Posted: October 01 2007 at 08:32 | IP Logged

thought you guys might be interested in a pair of boxes designed for 2 group 31 batteries--we built these this weekend.

no lids yet--still trying to think of a purtty way to lock them down. so i dont want to cut anything yet till i have a plan.

this stuff is called "impregnated pvc" awesome stuff to work with. kinda like starboard but lighter. cuts with a table saw...or any saw for that matter, drills and screws easily with wood screw type threaded screw. we found it at don's marine salvage in largo, fla.

we 5200'ed all the joints as we screwed them together to make a stronger joint. and at this point...they could be airtight...still considering that....maybe vent them to the outside of the hull..

anyway here's a couple pics:

Posted: November 29 2007 at 00:49 | IP Logged

Chuck,

Have you considered building a "shoebox" style lid? It closes up the unit, provides some venting, and no hinges to worry about it. I bought a factory made box from my battery supplier and it had a shoe box top. Used it for one season and the lid stays nicely in place, and it keeps everything dry. By the way, I have yet to see a battery box that is vented outside the hull.

TFH

Posted: November 29 2007 at 14:33 | IP Logged

hey tfh--

 i may not be worrying about venting at the end of the day anyway...gonna use AGM batteries. and also...

the shoebox lid wont work in this circumstance cuz the boxes are flat up against the bulkhead wall.

ya--i began doing some battery venting research and i kept leading me to sites that were mainly concerned with big home battery systems. and a few other sites that were way over MY head! SOOOO, i decided to give up the idea of a sealed battery box.. a proper venting system is way more complicated(if done right) then it was worth. especially since i like the idea of AGM's anyway!

i really didn't want to create a bomb on my boat! which is kinda what you get if you dont do these vent systems correctly.

been wondering where everyone went on this forum...guess it's just that time of year. holidays and all.

anyway-thanks for the input. i haven't been at the house in over a month--so not much has gotten done but i did find a good deal on wire from an ebay dealer...so we ordered some wire ...that's waiting for me to get there.

now i'm really struggling with a battery switch system. i ended up tearing out all the stuff that i just got done re-doing--

thinking about electric switches or at least moving the switches to .....well somewhere that i can get to them without lifting the engine hatches and reaching  down in there. (in case of emergency)

we are scheduled to get home around the 3rd but wont be around much more then 5 or 6 days....

need to get this thing done!!! getting depressing!