Alternative 12V Aux battery options

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kiev

Well-known member
Joined
May 3, 2015
Messages
2,238
Location
The Heart o' Dixie
The 12V Aux battery in kiev2 died--it was the original so no surprise there. So just to explore some options, i made aluminum angle brackets to mount standard terminals to a $19 nEverStart lawn mower battery from walmart. i found a couple of terminal types, one with hex flats, the other is for boats and is a wing-nut style (and the diameter is too small to fit the miev battery clamps, so forget it). The bracket has 1/4-20 threads to mount to the battery tab and 3/8-16 for the terminals.

[EDIT: i like Don's option below better than this, plus note warning about using aluminum and galvanic corrosion, etc. This car is not being used right now, and only needs to be moved to mow the yard, so temporary battery solution.]

Here's a picture:

8y3racw.jpg
 
I would liberally grease all the connections with a 'no-ox' compound. My experience with electrical connections with any aluminum present in the marine environment is that the aluminum goes away quite quickly due to dissimilar metal corrosion. If anyone else is thinking of trying this lawnmower battery mod, I would suggest making the L brackets out of a piece of flattened 1/2" copper tubing. Use stainless bolts and nuts and don't count on the threads alone (without a nut on the bolt) to hold up for very long - The corrosion will begin between the threads on the bolt and the threads in the aluminum

My 'battery alternative' was to order a Mazda Miata AGM battery. With a piece of 2 x 6 lumber under the battery, it fit with no other modifications to the OEM mounting hardware. The AGM battery at $89 was actually a bit cheaper than the lead acid battery designed for the car and it has more amp hours too

Don
 
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