Batteries in vehicle cabin

[no-grey nomad Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close no-grey nomad]

Derb,

Thanks for the suggestion, I did think about it but didn't think about the truck cradle. Ill investigate if the space is big enough. I little bash plate might also be a good idea.

Cheers.

[drivesafe Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close drivesafe]

Hi no-grey nomad, just fit the battery in the cab where you want.

The only requirements are that you fit it in a plastic battery box to contain any spillage, this not only applies to the battery type you are considering. All batteries, whether they are so called fully sealed AGM batteries or just your ordinary flooded wet cell batteries, they must be mounted in a plastic battery box.

As pointed out earlier in this thread, you also have to make sure the battery is secured in a way that it can’t become a missile in the case of an accident occurring.

You do NOT have to vent the battery and there are no regulations requiring anything like that.

Before anybody starts jumping up and down saying it’s illegal or anything else ridiculous like that, when the VE Commodore first came on the market they had a standard flooded wet cell battery, mounted in the boot, with two short drain pipes running down through the floor.

The NEW VE Commodore now has a Calcium/Calcium cranking battery and the are no drain pipes, venting or anything else, and the boot is not hermetically sealed from the cab because the rear seat can be folded down.

no-grey nomad, this is the same type of battery you are considering, furthermore, there are at least 2 dozen other NEW vehicles sold here that have the cranking battery mounted somewhere in the cab. All of them comply will current ADRs and they don’t have any of these alleged problems.

[no-grey nomad Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close no-grey nomad]

Hi all,

I wired up the 3rd battery in parallel to the 2nd battery which is isolated by a DBS. So the result is a larger AH battery unit. As described it was in the vehicle, located behind the front passenger seat. The rear seats are never used and are "tumbled" forwards, with the head rest on this keeps the battery, which is in a standard battery box, secure. I wired up some anderson plugs to a little box i have under that seat so the battery can be taken out when not in use. I have a circuit breaker on both second and 3rd batteries so either one can be isolated from the other but still hooked up to the DBS.

All worked very well with the solar panels charging the whole unit and running the fridge over the 5 days at Fraser. There was a couple of days of driving around which would have been more than enough to charge the batteries anyways but the panels were free so what are you gonna do.

No problems with gas leakage, that I could detect anyway, as I dont think the batteries were overcharged, which I understand as to why the gas is expelled.

I did do a lot of reasearch about putting batteries in the cab, there are a few manufacturers that do this from the factory, also a lot of the Nissan Patrol boys put the second battery in the back due to the tiny amount of room under the bonnet.

[winniliss Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close winniliss]

You can get away with AGM's but they too can boil and vent. I read that when I was looking at the specs for my Optima battery.

[drivesafe Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close drivesafe]

Hi winniliss, ALL sealed batteries can boil if not charged correctly but because Optima batteries can tolerate up to 15v, it is far FAR harder to boil an Optima than is is to boil your ordinary Standby type AGMs, like Fullriver, because Standby type AGMs will only tolerate 14.4v maximum.

This is the very reason why ALL batteries must be housed in a plastic battery box when the battery is to be mounted inside a cab or in a caravan or camper trailer.

[winniliss Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close winniliss]

Hi winniliss, ALL sealed batteries can boil if not charged correctly but because Optima batteries can tolerate up to 15v, it is far FAR harder to boil an Optima than is is to boil your ordinary Standby type AGMs, like Fullriver, because Standby type AGMs will only tolerate 14.4v maximum.

This is the very reason why ALL batteries must be housed in a plastic battery box when the battery is to be mounted inside a cab or in a caravan or camper trailer.

After reading my post after good night sleep it looks like i was slagging optima batteries. I have edited my post to reflect what i was meant to say. I too will be looking at an AGM in the back of the car and at this stage it will be a fullriver because I think optima's biggest AH battery is about 65AH...

[drivesafe Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close drivesafe]

Hi again winniliss, and the cost of an Optima for most situations does not warrant their use.

As for mounting the battery in a cab and overcharging.

Once you move a battery out of the engine bay, you pretty well remove the risk of over charging because of a number of factors.

The battery is always going to run cooler so it will tolerate a slightly higher voltage and the longer cable needed to connect the auxiliary battery to the cranking battery will also help as it will act as a quasi voltage/current regulator.

So any battery can safely be used in a cab, just make sure it’s kept in a plastic battery box.

[Guest Close Guest]

My current fridge setup is mounted in the 2nd row 40% split side using a Lifestyle Rack mount. I have a 130Ah AGM battery in an Arkpack in the footwell behind the front passenger's seat. It is strapped down to the framework of the lifestyle rack. I usually keep the battery charged via a 240VAC charger and a long extension cord from the place where we are staying.

I am now looking to move away from holiday home style accommodation which means I would need to connect the battery to the alternator via an SBI12.

Given the distance, what gauge cable is required?
Is pulling through the cable via the firewall grommet my best option?
Can I only pull through the positive wire and terminate the negative wire to an earth point inside the cabin?
Can I run thinner gauge wire for the negative wire?
Is a 50A Anderson plug the minimum connector required?

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

I have my second battery in the cargo area on top of / in my drawer system.

I ran 6B&S cable to the second battery. I ran the Positive from my SBI12 which is mounted behind the right headlight through the firewall grommet and under the kick panels into the back. The Negative cable I did the same but that comes in on the Passenger side, straight from the crank battery.

Other than going through the firewall grommet the only other option that comes to mind is through floor grommet, that might be a good option depending on location, it might mean a shorter cable run. You could also drill a hole in the floor and insert your own grommet if your keen. Either way seal it up well if you ever plan on doing a water crossing.

I wouldn't make the earth wire smaller, You can earth to the body but that's often where the problems start if everything is not spot on, so I wouldn't.

The Anderson plug size will be dependant on what cable size and fuse size you use. Mine go straight to the battery terminals so not something I have had to deal with, However I have a 50amp fuse at either end that have not blown, so a 50amp plug should work OK given the correct fusing.

Cheers Andrew

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Andrew pretty much as AJ has said. What I did in the 150:

Given the distance, what gauge cable is required? I ran 6 B&S twin core in a secondary sheath.
Is pulling through the cable via the firewall grommet my best option? On the passenger side of both the 120 and 150 the main cable grommet has extra tabs that can be used to run the cable.
Can I only pull through the positive wire and terminate the negative wire to an earth point inside the cabin? I ran both cables, probably don't but I wanted to make sure it was connected to the main battery so no earth problems.
Can I run thinner gauge wire for the negative wire? No current draw is the same.
Is a 50A Anderson plug the minimum connector required? I used a 50A Anderson plug because the current draw is likely to be less than 30A. I fused the engine side cable with a 50A manual circuit breaker which I can use as a switch as well as a circuit breaker.

[Ozpat Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ozpat]

I have similar setup as aj except both wires running off the main battery (Optima D27F) and both down passenger side and fused. They terminate to a Cteck dc-dc charger and then to my American made Lifeline agm. Not wishing to start another discussion about the need for the Cteck as I had already bought it before reading all the pros and cons on here but I'm satisfied that it will stop the agm from over charging and boiling. They'll end up on my camper trailer anyway when I get one.

Cheers Jim.

[Guest Close Guest]

Thank you gents for your help.

I found this kit off ebay. The seller isn't too far from me which makes it attractive.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PROJECTA-...853a1b5&_uhb=1

The issue is that the wiring is not twin 6B&S and I will need 2x Anderson plugs to disconnect the battery when the battery isn't in the car. This will be a semi-permanent setup.

So then I found this 4m 6B&S extension cable preterminated with Anderson plugs
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HEAVY-DUT...64c5570&_uhb=1

I would cut it in 2 to give 3.5m and 0.5m lengths. Then feed the cut end of the 3.5m length through the firewall into the engine bay. I don't have crimpers so this pre-terminated cable is a good option.

I then need to get the lugs (2x for VSR, 2x for starter batt and 2x for aux batt) and VSR to complete it. I'm trying to do this in the cheapest way possible. Can anyone recommend shops in Adelaide or online that can supply the bits at reasonable prices?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Not sure how the pricing is but Anderson themselves will do precrimped wiring. I do my own stuff so never bothered to do a comparison.

http://andersonpower.com.au/

[Guest Close Guest]

OK might be time to get some crimping gear.

What do you guys think of this VSR with dual sense?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-DUAL-...bc2cb94&_uhb=1

So if I have an AC charger connected to the Aux battery, it will also charge the starter. I'm not sure how the AC charger (Projecta 7A http://www.projecta.com.au/Products/...x#!prettyPhoto) will cope with mixed batteries.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Andrew you can get the manual crimpers for about $30. I can't comment on the VSR though; F&S have some good articles on the net and I would be surprised if they sold anything dodgy but really don't know. I have only run the SBi12 and the Anderson equivalent lately but I did use a Piranha VSR yonks ago.

I would and do charge the batteries separately with the battery charger (I have the 20A or 25A? Projector).