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Original battery bank - 16 batteries

New battery bank - 24 batteries -
October 31, 2008
24
batteries installed to allow 153 V, 500 A testing and calibrating of
EVH-PWX16 controllers (when I was selling them) |
Batteries
Installed
I
purchased a small welding machine, a 14” cutoff saw and an angle
grinder to do the metal work.
The metal stock is 1½” by 1/8” think steel angle and
some flat stock. The
rack is securely bolted to the frame on each side and holds two
rows of eight batteries.
Locating the batteries here, behind the cab, provided near perfect
balance on all four wheels.
The
gray box hanging on the right side of the battery rack is a
makeshift fuse box. It
contains a 600 A fuse, but 400 A would have been fine. I
drilled some holes for venting in the plastic electrical box.
Note
the flat-stock strapping across the top of the rack between the
batteries. These
straps are bolted on with self-locking acorn nuts.
Holding the batteries securely in place is very important
to prevent additional damage and injury in an accident.
If
you look closely, you'll notice the terminal lugs connected to the
terminals with a wing nut. I have replaced the terminal lugs
with terminal clamps for much better contact and to avoid terminal
melt-down. I melted 3 terminals before changing to post clamps.
New
Battery Bank
The
entire battery bank was replaced on October 31, 2008, increasing
the number of batteries to 24. Normally, only 20 batteries
are needed for a light truck conversion.
WHY
DID YOU PUT ALL OF YOUR BATTERIES BEHIND THE CAB AND NONE UNDER
THE HOOD?
I
did this because I wanted a lot of elbow room under the hood to
install and remove EVH-PWX16 controllers to test and calibrate
them before sending them out to customers. I didn't want to
be reaching and stretching around batteries.
WHY
DID YOU NOT PUT THE BATTERIES DOWN AROUND THE FRAME TO SAVE BED
SPACE?
My
choice. I wanted to easily see and reach all batteries for
quick and easy servicing. They stay clean there too. I
wanted to get rid of the 320 lb. bed and make a lighter one with a
special enclosure for the batteries.
ISN'T
YOUR CENTER OF GRAVITY TOO HIGH AND TOO FAR BACK?
Too
high? No. There is no handling problem at all. I
usually turn corners at less than 30 mph. Weight distributed
too much to the rear? Yes. There is more weight on the back
than I would like, however, it has not affected handling at
all. I may move 4 batteries under the hood in the future.
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