New Boat!

I already have two large gaps at high level where the battery cables are and another at the bottom where the cables exit the box...
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Will these be sufficient? Is this checked on a BSC?

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That does say non private but sure that applies to all under Bss
Maybe a nice brass vent on the front, also don't forget that any battery in the box will need strapping down as well.

Thanks for the link. I read..."If your batteries are kept in confined spaces in compartments it's essential that the build-up of flammable hydrogen gas is prevented. To achieve this, battery compartments must be properly ventilated."

But what does "properly ventilated" actually mean? I suppose this is at the discretion of the examiner. But then again, further on it says..."traditional batteries have exposed connectors between the cells - in these cases you must cover the whole top surface of the battery."

So how does one achieve "proper ventilation" if "the whole of the top surface of the battery" is covered?

Very confusing.

The BSC has another 3½  years to runs so I'm not going to rush to solve this one. I'll leave a digital thermometer in the box to record temp variation and some litmus paper to see if any gas is actually venting (the batteries are sealed units) and take it from there.

Covering the whole of the top surface of the battery can be with a piece of wood or plastic or other non conductive material so nothing metallic can touch the terminals or connectors between cells. This does not need to seal the top of the battery.

I have on order one of these..
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and one of these...
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Neither cost very much and I'll see which looks the best up against the box. The brass fitting should look nice with a bit of work on the wheel and be bloody obvious to an inspector. The downside is that if I do decide on the brass one I'll have to buy another locker handle in brass (I already have a stainless one on the way).
When I made the box I allowed enough space between each of the three batteries for a ply "baffle" to stop them moving about. I'll now make these "baffles" a bit higher than originally planned and fit a cover made from 3mm ply over all three batteries. The cover will be secured to top of the "baffles with this type of fixing...

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but in stainless and using wing-nuts. Hopefully this should now comply with the ventilation and securing requirements mentioned above.

Thanks for pointing out these issues now as it's easier to make some slight modifications at this stage than it would have been later on.

The bolts you illustrate look tough enough to contain a big explosion! Surely the lidded box itself is enough to comply? And make sure your cable terminals comply. They were a failure on mine and had to be replaced but I cant remember why. Mention/quote by Ray1 that a cover is required is surely just the minimum requirement, without a box! If I'm right you're almost done!

The studs in the photo were just to show what I'm using. The actual ones will be M5 or M6. The battery terminals are not the insulated type but it did pass a BSC in July without any comment being raised about these or the fact that there was no separate cover over the battery and the only ventilation was the "finger hole" in the lid. There again the box was so badly made it ventilated out of every joint . 
I suppose this shows just how much of the test is down to the subjective judgement of the examiner andhow he feels on the day.

All the batteries need to be is secure, i just have a strap which cost a few pounds over them and Bss just says exposed terminals covered so again a few pounds for red and black plastic covers. My battery box is similar to yours and has a louvered small oblong brass vent high on the side.

On the F23 the original battery box is not ventilated. I’ve passed numerous BSS since it was introduced. All I had to do was put batteries in plastic box with no lid and secure them.

The f23 batteries are too small to produce a dangerous amount of H2, which is lighter than air anyway. Overcharging can  produce Hydrogen sulphide that is heavier than air. If you can smell eggs then your regulator is faulty. Either way I don’t think venting is required for such small batteries.

It’ll be interesting to see how a raw water strainer could be adapted to become a battery box vent. Mine has a small (about the size of a fag packet) chrome grill in top. Seems to be enough for the BSS man

Prof Pat Pending wrote:It’ll be interesting to see how a raw water strainer could be adapted to become a battery box vent.....

So will I! 

Prof Pat Pending wrote:Mine has a small (about the size of a fag packet) chrome grill in top. Seems to be enough for the BSS man

I wonder why BSS men (several since it all started) never asked for a vent in mine? Because they are in open topped plastic boxs  within the battery compartment I wonder?
Lady Colleens aren't vented either.

Prof Pat Pending wrote:It’ll be interesting to see how a raw water strainer could be adapted to become a battery box vent. ...

Like this...
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Not too obtrusive and looks "period".

otleyBouy wrote:This is going to be a bit of a challenge though...

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Work in progress..[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Why did the previous owner remove a chunk of the shelf?

Hey BB, how many hours are u up to? Or have u stopped counting?

Minerva wrote:Why did the previous owner remove a chunk of the shelf?

To fit a car radio! There have been other bits of butchery and bodgery which I've corrected but this is the one that hits you in the eye. 

I never started counting the hours but I have kept a log book of every day I've worked on it and what I did. Since 1st July there haven't been many days when I haven't either been actually on the boat working or doing "home work". It's all been enjoyable and rewarding though.

Yes. I was going to count the hours on the F26 but I realised that there is no way to do things quickly and properly so I stopped counting and now just enjoy the jobs with no specific target date. It is rewarding to make good the old girls. Could do with some longer and warmer days though.

Battery box "baffles" to hold the batteries in place...
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Old throttle lever adapted to open & close the fuel valve...
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Definitely not for the purist 

I think you’ll need to strap or clamp the batteries in place to please the man from the BSS

You may well be right, but all I'd say is that it passed the BSC in July this year when the battery box only had two batteries in it. The space for the middle battery in this picture was taken up by some pieces of garden decking. I added the
 third battery to replace the decking boards so it looked like this...

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I asked the examiner about it at the time and he said so long as the batteries were tight and couldn't move it was fine. He applied the same principal to the gas bottle but I'll be improving how that is secured as well.

I think a lot depends on which examiner you get. Most of the ones I spoke to when I was looking at boats didn't charge for a revisit, this bloke did. The the owner had to pay another £75.00 for him to come back once all the corrections had been carried out. The decking board packing piece was one of the corrections and, as I say, he was happy with that.

Looks good BB. I don't personally like the remote fuel cutoff because part of getting under the seat to turn it off is using the opportunity to check all is well and use your nose at the same time. Re batteries it looks like you are paralleling two different Ah batteries. I always feel uncomfortable about fixing batteries in parallel without having a switch in there. If one loses its potential it drags the other down to its level. I assume the parallel arrangement is your domestic source to give you more amp hours? Maybe it doesn't really matter then. 
I like the swivel seat above the battery box. I think I will get one of these for the 26 because the seat is over the engine and you have to lift the heavy original seat and board off to get to the engine...the fold up seat makes access much easier.

The left and middle batteries are connected in parallel and are the domestic supply. The battery on the right is for starting. I can switch in/charge the two domestics and the starting battery individually or all together.