarriage looks like it's never been off road. If your van comes up for sale I’d consider selling mine to buy yours.
But yeah, I couldn’t believe zip ties were the only thing holding them down. That’s all you need, a bouncing battery. Mine were secured by nylon straps by SMB at my request. I will admit, I never had any trouble when they were only zip tied but the marine battery box cover isn’t what I’d call the perfect insulator either. AGM’s are one of the most “tough” built batteries and unlike wet cell types, AGM’s withstand damaged by vibration. Still even though zip ties are a good backup, I still preferred a ratchet strap. Nobody needs a high amp short from a battery making contact to the frame

[rob_gendreau]

Yeah, see the other recent post about "shade tree welding." This could easily end up being the "inadvertent, unwanted welding" thread

I also used ratchet straps, although my batteries are mounted elsewhere. If it can come loose it will.

rob