Notice it is connected to the boxes that came with it, over the differential.
Here is what the original boxes look "full" of 14 batteries, 7 on either side:
For each original box, there is:
- One on its side underneath the cab (AGM batteries are sealed, so they can go on their side, they don't care), but with a little left outside so we can see the face.
- Then there are two that are upright (note the little notch on either side of the box frame? That is so we can pull them out - there is very little wiggle room).
- Next are two stacked batteries on their side facing back, and
- finally on the right there are two stacked batteries facing forward, rear against the back of the box.
Next, the rear battery box, where 10 all tolled are stored:
As you can see, two go directly over the rear axle, and then 8 are behind the rear axle.
So where are the other two batteries (to total 26)? Dad built a little frame that goes on either side of the original boxes, just beside the frame. We tested it and saw that the bed will just go on the outside of it.
Here's what the final version looks like overall:
It's not quite done, since we need to put some protective sleeves over exposed batteries, but they're all in place at this point.
Hey Todd, I had the same 1994 S10 longbed US Electricar with 26 UB121100 batteries.
ReplyDeleteI squeezed 22 of them into the original box (indeed I had to notch the sides a bit like you did) and the remaining 4 I carried over the rear axle in a single box. I did not want to put any heavy stuff behind the rear axle, as that will give a bad driving experience in more than one way: 70 lb of battery will appear to weigh more than 70 lbs, the rear axle load can actually increase by approx 100 lbs, because this weight is taken off of the front axle (the battery will try to lift the front end up). Another thing is that the mass of the batteries being so far from the center of the car will make quick turning more difficult and if you ever start spinning, it will keep the spin going simply by it mass. For the same reason any bumps or potholes will be amplified by the mass so far out, so that was my reason to put more effort in fitting everything in the original box which is near the center of the car. I laid *all* 22 batteries on their side (only the 4 in the separate box were standing up) and could slide 3 under the cab and two rows of 4 in the accessible area, so 11 on each side. I followed a pattern of connecting all batteries with the shortest possible cables, so all voltages were close to each other in each area of the box. Still there was plenty of risk from accidentally shorting a battery or a cable, but I had no trouble. I can send you the configuration I used in case you ever want to lose the batteries behind your axle. I am on the US Electricar group.