What to do with bottom of battery rack?

[DaveTM]

I have a standard EZ-GO battery rack for my TXT cart that, just like every other battery holder, the battery sits in and his held down by battery holders. Now, the bottom of the rack is open and the batteries are, for a lack of a better description, "exposed" to the elements.

My cart is used exclusively for hunting and although I don't go over crazy terrain, I do go over some rocks and loose timber 'n such. My other matter is that I use my cart in some very cold weather (down to 12 degrees) and I would like to semi-insulate the bottom of the batteries. So, I was thinking of simply cutting some 1\4" plywood or particle board to fit into the battery holder and then simply set the batteries on top of the wood and secure them. That way the bottom of the batteries would have some protection from rocks and logs, plus in the cold, they would also have some protection from the cold.

Any thoughts on this? Good or bad idea?

Thanks

Dave

[Sir Nuke]

Dave, that would work....the thing I would suggest is, after you cut them out, I would first SEAL the plywood, than I would paint them.

[JohnnieB]

Be sure to use marine grade plywood, OSB or particle board. It is going to get wet.

I'd use thicker wooden panels. A straightedge from the the top of the slots at the front to where it seat bottom rests at the back will show you how much clearance you have above the batteries.

[sportcoupe]

Not too thick or else you won't be able to get the nuts on your battery hold down.

[simple man]

Get some old semi truck mud flaps and cut to fit. These are tough, will resist acid and water, will somewhat insulate the batteries, and will protect against puncture from debris in your path! They are about ¼" to ⅜" thick, so your hold downs will still work properly.

[tylerolso]

You could also use then sheet metal like 14ga or 16ga, you can just attach it to the bottom with self taping screws and call it good, you would not have to rebuild your current battery racks.

[rib33024]

you can use this, it is a cutting board, it's a 1/4" thick plastic cutting board they sell them at walmart for $1.50, they are, 8 1/2" by 11", you won't have to paint and they will not rot, i use them for alot of things

[kellybell]

Originally Posted by DaveTM

I have a standard EZ-GO battery rack for my TXT cart that, just like every other battery holder, the battery sits in and his held down by battery holders. Now, the bottom of the rack is open and the batteries are, for a lack of a better description, "exposed" to the elements.

My cart is used exclusively for hunting and although I don't go over crazy terrain, I do go over some rocks and loose timber 'n such. My other matter is that I use my cart in some very cold weather (down to 12 degrees) and I would like to semi-insulate the bottom of the batteries. So, I was thinking of simply cutting some 1\4" plywood or particle board to fit into the battery holder and then simply set the batteries on top of the wood and secure them. That way the bottom of the batteries would have some protection from rocks and logs, plus in the cold, they would also have some protection from the cold.

Any thoughts on this? Good or bad idea?

Thanks

Dave

The problem with insulation is this. if what you are insulating is not in itself a heats source, insulting it doesn't do any good. Insulating something acts as a barrier to slow the loss of heat, much as a coat on your body slows the loss of heat and keeps you warmer, or a Styrofoam cup keeps tour coffee warm. I am unsure if a wet cell such as your batteries generate heat or not, perhaps this is a good question for Johnnie B. I would guess that since the cell is a source of energy, it does indeed generate its own heat, and if it is enuf (which I don't personally believe it is) then it would be worth insulating. Imagine if you were a rock. Insulation would be completely ineffective, since a rock does not generate its own heat, so insulation (slowing the rate of heat loss) would not help the rocks temp at all. As for the issue of protection, I can see that would be helpful in an outdoors environment, tho. I could be wrong on the issue of if a wet cell is a heat source, tho.

[JohnnieB]

Cart batteries have internal resistance and heat is generated when current passes through that resistance, but there won't be much heat generated unless there are a lot of amps passing through it, or the internal resistance is high.

Insulating the bottom certainly won't hurt, but probably won't help much either, since there are five other side to each battery that is exposed.

[DaveTM]

Well, thank you for your suggestions. Your reading my mind (which...really now....that's not a whole lot of effort, so it's really not much of a compliment ) but I'm thinking of hooking up a small 12-V heater that would run off of a separate battery. Now...I know the "issues" of gas build up and ka-booms with battery gas, but I was considering a small fan driven heater connected via a dryer type vent that would push some heat under the seat.

This may be just some pie-in-the-sky thinking, but after this past year's hunting with high's in the mid-teens, and battery life (because of the cold) being cut by 40% to 60%, I was trying to devise a way to up the run time in cold weather.

Of course, I could just stay home.....but where's the fun in that?