Recently I got two second hand 120 Ah sealed lead acid batteries. One of my greatest worries with batteries of this size is the possibility of the terminals shorting out either in transit or when in use. Such a short circuit would deliver very high currents and potentially cause a fire.
To minimise this risk I made a wooden box today for one of the batteries. I’ll make a second box next time I have a few hours to spare.
The box is made of 8 mm thick three ply, 20 x 42 mm dressed pine and 20 x 20 mm dressed pine. It is screwed together with 6G x 20 mm bugle head screws.
I needed to drill 2 holes at each end to allow the rope handles to pass through.
I have another battery of similar size that is already in such a box and it has given me trouble free service for more than 10 years.
Now I have finished the new box I need to add a 20A circuit breaker and a power connector.
Up until now I have used low voltage T plugs and small Utilux power connectors for my batteries, DC power supplies and DC cables. Some members of the SRESU have been changing over to Anderson connectors and I think the time has come for me to consider doing the same. Unfortunately I have a large amount of gear that, at present, all interconnect well. To change to Anderson connectors I will need to change everything. This will be a costly exercise so it may have to wait a little longer.
For now, at least I have a protective box.
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