Following on from the very high level design in part one, the next stage was to mount the 8 cells securely in a safe location. This actually took a while to puzzle out and as you will find out, I’m not totally stoked on the final choices I made. So I’ll probably have to redo it all soon. ANYWAY…

LiFePo4 cells don’t give off dangerous gases when charged unlike Lead Acid, so I could put them inside. I decided to tuck them away under the nav desk, as it was a dry, safe spot and very close to the electrical panel AND the alternator, meaning less voltage drop and I could use slightly smaller cables.

First, I had to create a ledge for them to sit on. I did this with some scrap wood I ‘liberated’ from work, and then put some padeyes through.

I then test the connection.

This was then mounted inside the space under the nav table and then once I had the position correct, mounted in position with a lot of big screws.

The cells need to be held together with compression, so to do this I sunk two additional padeyes into the end of the space, and used a metal plate at either end and a ratchet strap to squeeze them together while simultaneously holding them secure. They then could be strapped down from the top as well.

This seems to hold everything very securely, but looks really kinda…. shit.

So I may have to change that. I am thinking using threaded rod threaded through oversize metal end plates and the end bulkhead to form a compression case..

For now though, they are out from under the salon table where they have been for 3+ months which is a huge relief. Now I just need to find a spot to put all the painting stuff that was there originally… sigh

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