Below Nav Bar Ad Module

**sharkcaver** · 07-05-18, 02:33 PM

A few things.......

Height is an issue with a battery in there. My 100AGM only has just enough room before the terminals hit the cover. Yep, agreed its plastic and non conductive, but I dont think I would like the power one of those batterys can produce to potentially touch something. This may have an effect if you put a ply base down.

All well and fine having a ply base, but fixing a battery to that isn't really that secure....mind you, plenty of fridges are "secured" to ply. Also, the ply will need to be mounted to the vehicle or you are defeating the purpose.

To my mind, the battery needs to be fixed to the vehicle. I did this but its not how I would like it. Note I have an aux tank under the seatwell, so that hampers things a bit (clearance). I mounted my battery in a battery box (couldn't fit the lid, too tall). I drilled two holes each side of the box. Underneath the seat well is some flat bar with rivnut's inserted - 2 per side. This mates with the holes I drilled in the tub, sealed with a lot of goo - pick your poison in regards to goo.

Then I screwed battery strap saddles inside the tub, through the drilled holes and into the flat bar below. The battery is secured with a strap. Probably not the best, most solid mount, but better than into plywood IMO. The original plan was to use threaded rod, but I couldn't source any metric stuff locally and I only have metric rivnuts. So far its worked, but I haven't had the paj on the roof either

The seatwell tub itself isn't that strong and I couldn't see any reinforcing ribs there to use (my battery is on far left hand side), hence the use of some flat bar to try to spread the load over a greater area.

My IDC25 also got the rivnut treatment. 4 holes drilled up high, left hand side. Rivnuts fitted to the holes and the dcdc mounted to those rivnuts again with copious amounts of goo.

looking forward to see how you engineer a mounting solution.

**linc** · 07-05-18, 02:50 PM

Shane --- a couple of quick responses to your post mate.

Did you consider mounting your AGM on its side to reduce the effective height?
I've read plenty of articles saying that is perfectly OK. But then I've also heard people saying it's a no-no ...

At this stage I am also not planning on putting the plastic cover back on to the seat well either, as my drawers go over the top anyway and this effectively gives me about +40mm additional clearance.

Secondly -- in my original post I mentioned fixing the ply to the body of the car, not having it floating free (as you rightly say, this would then defeat any purpose of attaching gear to it).
If the ply was fixed to the car properly (bolted through the bottom of the seat well), do you still think this isn't particularly secure in terms of having the battery fixed to the ply?

I haven't any experience (nor have the gear for) with nutserts, so don't really know a lot about them.

WRT "goo" ... is black silastic a good option for sealing all the holes/threads up in as permanent manner as is feasible?

**sharkcaver** · 08-05-18, 01:12 AM

Originally posted by linc View Post

Shane --- a couple of quick responses to your post mate.

Did you consider mounting your AGM on its side to reduce the effective height?
I've read plenty of articles saying that is perfectly OK. But then I've also heard people saying it's a no-no ...

At this stage I am also not planning on putting the plastic cover back on to the seat well either, as my drawers go over the top anyway and this effectively gives me about +40mm additional clearance.

Secondly -- in my original post I mentioned fixing the ply to the body of the car, not having it floating free (as you rightly say, this would then defeat any purpose of attaching gear to it).
If the ply was fixed to the car properly (bolted through the bottom of the seat well), do you still think this isn't particularly secure in terms of having the battery fixed to the ply?

I haven't any experience (nor have the gear for) with nutserts, so don't really know a lot about them.

WRT "goo" ... is black silastic a good option for sealing all the holes/threads up in as permanent manner as is feasible?

1. Nope, never considered it. I know they are supposedly ok like that, But I'm not keen on it. I'll let gravity keep the electrolyte where it was designed to be kept - in the glass mat.

2. yep I know you were going to mount the ply I just stated the obvious for others. What's going to be more secure - screws into timber or bolts through metal? I would suspect the latter, but unless it has a little lie down, would you ever know?

3. Nutserts are my fav. I bought a kit when I got the NX and I haven't looked back since. They have their purpose and cant be used everywhere though.

4. Aficionados will say sika. Some might also say ARB/bilstein/Engel - to quote a few iconic brands. I say, do your research first. I was using a product called soudal for quite a few years, but im finding a source of supply harder for that. So the last couple of tubes has been cheaper bunnings product and its been working just as well. look for polyurethane adhesive/sealant and you wont go wrong IIRC about $12 a tube. When your finished, whack a screw in the tip, place some gladwrap between the tip and the tube and then place it in your bar fridge. You might have to pick the skin off next time you use it, but it will last almost forever if you do that.

Cheers.

**Travel Tragic** · 08-05-18, 11:33 AM

battery in seat well

Hi, I just finished installing a 120 amp AGM in my Nx Pajero seat well. I used plywood for the whole thing including the battery box and hold down. 9mm ply for the base and 12mm for the rest. Having the uprights in ply allowed me to mount the DCDC charger and keep the wiring and storage area separate. The whole thing is screwed together with long screws and good quality construction glue. The mounting is through steel angle brackets then through the well base with 50mm x 50mm plates under with stainless bolts and nylex nuts. I have used this system many times and have no problems at all.

The current set up had a try out on the 4wd tracks around Lithgow (NSW) Trouble free.

I have added 2 photos,hopefully they will come through. John

Attached Files

**linc** · 08-05-18, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by Travel Tragic View Post

Hi, I just finished installing a 120 amp AGM in my Nx Pajero seat well. I used plywood for the whole thing including the battery box and hold down. 9mm ply for the base and 12mm for the rest. Having the uprights in ply allowed me to mount the DCDC charger and keep the wiring and storage area separate. The whole thing is screwed together with long screws and good quality construction glue. The mounting is through steel angle brackets then through the well base with 50mm x 50mm plates under with stainless bolts and nylex nuts. I have used this system many times and have no problems at all.

The current set up had a try out on the 4wd tracks around Lithgow (NSW) Trouble free.

I have added 2 photos,hopefully they will come through. John

Thanks John, looks very neat

I bought some 3mm x 50mm flat bar yesterday (cut into 4 x 400mm lengths) which I am intending to use to spread the bolting stresses.
Two 400mm flat bars underneath the vehicle, two flat bars on top of the 15mm ply inside the vehicle, using some high-tensile bolts and nylocs (two per flatbar) as you've done.

I am also fabricating a custom battery tray from checkerplate, as I need to mount this battery on its side for height clearance. This will bolt down onto the ply at 4 corners ... likely use a small ratchet strap to hold the battery down (with some rubber matting underneath to prevent slippage).

I like your idea of the wooden battery box for mounting the charger and so on though. I still may commit to something like that, also a bit less conductive than checker plate if my wiring sucks!

**Travel Tragic** · 08-05-18, 02:57 PM

battery box

Hi Linc, I have used the plywood for all number of uses in travelling vehicles and I think that the ply will flex rather than break. My background is in the Motorhome, Campervan and off road camper trailer industry so I have been using the plywood furniture, kitchens etc. for over 30 years. Usually if anything breaks it is the metal brackets holding the plywood construction in.
Drifta kitchens (NSW), used in the off road trailer industry, uses the ply in just about anything.
As you said plywood doesn't conduct electricity. Finally the battery I used in my install was able to be left upright and still had reasonable clearance and I did not take out the plastic liner so you should have more clearance. Just a thought! John

**mrbitchi** · 08-05-18, 07:21 PM

FWIW I've had an AGM on its side in the back of my Aussie Swag for about 4yrs now with absolutely no signs of a problem. Been around the middle a couple of times, across the Simpson etc, so IMO there's no worries in laying them over if height is an issue.

**NFT5** · 08-05-18, 09:42 PM

I have a 120 amp AGM in that recess. Plus a compressor, air tank and some other things.

One thing that I learned is to think ahead. If there's any chance that you may want to fit an extra fuel tank around the well then bolts need to be mounted from the outside in to ensure that there's space for the tank which fits quite tightly around the well. Lower profile bolt heads will also help and keeping washers or other load spreading plates etc. thin can also be important.

Link here for an Ebay seller that has a very complete range at half the price you'd pay at "Lowest price guaranteed" Bunnings. Same seller also has lots of other fasteners, washers, nuts, etc.

Instead of ply I used nylon kitchen cutting board which I picked up cheap somewhere in a set of 3 and then just cut to size. Nice and strong, not affected by moisture and thin enough that I had plenty of space to mount the battery vertically with space to spare at the top.