One of my winter RV projects is to clean up my house battery tray, and get
the batteries tied down a bit better. I am looking for something to put on
the base of the tray and then set the batteries on that. Something similar
to a neoprene mat but 'expanded' or ventilated in such a way that if water
or dampness gets under it, it will have the opportunity to dry out. Was
going to try to find a battery place and see what they had, but no such
place in my area. Whats on there now is more like a piece of rug, and its
wet all the time. Any thoughts as to what could be used?



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89 Barth Regal 32
Runs like a Deere
New Hampshire

[This message has been edited by Jack (edited December 11, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by Jack (edited December 11, 2003).]

I have not done this, but what about cutting up one of the plastic egg crates that are sold for storage? They are cubes approx. 15 inches, and they have strength, and vents galore. Just a thought. Dale P.S. I am speaking of the ones that are of grid type that contain more open spaces than grid.

[This message has been edited by DALE SMITH (edited December 11, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by DALE SMITH (edited December 11, 2003).]

I've been toying with the idea of a milk carton crate Saw it apart and you have 5 pieces (4 sides & the bottom, raising &
ventilating the batteries from the tray.
Just an idea.........carl

THE TOY 33'Regal Coach # 3448

Jack, if your battery tray is wet all the time, you could have a problem. I presume the moisture is battery acid. This comes from over servicing or over charging or both. Check your charging voltage with a good digital meter. It should be no more than 14.2 at charge and settle down to a 13.1 float. My preference is to have a layer of mineral oil floating on the acid to minimize outgassing.

Here is a link to a company that sells a battery mat once you get things to stay dry:

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ACC-BATMAT

I think JCW also sells them.

I use an aircraft battery box paint:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/acidproofpaint.php

Eastwood sells a coating for the battery tray:

http://www.eastwoodco.com/itemdy01.asp?T1=25011Z

The 3M brushable seam sealer sold in auto paint stores also works well.

I think a couple of coats of coal tar epoxy on the existing tray would keep metal protected.

I used a can of black Duplicolor spray on truck bedliner from Autozone. It works pretty well and costs about $7.

Don is on target on the coal tar epoxy paint. The FAA requires a bituminous paint for battery boxes. All rust needs to be killed before any coating is put on, though. I use muriatic, phosphoric acid, or POR 15.

I think an ideal situation would be to find a plastic tray that would fit the batts and keep baking soda in it. When I get some spare time and run out of projects, I will make one out of fiberglass.

Speaking of baking soda, after I coat the terminals with LPS 3, I slop a little baking soda slurry around the base of each terminal.

While we are on the subject, keep safety goggles and eye wash in your battery box.

Well the project continues in the cold. I got the tray out, and received the refinishing kit from POR ($$$) today, and have the tray in the cellar so I can start cleaning it up. Two problems have come up. The biggest is the slides are pretty much trash, and they were tack welded in, which made removing them a bit of a problem. I'll have to rework or replace the slides now. The other problem is the actual bay is not riveted to the floor above on the after side, and can be moved quite easily. I need a source for the rivets that should have been there, and tooling to install them. Any ideas on a source? Also a source for a 300#+ set of slides would be nice - KV not even close as to the design, but at the moment is the next best thing I have. The label on the inside of the slide is not readable at all.
I have also talked to the maker of the battery mats, and they will cut me a large one for my tray for $$. Then I order the new cables made from welding cable so they are not stiff, and then���..and then�..
(I also have the tooling to change the plumbing from the grey pipe to PEX with copper fittings. But that�s another story.)


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89 Barth Regal 32
Runs like a Deere
New Hampshire

The only company who I can find who makes the slide outs for batteries is Kwickee, the same guys who make the steps

http://www.kwikee.com/batTraysize.html

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Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment.

1985 28 foot Regal
Dave and Deb Bowers

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Click on "drawer slides" under "hardware" 3/4 down the right hand side.

I am still concerned about the possibility of overcharging causing the moisture in your tray.

Have you bought the crimper for the oetiker clamps yet?

Boy, what a site, what a source for everything that�s really important in life. Dave that site looks just like what I will need, thanks.
The moisture on the tray is not from the batteries, but from weather (road water) getting into the compartment in the fact that its really pretty much open to the environment. Previous owner had batteries on a rubber-backed rug, down side up, and moisture stayed under it.
On the plumbing, I'm using the copper rings, and yes I did buy the $200+/- crimper for them.




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89 Barth Regal 32
Runs like a Deere
New Hampshire

I added heat shrink tubing to each of the terminals to seal out the corrosive moisture from the connection. It also makes a smaller area for shorting or grounding out. You can shrink it on easy and fast with a heat gun.

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Eddie Chevalier
'85 Barth Regal 28' P-30 454
'91 Honda Accord/'87 Yamaha YSR 50 Toads

hi jack I have a large sheet metal shop i will make you a s.s 316 L pan just give me the size you pay for shipping no. charge for pan . must keep the barth on the road.my e.mail buckstad@catskill.net carl

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Sorry about the slow response but Dale shamed me into a response today. Thanks for the offer Carl, but my problem really is with the slides. I'm talking with Kwikee (per Dave's reply) about a tray that will do what I want, if not, I may be back on your offer. The question about rivets still stands, in the fact that I have no idea what kind of rivets are used. They must be aluminum, but many choices. Anyone have any ideas as to which one to use? Is a plain old aluminum pop rivet ok?