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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | I have spent the last couple days installing a new 24 volt bow mount trolling motor on my boat. Well, the only place I could find to put the two batteries in my 19' aluminum boat is in the transom, right below the fuel line leading to the tank! I got all the 8 guage wiring in place, installed a fancy MinnKota plug in the front and strapped in the two batteries. Got the two batteries hooked in series and just about had everything tight and done and skeeeeeeekkkkk, you guessed it, sparks flying! Scared me half to death! Somehow I touched a wrench to something! There is just something not right about having two batteries right below the gas line!
Jed V.
Edited by RiverMan 6/2/2008 9:54 PM
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Oh, yeah. I've been there too, except not so close to the gas line. Tightening the nut on the positive terminal and hitting the wrench on the aluminum which was grounded. Spark city. Sure would be nice if they had an insulated wrench or if I was smart enough to wrap the other end in electrical tape. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Jed, if you have an old piece of garden hose, you might think about slitting it and putting it over your fuel line for a little added protection. You can tape it or use wire ties to secure it. If nothing else, for your nerves. Does that much weight in front affect the way the boat sits in the water? m |
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Posts: 190
| I had a trolling motor incident as well. I was working trying to figure out why the trolling motor kept cutting out. I was sitting on the front of the boat working the pedal sitting on the electrical cord where the splice of the trolling motor cord was. The cord and the splice was climped and wrapped in the plastic coil. I got up to check the batteries and my short had a new hole in them. Wondering how that got there I sat back down in the front and worked the pedal. This time I sat directly on the splice. It sparked on my butt and I jumped into the air. Apperantly the climp didn't hold..... |
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Location: Oregon | The fuel line going into the tank is quite large, probably 3" diameter. Really it's probably no more of a risk than the cranking motor which also sits in the back of the boat on the other side of the transom. The boat is only a few years old and all the fuel lines are in perfectly working order, no fumes, etc., but it's still scary having electricity near fuel. I thought about having the batteries in a storage compartment up front but the front of the boat really takes a beating in rough water conditions on the Columbia.....many times the entire front of the boat will be out of the water in 4-6 ft swells and it would beat a battery to death.
Jed
Edited by RiverMan 6/3/2008 12:38 PM
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Location: Green Bay, WI | I doubt that the fuel line is 3" in diameter--that's about the size of the lines on the space shuttle! More likely, that's the diameter of the protective sheath around the fuel lines, used to keep all the lines bundled together. My Verado is just this way, and the fuel line seems to be included within that bundle. I agree with the concern though--in general, one would not want fuel lines running above an electrical source (i.e.; source of ignition) in any sort of vehicle. In fact in aviation, the FAA mandates that this cannot occur--any electrical line must be located above a fluid line.
I would recommend to the original poster that, if the only place to mount the batteries is at the transom, simply mount them *inside* of battery boxes. Put lids on the boxes and fasten them and voila...problem solved.
TB
Edited by tcbetka 6/4/2008 10:20 AM
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Location: Not where I wanna be! | hahaha, not funny, but been there and know the feeling you got when you saw the sparks......
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | I originally bought boxes to store the batteries in but they won't quite fit, too tall!
RM
Edited by RiverMan 6/4/2008 1:17 PM
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Posts: 292
Location: Minneapolis | AGM batteries are more expensive, but they take a pounding much better than regular deep cycles. AGMs would do fine in your bow. Or, you could mount them sideways in the transom so you'd have more clearance under your fuel line. |
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Location: Grand Rapids MN | Been there, done that.... so I make sure I hook up the negative terminals last but that's easier said than done in tight spaces! |
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Posts: 5874
| Not sure why you sparked to the aluminum of the boat. Typically, the boat is NOT grounded like an automobile is. You must have hit the positve post to the negative post on the battery.
I saw a guy do that in a service station once. Dropped a 7/8" combination wrench right down on both posts! When the air cleared, the battery was split wide open, the sparks had destroyed the paint on top of the customers fender, and the wrench was vaporized. Gone in less than 60 seconds! Last seen, the guy was heading to the restroom for a wipe! |
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Location: Grand Rapids MN | good point Shep... didn't think of a boat not being grounded. |
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I may be a candidate for the 2008 Darwin Awards