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Battery box / cage / holder for upcoming BSS


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As the title says I have a BSS due in a few months and my main worry based on my reading of the BSS document is my battery container.

It is currently a plastic box large enough to hold 6 batteries that sits on a tray on the swim. Someone replaced the leisure batteries at some time

before I bought the boat and put only 3 in instead of 5. So there is a 2 battery space at the end of the box. There is nothing holding the box in place other

than the weight of the batteries and the massive connector links. The box seems to be a replacement for the original which was just a wooden

board in a recessed rectangular frame, approximately 15mm x 15mm angle iron.

Reading the BSS document the batteries need to be fixed in place and unable to move up to an angle of 45 degrees.

I cannot see any suitable cages or boxes online so will probably have to make my own.

 

Does anyone have any ideas?

Is wood suitable?

Should I use all metal?

What is a suitable way of holding the batteries down bearing in mind the ends are blocked by the connecting wires. See picture below.

 

At the same time I am wondering if I need terminal covers. Currently the plastic box has a lid and the decking is just above. I have bought the biggest

terminal covers I can find but they don't even come close to fitting the massive link cables, ~20mm diameter, or the various other 'always on' wires attached

to the terminals.

Is there an alternative method of doing this?

I'm thinking of using some sort of rubber sheet fixed with cable ties.

 

Batteries.jpg

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If that box is stout enough to secure the batteries against movement when full, and is retained within an angle iron frame around the base, which in turn is attached to the hull, then I think the only thing you have to worry about is the batteries moving in the box. I would be tempted to make up a plywood 'dummy battery' to drop in the end of the box to stop the real batteries moving.

An overall lid of non conducting material is all you need to protect against accidental contact with the terminals. You don't need individual terminal covers.

  • Greenie 2
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19 minutes ago, David Mack said:

If that box is stout enough to secure the batteries against movement when full, and is retained within an angle iron frame around the base, which in turn is attached to the hull, then I think the only thing you have to worry about is the batteries moving in the box. I would be tempted to make up a plywood 'dummy battery' to drop in the end of the box to stop the real batteries moving.

An overall lid of non conducting material is all you need to protect against accidental contact with the terminals. You don't need individual terminal covers.

 

Exactly.

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

If that box is stout enough to secure the batteries against movement when full, and is retained within an angle iron frame around the base, which in turn is attached to the hull, then I think the only thing you have to worry about is the batteries moving in the box. I would be tempted to make up a plywood 'dummy battery' to drop in the end of the box to stop the real batteries moving.

An overall lid of non conducting material is all you need to protect against accidental contact with the terminals. You don't need individual terminal covers.

I see what you mean but the base of the box is only a few mm into the frame it wouldn’t stop it tipping which is mentioned in the BSS document. So presumably if I had a fixing further up the box that would be sufficient?

1 hour ago, robtheplod said:

+ eventually when you've got that sorted, connect them up differently so POSITIVE comes off the bank the opposite side of NEGATIVE .....

Do you mean opposite ends of the bank? In the picture they are on opposite sides.

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14 minutes ago, Cruiser_Boy said:

I see what you mean but the base of the box is only a few mm into the frame it wouldn’t stop it tipping which is mentioned in the BSS document. So presumably if I had a fixing further up the box that would be sufficient?

 

In that case drill through the angle iron upright and the battery box and put (say) 6mm roofing bolts through the hole, head on inside and the nuts and washers on the outside.

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38 minutes ago, Cruiser_Boy said:

Do you mean opposite ends of the bank? In the picture they are on opposite sides.

Yes he does. If you number the batteries from left to right, 1,2,3,4, then at the moment, both the big positive and negative leads to the boat go off battery 1. It would be better if one lead, either positive, or negative went off battery 1 and the other lead, negative, or positive went off battery 4. The reason being that there is a very small voltage drop across each of the link wires, 1 to 2, 2 to 3 and 3 to 4. This means 4 isn't getting charged as well as 3, which is getting charged less well than battery 2 and that less well than 1. It is good practice. Connecting positive to one end of the bank and negative to the other evens out the charging voltage much better. There are other connection schemes that are theoretically slightly better than this, but you get in to diminishing returns against complication, so a majority of boats are wired this way.

Not as important as sorting out the potential for battery movement though.

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I suggest the empty space is packed out with something like polystyrene blocks so the batteries cannot move sideways .

If the box has a lid secured with webbing straps there would be no upward movement of any significance.

 

I doubt any examiner will remove the batteries to see how the box is fixed down. But you could fix it with Sikaflex or the like.

Edited by MartynG
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4 hours ago, Cruiser_Boy said:

As the title says I have a BSS due in a few months and my main worry based on my reading of the BSS document is my battery container.

It is currently a plastic box large enough to hold 6 batteries that sits on a tray on the swim. Someone replaced the leisure batteries at some time

before I bought the boat and put only 3 in instead of 5. So there is a 2 battery space at the end of the box. There is nothing holding the box in place other

than the weight of the batteries and the massive connector links. The box seems to be a replacement for the original which was just a wooden

board in a recessed rectangular frame, approximately 15mm x 15mm angle iron.

Reading the BSS document the batteries need to be fixed in place and unable to move up to an angle of 45 degrees.

I cannot see any suitable cages or boxes online so will probably have to make my own.

 

Does anyone have any ideas?

Is wood suitable?

Should I use all metal?

What is a suitable way of holding the batteries down bearing in mind the ends are blocked by the connecting wires. See picture below.

 

At the same time I am wondering if I need terminal covers. Currently the plastic box has a lid and the decking is just above. I have bought the biggest

terminal covers I can find but they don't even come close to fitting the massive link cables, ~20mm diameter, or the various other 'always on' wires attached

to the terminals.

Is there an alternative method of doing this?

I'm thinking of using some sort of rubber sheet fixed with cable ties.

 

Batteries.jpg
 

 

That battery box looks very flimsy to me. I would replace it with a plywood structure. There is a lot of surface area, so bonding the bottom onto the boat so it can’t move should be OK. If you are going to make up a new battery box, might as well make it the right size for the batteries. Otherwise, pack out with wood, not polystyrene. Batteries are heavy and in a collision might be inclined to move and polystyrene will squash. You don’t want them to be restrained by the battery terminals and wiring.

 

In theory insulating the terminals is not required if the lid is only opened to access the batteries, but it would be a good idea to eg put some rubber matting over the top (eg car mats!) to cater for interfering idiots.

Edited by nicknorman
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I got picked up on battery containment on my last BSS examination, I was advised and fitted a cargo  retaining ratchet strap, secured just below  battery height at one end and in the base of the battery tray at the other.

I believe the BSS issue was regarding keeping the batteries in situ if the boat rolled.

Fairly easy fit to be honest, about half an hour faffing around  with placement and the same to fit.

 

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