The hunt for a battery box

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The hunt for a battery box

Postby sned » Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:42 am

Need some assistance as I'm looking for ideas for battery boxes to run dual UPG 100AH batteries and not having much luck.

I was able to find this flush mount box http://www.m4products.com/under-floor-storage-or-battery-box/ but 149.00 each that seems a bit much.

Was thinking about making the boxes out of wood but at 60lbs each worried about the failing over time.
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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby noseoil » Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:30 am

Are you going to hang the box under the deck? If so, I would think about welding a simple angle iron frame you can "skin" inside with some plywood. Epoxy on plywood would work fine, with a metal frame to support the load and actually carry the weight. Make it so the top angle acts like the edge like the one you showed for $$$ and has some bottom support for the batteries as well (top flange which sits on the edge of the hole). It can be made sturdy without too much weight, but your batteries will be the real weight. Where will it be located?

Wondering about the need for 2 batteries. If you use solar for charging, can you get by with one battery and some sunlight during the day? 2 is a lot of juice, so you must be planning on some pretty hefty loads. What type of electrical stuff will be needing that much reserve capacity?
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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby Dale M. » Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:56 am

When a text based search is not finding what I want, I switch to visual.... Look at the images, and then if you find something appealing follow link to web site for the pertinent information...

http://images.lmgtfy.com/?q=battery+box

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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby sned » Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:16 am

Will be hanging battery from the floor so I can access it and will be adding bracing under the floor.

Electrical is going to be some indoor outdoor LED lights, vent fan, inverter for laptop but my main power draw is my Resmed CPAP machine. My concern with solar is I like to camp in forest areas so sunlight could be limited.

My current Blue top Optima gives me a maximum of 2 nights of CPAP usage.

My thinking was to over plan my power but looking at price and weight I'll have to rethink that. I'll start another thread asking what CPAP users do for power.
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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby tony.latham » Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:49 am

but my main power draw is my Resmed CPAP machine


Are you using Resmed's 12V adapter or an inverter? I wired my sis's 'drop for a Resmed and discovered that it was 24DC with an inverter (the black box that's in-line) in the 120V cord. It was much more efficient to go with Resmed's DC plug instead of an inverter between the battery and the CPAP. Maybe you've discovered this too?

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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby sned » Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:07 pm

I am using the Resmed 12v converter.

Tony, do you know if your sis can camp 3 to 4 nights using solar panel to recharge?
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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby tony.latham » Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:14 pm

sned wrote:I am using the Resmed 12v converter.

Tony, do you know if your sis can camp 3 to 4 nights using solar panel to recharge?


Based on my 80 watts of solar, I think it'd be just fine, but I'll get in touch with them. I've been curious too. They're using Group 24 AGM battery and I've wondered how their power needs are holding up. They pound the boonies pretty hard––for working stiffs.

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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby sned » Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:52 pm

I do have a 30watt powerfilm foldable charger that I purchased a couple years ago, I'm guessing I'll have to add to it's capacity.
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Re: The hunt for a battery box

Postby tony.latham » Wed Oct 21, 2015 2:22 pm

The longest they've gone, before moving and thus charging, is two nights. And she switched over to a mouth piece so the Resmed is in the past.

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