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batteries - relocating to the rear and doubling up

mudbuggy

mudbuggy

1/2 ton status
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Jun 10, 2010
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Location
Indianapolis, Indiana
I've had it, sick and tired of fixing trays, not going to do it anymore. There moving to the back. I'm going to add an isolator, a self jump solenoid, upgrade the alternator to the cs-144, and add two group 31 batteries. I think I'm going to add some solar charger panels in the rear side windows and a standard plug in charger just to cover that base too. To make sure I don't loose a battery in the future I also will add a dash indicator for the alternator. I don't know what type of setup I am going to do (ammeter, digital, led charging inicator, or maybe hey dummy the alternator is dead light)

I recently lost my alternator and my battery, I don't know how long I've been running on batteries, I suspect a few weeks now. I thought something was funny when I would turn on the ac and the aftermarket battery guage that I installed (with an additional 65 amp load on) dropped to just over 12 volts, I'm guessing maybe three weeks since the cs-130 has been working correctly. I swapped alternators then checked the water levels. 32 ounces of water and 24 hours of charging at 2 amps and both of the 78 series batteries are testing good. Tested the new alternator its putting out 85amps with a max load on it at idle. I have decided that all 4 batteries will go in the spare tire area, just haven't figured out what equipment will be on the starting set and what will be on the service set. Guess I have some time, since I need to fab out some boxes. That sounds good, I'll start there, the rest will fall into place.
 
Figured I'd better commit or forget so I decided that I don't feel like picking up a 60 pound battery just to test sizing of the box and box placement. So I began making mocks. I'll try andownlod from my blackberry but if it won't do it I'll download it from the laptop after I get home
 
I have a solar charger hooked up to my batteries in my M1009. I found it on Ebay for a decent price, maybe around $30. never had a problem starting the truck no matter how long it sits
 
Here are the pics that I tried to upload from my blackberry while I was at my shop. The fourth picture is a designed that I am interested in, a friend that hunts my land offered up his dimple dies for this project to me, might just take him up on it. Still haven't decided on how to build the box, since my batteries are the type that water is occasionally added to them I am thinking that I don't want to have to remove the tie down to add water. Just haven't gotten that far on this project as of yet. Still need to finish the curtain between the front of the cab and the rear cargo area so the ac can cool just the front and not all of it. Hopefully by the time I get that finished I'll have a good idea of what style of boxes to fabricate for the batteries. I need them to be (of course) held in place, but to also allow me to add water without having to remove the hold down. I also don't want just a piece of angle iron across the top either.

Smokininthehippies : back at ya brother!

If I feel like dealing with the heat tomorrow I'll get outside and get some pictures of the setup that I have in the rear wheel well and get the mock batteries in there and get pics so I can look at it on the computer too!

As always, all thoughts and comments are welcome!
 
I made inset batt boxes just in front of the wheel wells on my old '81 Jimmy. Nothing fancy for wiring or anything, but dang did it ever get rid of every stupid squeak and groan from up front. The weight of the batt's on the factory trays up front caused a lot of noise over bumps as the trays deteriorated over time. Washboard fire roads killed mine quickly, and I had repaired them several times before relocating.

DSC00897.jpg


DSC00834.jpg


I replaced all my batt cables with 1/0 fine strand welding cable, which also made a big difference.

The dimple die batt hold down looks slick. A set of those dies is on my wish list as the next tool for me.

Rene
 
Just a word of caution, placing a liquid cell battery in the passenger compartment can be dangerous as those types of batteries "breathe" (meaning they give off a gas). Ideally if they are to be mounted inside the passenger compartment they should have some form of venting to the outside air and be completely sealed so those vapors can't get into the passenger compartment.
 
here are pictures from this morning, first is of the frame that I was originally going to mount the log on and have an electric motor turn the a-6 to produce air. Can't get a large enough motor (without spending $300), so I guess I'll just mount it under the hood. The second and third are of the mock batteries in the location how I might mount them down.

4X4HIGHJust a word of caution, placing a liquid cell battery in the passenger compartment can be dangerous as those types of batteries "breathe" (meaning they give off a gas). Ideally if they are to be mounted inside the passenger compartment they should have some form of venting to the outside air and be completely sealed so those vapors can't get into the passenger compartment.
4x4HIGH - Yep, aware and it really could be a dangerous situation if left unattended to. I thinking about mounting some large computer fans on the inboard side of the bottom of the whell well (frame side) to pull out the vapor, since the fumes from a battery tend to be heavier then air, this idea might pan out. Just need to get to that point!

tRustyK5 - I really like that setup that you have. I wouldn't be able to do that unless I reengineered the floor setup with the rear seats. I have maybe 4" in front of the rear wheel well before the back seat mounts on the floorpan. Then the floor pan drops appr. 10". Still thinking about mounting the batteries under the rear seat, but since that will take more fab time I'm looking at the easier options first.


Thank you both for your observations and ideas, please keep them coming!

battery frame.jpg

mock up 1.jpg

mock up 2.jpg
 
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the fans wont work. simply put, if they are not in a 100% sealed from the interior box, DONT DO IT. get agm or gel cell batteries. they arent that much more expensive if you get an off brand. but will save a lot in doctor bills if they explode or even just the vapors explode. not to mention inhaling acid vapor
 
Batteries produce pure hydrogen gas....... Ask the hindenburg how that worked out.



Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
 
that'd be a super easy area to box in and seal, and just run a vent to the wheelwell...

and as much as I warn about venting, I'm also a big detractor of any exposed battery connections in a cab.... or truck bed for that matter..... way too easy for a dead short accident to occur, and for those of us who have seen a fully charged battery explode, it's an understandable concern...
 
seen one in auto shop once, :eek1: dont want to see it again.
 
I had one blow up in my face when I was 19... wrenching on my ex-wifes Nissan Pulsar, had just put in a freshly charged battery, dropped a 3/4 snappie combo wrench, and of course it lands on both terminals... still have that wrench with the burn mark.. :haha:
 
sorta on topic, but do Gel Cell deep cycle need some kind of vent also, to the outside world?
 
for the record.. there really isn't anything out anymore that's a gel, that tech is all AGM now... thank god...

no, they don't gas generally.... they have tiny pressure relief vents.. but in an overcharge state, they can release gas thru the vent...
 
I might think about going to another type of battery down the road when these 4 crap out, but if I take care of them I shouldn't have to worry about it for at least another 4 years. I got the group 31s at the beginning of the winter 2010, and the group 78s I got for my birthday a few weeks ago.
 
4 years is a long time to dodge blowing up:whistle: Just sayin:dunno:
 
4 years is nothing. I had a set of group 78s for 10 years in my first truck I built. Had them mounted under the bench seat in the cab. I replaced the batteries cause I got a good deal on another set of group 78s. Never had an issue with battery gas in the passenger compartment. Don't plan on it either but am planning on venting this set and sealing it from the passenger compartment. Murphy has got his eye on me!!!
 
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