Battery safety (in the trunk)

[jovial_cynic]

My 71 510 came with the battery in the trunk, since the previous owner had plans to stick a Z22E in it (intake gets in the way of the battery). However, instead of doing something safe and reasonable, he just stuck it in the back never got around to making it secure. So... I've been driving around my 510 with the battery box held down with bungee cords.

 

What's a good way to secure the battery? I thought about fabbing up a box for the battery and bolting the box down, but it seems that there should be a more elegant solution.

 

Ideas? I just want something simple/effective. Since my car is a daily driver, I'd prefer to *not* set the battery in the spare wheel well. I'd like to keep a spare tire in there.

[slodat]

There are photos around of this (I'm not sure where to find one this moment).. But, what I plan to do down the road is have a sheet metal shop fab up a steel 5 sided box to flush mount into the passenger rear of the trunk. The battery will drop down into the box 6" or so with a bar across the top to tie it down. Pretty simple in design and execution. I know there are a lot of dimes out there setup like this. The one thing I know to watch for is the "frame" under the trunk. Pretty easy setup and will be very secure with respect to the battery staying in one place.

[jovial_cynic]

slodat -

 

Oh interesting - I hadn't thought about dropping the box on the passenger side. I went away from the wheel-well idea because I want a spare tire in there, but having a lowered box on the passenger side (that I can cover?) seems like a good idea. I could have it vent outside the car through the bottom/side as well. I like this idea.

[slodat]

I'm not sure how low you can drop it. Depends upon what battery you want to run. The way I plan to do it is to have a sheetmetal cover made that has the tie down integrated into it. Then there's no worry of stuff in the trunk causing a short. The dropped box makes the battery stay put. Seems like an afternoon project once the sheet metal is bent up. As far as venting goes, I personally would not "vent" it. Don't see a need.

[hang_510]

I personally would not "vent" it. Don't see a need.

:eek:

H2S fumes are lethal. never know when it 'might' happen...overcharging will do it.

sealed batteries still vent to prevent explosions.

 

i have a vented box built into the corner, secured by a bracket and covered so it can not ever move / short, even if upside down or from junk in the trunk

[slodat]

True H2S is lethal, the chances of it being produced in any amount in an automotive application are nil. With that said, it would take 20+ vdc for an extended period of time to cause the severe gassing necessary. Most very small (automotive) lead acid batteries lack sufficient electrolyte volume to be dangerous. I suppose I've just never been too worried about it. Disclaimer: I'm a retired US Navy submarine electrician. Qualified battery charging electrician on the largest lead acid battery in the world. And it was in a sealed sewer pipe :D

[]2eDeYe]

..at least you never got flushed. :)

 

You can buy a plastic box to house the battery. They have them at any parts house, but you might look into marine grade stuff if your putting it in a sewer pipe. :lol:

 

I plan to never buy a 'wet' battery again...fuck leaky batteries...

[SHADY280]

you can go to your local speed shop and buy a vented box for drag racing for very cheap, it comes with everything to rear mount a battery properly, it includes the box, grommits for the wires, tiedowns and a lid. its made of stainless or aluminum. i think its more worth the money than the time to build it.

[slodat]

Those boxes are nice, but you can't weld the it to the body and sink it into the trunk floor..

[jovial_cynic]

Those boxes are nice, but you can't weld the it to the body and sink it into the trunk floor..

 

That's not really a problem, actually. I can still drop it through a hole in the floor and build a bracket that'll suspend the box, and then bolt the box to the bracket.

 

I do, however, have the sheet metal sitting around, and I wouldn't take me very long to fabricate up a box. The only thing that'll take me time is strengthening the sheet metal. I'm in the process of building a form-press so I can push a bead into the sheet, but I'm probably a few weeks out before I get that project finished, what with all my other projects going on at the moment.

 

For me, it's just a matter of how quickly I want a safe battery box in my car.

[Cuts metal like mad]

...or put this wherever you want...

 

[slodat]

That battery is fine. It, like any battery, needs to be mounted securely to be safe.

[jovial_cynic]

Well, I picked up a $12 plastic battery box as a temporary solution.

 

This:

 

Looks a bit safer than this:

 

There is a set of mounting brackets coming up from the floor that I'll use shortly; the bungee cords on there now was just a temporary jig so I could drive the car around on this fine sunny autumn day.