Battery Drawer

[darren paget]

Wow. Two congrats on the same night. Thanks Richard Darren

> Greetings GMCers,
> I just received my stainless steel battery tray
> from Darren Paget (aka TZE Plus). It's nicely
> constructed and should outlive the coach that
> I'll be installing it in. He did a real nice job
> putting it together.
> I'll let everyone know how it works after I get
> it installed. Instead of going to Rayne I'll be
> working on my GMC this weekend. Besides
> the battery drawer, I'm installing a new microwave
> and cooktop.
> Richard Waters '76 PB, Troy, MI

- --
Darren Paget
76 Experimental
Another Fab Day
http://www.TZEplus.com

 

[richard waters]

Greetings GMCers,
I just received my stainless steel battery tray
from Darren Paget (aka TZE Plus). It's nicely
constructed and should outlive the coach that
I'll be installing it in. He did a real nice job
putting it together.
I'll let everyone know how it works after I get
it installed. Instead of going to Rayne I'll be
working on my GMC this weekend. Besides
the battery drawer, I'm installing a new microwave
and cooktop.
Richard Waters '76 PB, Troy, MI

 

[richard waters]

Darren,
I just installed the Battery Drawer this past weekend. It fits like
glove! I secured it with 4 4" x1/2" bolts, washers and self locking
nuts. I don't think the tray is going anywhere soon.

It surprised me how well the batteries fit in the drawer. You're right
you really don't need anything to hold the batteries down. I did insert
a 1x3 block of wood in the end of the drawer to keep the batteries from
moving the inch or so that's left in the tray. That seems to have
secure the batteries pretty well.

The drawer works even better then it looks. It's nice to be able to
pull the batteries all the way out to check out the water level etc. So
I'm very satisfied with your product.

Now I have to solve the problem of too many cables in the battery
compartment. I have a pair for the TC40, a pair for the inverter and a
pair for the coach. Too many wires, but that's not your problem.

I mailed you your check on Friday. So you should get that pretty soon.

Thanks again,
Richard

> Wow. Two congrats on the same night. Thanks Richard Darren
>

>
> > Greetings GMCers,
> > I just received my stainless steel battery tray
> > from Darren Paget (aka TZE Plus). It's nicely
> > constructed and should outlive the coach that
> > I'll be installing it in. He did a real nice job
> > putting it together.
> > I'll let everyone know how it works after I get
> > it installed. Instead of going to Rayne I'll be
> > working on my GMC this weekend. Besides
> > the battery drawer, I'm installing a new microwave
> > and cooktop.
> > Richard Waters '76 PB, Troy, MI
>
> --
> Darren Paget
> 76 Experimental
> Another Fab Day
> http://www.TZEplus.com

 

[richard waters]

> compartment. I have a pair for the TC40, a pair for the inverter and a
> pair for the coach. Too many wires, but that's not your problem.
> >>
> Richard,
> Just curious, but how did you attach them to the battery posts??

There is enough room on each battery post to connect 3 cables. That's about the
max possible in my case. The posts consist of a stud and and a nut.

> Today I
> tore all my Coachman installed breaker boxes out of the coach and installed
> the Todd switch along with a new breaker box. I also hung my Statpower 40
> and wired it to a 110v 15 amp breaker, but I did not have any battery cables
> to finish the job. I'll be going shopping tomorrow for the battery cables,
> but not just sure how I will hook up the battery cables for the Statpower 40
> and the Portawattz to the batteries. Also, how far was your Portawattz from
> the batteries??

My portawatz is installed in the seldom used compartment just aft of the
generator compartment. The cable run is about 4'. Arch turned me on to this
location. I never knew is was there until he mentioned it in a post last
Spring. I then ran Romex from the Portawattz inverter to the electric
compartment. The Portawattz has a remote panel that I can use to turn in off
and on. The remote panel is installed near the Onan remote panel by the
entrance door.

But then you have a Coachman interior so all bets are off. I have no idea how
your system is configured.

I used 2 AWG cable for the Portawattz that I bought at the auto parts store.
Its just standard issue battery cable.

As far as the TC40 I bought some 6 AWG cable from the electronic supply house
that I buy other stuff for my business. It came in RED and BLACK. I think for
the GM interiors you need about 25' of each. I bought about 50' of each because
I didn't want to run out in the middle of a run. I crimped and soldered some
lugs to the ends of the cable that connects to the batteries. I got the lugs at
the auto parts store. The other ends go right into the TC40. I had to trim
some of the wires in order to get them to fit in the small connectors in the
TC40. That was kind of a pain.

The 2AWG cable that I bought for the inverter was simple to use. They already
had a lug on both ends. I cut the lugs off one end and that went into the
inverter. The other ends connected to the battery. You want the inverter to be
as close to the house batteries as possible. If your runs are less then about
5' you can buy that cable from the auto parts store already made up.

HTH
Richard