DIY Battery Box - Tricked Out

Hey Guys!

I'm right in the middle of a new project... I'm building a battery box (12v) for primarily kayak fishing use (Lowrance and lighting), but I also want it to be functional in camp. Basically, I want a unit that I can run typical kayak fishing accessories on, and act as a charging bank, AC capabilities for low voltage appliances, run radios/speakers... pretty much anything I'd need while camping off grid.

Here's what I have so far -

1 Lead Acid Battery - 12v, 5.8mah
1 Blue Brick 12v, 6.8mah
20amp fuse
1 switch on led light
2 cig lighter plugs

*LA Battery and Blue Brick wired independently.

I want to add...
2 more LA Batteries of the same size, wired in parallel (retails 12v, expands mah)
A power/volt meter
A relay for the extras
A Step Down Converter 12v to 5v
AC Inverter
A charging plug that I then match up in the back of my truck storage


Has anyone else tricked out a battery box? Any idea how long 12v, 15-20mah will last in the field? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome... I'm learning as i go.

Thanks!

Any idea how long 12v, 15-20mah will last in the field?

Not even an hour.    I'm assuming you meant to ask about 15-20 Ah (Amp*hours)?

Sorry I still learning. The battery is 5800mAh, 12v.

So roughly 15,000mAh and 20,000mAh.

Looks cool and hopefully useful for your needs.

I would highly suggest going back through all of your wire connections and completely eliminate the splicers and crimped on terminals.  Even though the box may look water tight, water WILL still eventually find it's way in there, even if it is just humidity.

All terminal connections should be soldered, and then a layer of heat shrink applied over the whole terminal.   
Where the heat shrinks ends along the wire shrouding/backing, could also be sealed with a thin line of Marine Goop.

Where you have the wire splicers installed, you could either strip the wire backing back slightly and solder your connections together, then heat shrink tubing over the that, and Goop to seal both ends of the shrink tubing.

Apply generous amounts of silicon dielectric grease to all terminals to where they connect to the batteries, switches, lights, etc...

I know it sounds like a lot of over kill, but if done this way from the beginning, you won't be redoing after a season of use when the crimped connections start to corrode and begin to fall apart on you. 

A good clean solid wiring job is often overlooked for instant gratification.  I've seen it a zillion times with cars, RV's, buggies, ATV's, boats and even kayaking where someone shortcut the process of protecting all their connections and then eventually have grounding issues shown by random electrical issues. 

Otherwise, your box looks like a functional concept.
Thanks for sharing.


 

Exactly the kind of info I'm looking for! Thank you!

I'm kind of experimenting with the wire set up. Definitely going to take your advice on sealing everything up.

Looks cool and hopefully useful for your needs.

I would highly suggest going back through all of your wire connections and completely eliminate the splicers and crimped on terminals.  Even though the box may look water tight, water WILL still eventually find it's way in there, even if it is just humidity.

All terminal connections should be soldered, and then a layer of heat shrink applied over the whole terminal.   
Where the heat shrinks ends along the wire shrouding/backing, could also be sealed with a thin line of Marine Goop.

Where you have the wire splicers installed, you could either strip the wire backing back slightly and solder your connections together, then heat shrink tubing over the that, and Goop to seal both ends of the shrink tubing.

Apply generous amounts of silicon dielectric grease to all terminals to where they connect to the batteries, switches, lights, etc...

I know it sounds like a lot of over kill, but if done this way from the beginning, you won't be redoing after a season of use when the crimped connections start to corrode and begin to fall apart on you. 

A good clean solid wiring job is often overlooked for instant gratification.  I've seen it a zillion times with cars, RV's, buggies, ATV's, boats and even kayaking where someone shortcut the process of protecting all their connections and then eventually have grounding issues shown by random electrical issues. 

Otherwise, your box looks like a functional concept.
Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, that. 

I think your 5.6 Ah SLA would convert to 5600 mAh and your 6800 Li-ion would convert to 6.8 Ah

Wondering how you intend to connect your kayaks electronics.  I understand your cigarette outlets are waterproof when the covers are in place.  Is there an actual plug that seals when inserted providing an "In Use" waterproof connection ?

A few of us have been doing some testing using 12 volt lamps which have a known draw and seeing how long different types of batteries will provide the voltages we need for our electronics.   Everything from Blue Bricks,  SLA's to Lithium motorcycle batteries.  We should be posting our results soon.
If your wanting some additional "Battery Box Bling Bling"  I can send you a few things you might like. 
First would be a waterproof display showing the actual voltage remaining of your battery.  large image as the display is actually only 1.5 x 1 inches



Momentary waterproof switches to use with the meter.  Push the button and the display becomes active so the meter isn't always providing a display, and though very little, drawing power.



I also have some latching water proof buttons which glow when in the on position.

 

Harbor Freight has a nice and cheap heat shrink variety box where there is a sealant in the heat shrink itself.  The inner sealant becomes liquefied when heated then hardens as soon as it cools.  No need to mess with marine goop and comes out looking very professional looking.  On sale now for 6 bucks and perfect sizes for kayak projects.

Hey Guys!

I'm right in the middle of a new project... I'm building a battery box (12v) for primarily kayak fishing use (Lowrance and lighting), but I also want it to be functional in camp. Basically, I want a unit that I can run typical kayak fishing accessories on, and act as a charging bank, AC capabilities for low voltage appliances, run radios/speakers... pretty much anything I'd need while camping off grid.

Here's what I have so far -

1 Lead Acid Battery - 12v, 5.8mah
1 Blue Brick 12v, 6.8mah
20amp fuse
1 switch on led light
2 cig lighter plugs

*LA Battery and Blue Brick wired independently.

I want to add...
2 more LA Batteries of the same size, wired in parallel (retails 12v, expands mah)
A power/volt meter
A relay for the extras
A Step Down Converter 12v to 5v
AC Inverter
A charging plug that I then match up in the back of my truck storage


Has anyone else tricked out a battery box? Any idea how long 12v, 15-20mah will last in the field? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome... I'm learning as i go.

Thanks!

A few things from my many years of working with campers/kayaks/etc and 12v equipment.

A 120v inverter is always nice to have for a pinch, but be careful when using it as inverters tend to have a draw when on, but no 120v equipment is attached. For example, this Cobra 400 watt inverter: https://www.cobra.com/products/power-inverters/professional/cpi-480

Pulls 'less than' .5 amps at 12.6V with no load. Leaving it on over the course of a night/day can drain your battery. It's usually not as big of an issue with campers when you have 100+ Ah's, but when you're only looking at 20Ah's, it can add up. I speak from experience where I had an inverter that pulled 1.2 Ah's with no load.

Also, another thing you can look at, which I plan to add, is a small 10-20 watt solar panel to charge while I'm out fishing/paddling/at camp. If the sun is out, why not get some amps back in the battery? I'm looking for the right one, ideally a flexible panel that can be rolled up and tucked away would be great.

I built a box very similar for my Commander 120 with trolling motor. Box, switches, plugs, LED voltmeter, LED lights, fuse panel, etc. all appropriate to what you are doing.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=9441.15
(Photos on page 2)

For the MinnKota, I have gone to an Optima AGM battery as It lasts way longer (whole weekend trip) without recharge. I've been too afraid of ruining the 36 AH LiFeP04 running it too low. Although the AGM battery is significantly heavier its a piece of mind. My point is, what is your reasoning behind multiple batteries in parallel vs 1 single?

Here is a shopping list for you:

Fuse terminal (Amazon.com)   
http://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-BP-15600-06-20-Quick-Connect/dp/B001BXKLNQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_263_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1B6Y1N17681YCQ41MPQY

100 Amp Common BusBar (Amazon.com)
   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OTJ89Q?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

1 mile Nav bow light(Amazon.com)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O0DIA4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

LED lights (x2) (Amazon.com)
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AYAOL/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Toggle Switches (10 piece) (Amazon.com)
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YB8YKA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Waterproof 12V LED Volt meter (Amazon.com)
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009XS1ZY0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

MKR-18 Plug and receptacle (Amazon.com)
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PTHKRQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cord grips (10-pack) (Amazon.com)
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00303FYKA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Packard Weatherpack connectors (6 pack) (Amazon.com)
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DVM7RG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Packard Weatherpack crimper tool kit
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CCAEJ6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Heat shrink tubing
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WWC6FU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Can you tell I LOVE Amazon?

This schematic I sketched may also be helpful for you.

HydraYak, ya done stepped into a whole mess of electrical tinkerers.

nice box! u get that dialed in should start putting them up for sale? could be a money maker.

Very nice write up I appreciate how you laid all the hyperlinks to your parts used, thank you!

Here's my schematic

I like Mojo's