Larger Battery Boxes

[Ian_Rob]

I would like to add an extra domestic battery (3 x 95Ah + 1 x 80Ah) and have been looking at how I might achieve this in the limited space available. The current batteries are each in separate, lidless battery boxes. I could achieve more space by having the batteries in two double size boxes or even in one quadruple size box but I wonder if there are safety issues with this? Boxes seemed to be sized on the principle of their internal dimension being 50mm bigger than the batteries they hold - a clear 25mm on all sides, presumably for ventilation ? Any reason why the the 25mm clearance couldn‘t be shared between the batteries allowing the overall size to be reduced?

 

[pvb]

You don't necessarily need any gap between adjacent batteries, unless this is needed for clamp-down, etc. No safety issues involved.

 

[Stemar]

I've never bothered with a battery box. Jazzcat's batteries just live on a shelf with an inch or two of lip above the port engine, which is how she was designed. I suppose that if your battery gets physically damaged or decides to explode, one might be useful, but I'd be tempted to build something out of ply, preferably marine, for the batteries to sit on and be anchored to. While it's certainly a good idea to protect the terminals from dropped spanners, I reckon anchored down is far more important than enclosed.

 

[geem]

Our battery box was originally a single space designed to house over 1300Ah of battery capacity. It was simply a plywood enclosure glassed internally and painted. The batteries are held down with timber clamps. The lids are 10mm clear Perspex. The box is located under the starboard saloon seats. We have since divided the space up with plywood dividers as we only run 450Ah of domestic battery instead of the original 1000Ah. The battery box is effectively part of the boat construction. There is no need for anything seperate

 

[Ian_Rob]

Our battery box was originally a single space designed to house over 1300Ah of battery capacity. It was simply a plywood enclosure glassed internally and painted. The batteries are held down with timber clamps. The lids are 10mm clear Perspex. The box is located under the starboard saloon seats. We have since divided the space up with plywood dividers as we only run 450Ah of domestic battery instead of the original 1000Ah. The battery box is effectively part of the boat construction. There is no need for anything seperate

Making up a box may be the way to go. I thought it would be easy to find off the shelf boxes that would take two or four Group 27 batteries but there doesn’t seem to be many manufacturers making them; particularly ones with vertical sides - necessary if space isn’t to be wasted.

 

[Supertramp]

Making up a box may be the way to go. I thought it would be easy to find off the shelf boxes that would take two or four Group 27 batteries but there doesn’t seem to be many manufacturers making them; particularly ones with vertical sides - necessary if space isn’t to be wasted.
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I would like to add an extra domestic battery (3 x 95Ah + 1 x 80Ah) and have been looking at how I might achieve this in the limited space available. The current batteries are each in separate, lidless battery boxes. I could achieve more space by having the batteries in two double size boxes or even in one quadruple size box but I wonder if there are safety issues with this? Boxes seemed to be sized on the principle of their internal dimension being 50mm bigger than the batteries they hold - a clear 25mm on all sides, presumably for ventilation ? Any reason why the the 25mm clearance couldn‘t be shared between the batteries allowing the overall size to be reduced?

My batteries are a snug fit in their boxes, and I use wedges and a top bar to stop any movement. They are built of 3/4" ply which was glassed over and strong enough to cope with the weight of 180ah batteries. Not something you want moving or coming loose in a blow. They might contain an explosion.....