Trojan T105 Battery Mounting Pictures?

[mainesail]

10.7.1 Battery mounting materials and surfaces shall withstand electrolyte attack.
10.7.2 Provision shall be made to contain incidental leakage and spillage of electrolyte.

If you have batteries that can leak electrolyte, the box to which they could leak acid into needs to be acid tolerant. It also needs to be able to contain the acid in the battery without spilling to areas that are not acid tolerant with consideration given to vessel type & usage. This containment, for batteries that have liquid electrolyte, should be capable of containment at angles of typical heeling on a sailboat...

Many boat builders molded fiberglass battery boxes, Ericson, Pearson etc., and those meet the requirement, as does a $6.00 plastic battery box. However if you put a SS screw through the bottom of the battery box or floor of the battery compartment, it can no longer withstand "electrolyte attack" unless the fastener is so isolated so that erosion of it would not allow the electrolyte to leak out....

If you need a custom box they are easy to build. You then drop it at a Rhino Liner and have them hit it for $30.00 with pickup truck bed liner...

Dry batteries, eg: AGM's, that can't leak electrolyte would not require accommodations for acid spillage or leakage, because they can't physically leak, but flooded batteries would.

You don't want to know what happens when battery acid gets to keel bolts, it's not pretty, and it gets very expensive. I have seen far to many batteries leak or crack and when there is no containment it gets nasty. Even with containment it can be a nasty mess of corrosion...

Remember the ABYC standards are not a code or law but surveyors survey to the standards and insurers insure to the surveys. A flooded battery without any provisions for acid containment is bound to get flagged by all but the worst surveyor.


E10- Current Version
10.7
INSTALLATION

NOTE: When  installing  flooded  batteries  on  a  sailing  vessel,  consideration  should  be  given  so that the orientation of the battery minimizes the uncovering of battery plates while heeling.

10.7.1 Battery mounting materials and surfaces shall withstand electrolyte attack.

10.7.2 Provision shall be made to contain incidental leakage and spillage of electrolyte.

NOTE: Consideration should be given to:
1. the type of battery installed (e.g. liquid electrolyte or immobilized electrolyte).
2. the boat in  which  the  battery  is  installed  (e.g.  angles  of  heel  for  sailboats,  and  accelerations  for powerboats).

10.7.3 Fasteners  for  the  attachment  of  battery  boxes  or  trays  shall  be  isolated  from  areas  intended  to  collect spilled electrolyte.


Perhaps the easiest method to determine whether acid containment is necessary is to simply read the MSDS for your battery or contact the manufacturer. I know of no deep cycle flooded batteries that meet the DOT or CFR 49 classification requirements for "non-spillable". Most all AGM and GEL batteries however meet the "non-spillable" requirements under DOT and CFR 49 as "non-spillable".

[Rortega46]

I currently have two 4Ds, one of which is dead.  I am thinking of replacing the dead 4D with two T105 6V batteries, with the plan to replace the other 4D with two T105s when the other passes away.  After searching for a good deep cycle 4D, it does not seem one is available.  Also, the two T105s, being true deep cycle, should improve battery life.  The additional amp hours will be a bonus as well and should give longer run time.  I plan on sticking with flooded to avoid replacing both 4Ds at this time.

Has anyone staggered the transition from 4Ds to T105s?  Any problems or ideas regarding this plan? Will this be a problem for the Truecharge 2 20A charger?  Other considerations?

I have read what I can on the subject of batteries but don't know enough to be comfortable changing the existing setup.  Your helpful comments are appreciated.