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Topic: Battery bay coming together (Read 1158 times) previous topic - next topic

Battery bay coming together

Quick update... pics attached. So far I've spent about $25. It's mostly elbow grease.  :)

Got the old batteries out yesterday afternoon. Found two pieces of a battery casing, implying perhaps a battery explosion in the past (messy business, that). The tray, or what was left of it, came out pretty easily. There was acid residue everywhere, including the top of the bay. The plastic heat duct in the bay ceiling had become so embrittled from the gassing, that it crumbled when I took it out. Sheesh. Took the battery cables out to facilitate a good cleaning.

Today I climbed in there and washed out the bay. Then all the hardware and cables were cleaned, the ends soaked in water/baking soda. Some of them fizzed pretty good. A trip to the hardware store for all stainless hardware, and the left sidewall, which had separated or delaminated, was secured with through bolts, plate washers and locknuts. Seams were resealed. The terminal strips and junctions were cleaned up with electronics cleaner spray and synthetic steel wool.

Once the bay was cleaned up, you could easily the outline of the two frame rails in the floor of the bay, running from the bay door towards the water tanks. Instead of plywood to support the batteries, I decided on the lazy/cheap way out. I purchased three 8 foot pieces of pressure-treated 5/4 decking for about $15 at Home Depot. The sides were squared off with a rip cut on the table saw, and cut to length. For securing the batteries, I'm using PT decking balister rails, with another piece and some threaded rod as a hold down. With PT I don't need to worry about moisture, rot, or insect damage. The decking is 1 inch thick - it's just proud of the bottom of the bay, so batteries can slide in and out without a fuss. The pics attached show what it looked like before, and  progress to this point. More to come.

Steve
1991 U225 Grand Villa

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #1 –
That was really nasty lookign. It looks like you did a lot of work but as long as you use sealed batteries, AGM or Gel, you should be fine. Nice job.
The selected media item is not currently available.Kent Speers
Locust Grove, OK
1993 U300 SSE 40' (Restored at FOT 2009) Build 4323
720 watts Solar
6V92TA DDEC Silver Engine
2014 Subaru Outback

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #2 –
Thanks Kent. Kinda hurtin' at the moment. Climbing into the bay and twisting around most of the day is taking it's toll.

The bay was filthy and there was quite a few acorn shells in there. The coach had been sitting awhile and it appears a squirrel or two came in one of the drain tubes that was exposed, and as there was no lid on the box, found a nice comfy place to hang out.  :)

It cleaned up real well. All the cables look like new now, as does the hardware. I really appeciate how all the wiring is marked or labelled. It makes life so much easier. In my aircraft days, all the wires were white. More often than not, nothing was tagged. Everyone hated electrical work.  ;)

Steve
1991 U225 Grand Villa

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #3 –
Nice job Steve,  it cleaned up pretty good.  Don't forget to caulk around the interior edges in case there's a water leak in the plumbing and the floor gets wet.  You want to protect the bulkhead and floor steel from rust.  If your not already planning, it's a good idea to patch the vent holes in the floor as well (water tight inside and outside). 
From the looks of it, I say your box is the same as on my U300 - makes sense since batteries are all the same size.  I'm keeping my old box in case I want to back to wet cells - but also think I could build a wood one just as good if not better (but not lighter).  In case your wondering, the top half of the box is shaped just like the lower.  The top half has bulb seal on the perimeter - same stuff that is used on the bay doors for a seal.  You can get that at McMaster as well (several to choose from, I bought #12335A18@ $1.96/ft) but FT might have it cheaper.
Gayland wrote:
Quote
Merle - Yes, I have a Inverter/Charger, but don't understand what that has to do with the generator auto start.
Many Inverter/Chargers have an optional Generator Auto Start module that connects into the Inverter/Charger.  I don't know if there's one available for yours.
John Fitzgerald
1991 U300 (SAI) Side Aisle Island Bed 40'
Detroit 6V92 with Allison Retarder
Meridian (Boise), Idaho

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #4 –
Greetings,

Phase 1 is completed. It's low buck and somewhat crude, but it works. I have power again. The good wet cell was reinstalled as coach battery for now and the Optima installed as the starting battery. Enough room behind the Optima to mount the inverter. Next is a couple of gel cells.

As my documentation is incomplete and fragmented, I'm still finding things. I stumbled across the isolator while replacing the bay door struts - doesn't seem like a very good place to put it, but I understand these get hot. The connections were rusted badly; cleaned it up as best we could. I noted four wires on the isolator, where others have mentioned they have three. Not clear on the difference.

And lastly - can anyone tell me where the convertor is? I've searched high and low. All I have under the bed is what's marked as a transfer switch, and the two fuse/breaker panels. Am also wondering, for those who have added an inverter, if they did away with or disconnected the convertor in the process.

Steve
1991 U225 Grand Villa

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #5 –
Looks good Steve.  I understand the old wetcell is just there temporarily until your gels come in. 
When I upgraded to a new inverter/charger I kept the old converter in place and just turned off the breaker under the bed to it (it had a dedicated breaker).  I did this just as a backup in case the new unit failed. 
I also had a 4 terminal isolator.  I think it's actually made for dual systems (2 alternators with 2 battery banks).  Foretravel wired the two center posts together.  It's my guess FT did this because, being slightly larger, it has better heat dissipation properties over a 3 terminal unit.  Since I increase my house battery bank to three 8D AGMs and the isolator already looked a little cooked with 2 8Ds, I decided to remove the isolator and just use the boost switch.  The alternator is now wired to the chassis battery with voltage reset accordingly.
John Fitzgerald
1991 U300 (SAI) Side Aisle Island Bed 40'
Detroit 6V92 with Allison Retarder
Meridian (Boise), Idaho

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #6 –
Progress... the MK 8D gels and cables arrived. We have coach power and then some. Inverter is next; but first I have to replace the roof airs.  :)

I'll get this old girl in shape yet. Coming together slowly.

Steve
1991 U225 Grand Villa

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #7 –
For what it's worth...I regret replacing my freon based roof airs with cfc free ones.  I listened to Cummins that the 20 year old A/C's were drawing too much power and causing my ATS (and replacement ATS) to constantly freak out under load on generator only.  After the generator (that they assured me was AOK) failed to start and I ended up with a new ignition coil...no more electrical problems while on generator.  Plus the OE Coleman Mach units were bigger than the new Coleman Mach power savers that I went with so I had to redo the trim section on the vinyl ceiling because the cutout on the trim with the smaller A/C's left a big gap.  I used a wood trim and stained it to match cabinets.  I've complained many times here about how the cfc free A/C doesn't do as good of job removing humidity from the air so it seems like they don't work as well.  My old units would turn the inside of the coach into a meat locker in 15 minutes during the hotest Florida day. 
Dwayne Keith
1992 U240
3116/MD3060

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Merle Hench –
And lastly - can anyone tell me where the convertor is? I've searched high and low.
On my '94 U225, it was in the bay under the door where the vacuum cleaner is.  It was one of those battery boilers.
1994 U225
build #4514

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #9 –
On ours, it was in the forward most bay accessed from driver's side all the way in-- behind the coach entrance steps.

Brett
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Dwayne –
For what it's worth...I regret replacing my freon based roof airs with cfc free ones.  I listened to Cummins that the 20 year old A/C's were drawing too much power and causing my ATS (and replacement ATS) to constantly freak out under load on generator only.  After the generator (that they assured me was AOK) failed to start and I ended up with a new ignition coil...no more electrical problems while on generator.  Plus the OE Coleman Mach units were bigger than the new Coleman Mach power savers that I went with so I had to redo the trim section on the vinyl ceiling because the cutout on the trim with the smaller A/C's left a big gap.  I used a wood trim and stained it to match cabinets.  I've complained many times here about how the cfc free A/C doesn't do as good of job removing humidity from the air so it seems like they don't work as well.  My old units would turn the inside of the coach into a meat locker in 15 minutes during the hotest Florida day.

Thanks Dwayne.

My roof ACs are toast. Too long without attention, and the squirrels did the rest. Lots of wiring and the rear condenser were chewed up. I have some paperwork indicating that the previous owner had converted the refrigerant in them a few years ago. For the time and money they need, I'll just replace them. Not going to go with the Power Saver models. Hoping for a similar fit as the originals.

Saw the pics of the mods you had to do.  I still have to do the headliner, and I like what you did with the wood center strip - planning something similar. Hopefully won't have to trim out around the new AC units.

Steve
1991 U225 Grand Villa
 

Re: Battery bay coming together

Reply #11 –
Quote from: PatC –
Quote from: Merle Hench –
And lastly - can anyone tell me where the convertor is? I've searched high and low.
On my '94 U225, it was in the bay under the door where the vacuum cleaner is.  It was one of those battery boilers.

Quote from: wolfe10 –
On ours, it was in the forward most bay accessed from driver's side all the way in-- behind the coach entrance steps.

Brett

I was informed mine was under the entry steps, in a tight little spot. Confirmed while vacuuming out the storage bays.

They sure put those all over the place didn't they?  :)

Steve
1991 U225 Grand Villa