Cells with studs

[Mightymach]

I'm in the beginning stages of a lifepo4 house bank conversion on my 29' sportfisher. I will have numerous questions regarding set up and theory in a later post, but my concerns with the EVE batteries are the tiny M6 (1/4") screws securing 4/0 cables.

I love the studs on the fortune batteries, but their physical size is much larger and their capacity is much lower.

Are there any other options? Im switching from a 300 amp hour AGM bank so a 282 hour bank would be perfect with room to grow.

Thanks!

Jeff Given

 

[Bob B]

You are correct .... these small studs threaded into soft aluminum are kinda fragile. It has been generally discovered that any torque to the studs over 35 in lbs or 4 nm can damage the threads.

Some are taking proactive steps to prevent this. Have you seen any of the threads about using conductive epoxy, loctite, or JB weld to secure the studs into the cells?

 

[Mightymach]

Hi Bob. I haven't seen any of those threads, but, what does that accomplish? It won't allow the screws to back out, sure, but there is still only 35 in/lbs of clamping force. Heavy cables, pounding waves are a concern.

For the capacity to size to price, it would be with experimenting with, but the less I need to experiment, the cheaper off I am.

Thanks again!

 

[John Frum]

Hi Bob. I haven't seen any of those threads, but, what does that accomplish? It won't allow the screws to back out, sure, but there is still only 35 in/lbs of clamping force. Heavy cables, pounding waves are a concern.

For the capacity to size to price, it would be with experimenting with, but the less I need to experiment, the cheaper off I am.

Thanks again!

Probably obvious but if the cables are supported(by the top of the battery) then they are less likely to rip the set screws out of the terminals or the terminals out of the batteries.

 

[Bob B]

Using an epoxy or thread lock will increase the overall strength of the connection. Some have measured a significant increase in the failure point of the threads .... testing is still ongoing.

Read thru this thread and you will get the gist of some of the testing.

JB Weld versus Loctite for grubscrews

I’m getting ready to install 20mm SS M6 grubscrews into my EVE 280Ah cells and am down to the last detail of whether to use JB Weld or Loctite to secure the threads. So I’m asking those members who have experience with both whether there is any disadvantage to using JB Weld over Loctite that I...

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