Battery Slide Refurb

[Winemaker2]

I want to say thanks to "007" and all the other posts that helped me do this project.
I thought it worth summarizing my findings based on the recommendations.
I was about due for batty bank replacement as mine were original and ~8 yrs old.

1. Disconnected house & chassis batty with switches and unplugged shore power
2. Diagrammed and took photos - A must - I numbered all of the cables on the diagram and IDed the cables w/ masking tape & sharpie
3. covered the top of the batty bank with a rubber mat and had a couple pieces of rubber hose large enough to cover positive cable ends cut about 4" long
   Caution - The Magnum Inverter cautions that Pos cable needs to be removed first (and replaced last) to avoid damage to inverter.
4. I removed inverter + lead from batty bank - slid hose over end and taped in place - removed cable from fuse block in compartment side wall. Did the same with house + cable and the 3rd? + cable at rear that's bundled with other Neg cables - guessing this might be for the always on loads but not sure
5. Removed all batty cables labeling each as I went along
6. Removed top rollers to allow tray removal
7. Removal of slide frame fairly easy mine only had 2 bolts in rear of slide frame
8. Clean up of slide frame, tray and compartment straight forward using grinder, sander & wire wheels. I didn't worry about feathering edges to make it pretty just wanted rust & loose paint gone. Vacuum dust & wiped everything down w/ alcohol (mineral spirits not recommended for POR15).
9. Painted all 3 with POR15 - Heard about it here, did some research and it looked good. Having used it I like it and it seems like a very hard & durable finish compared to most paints. I did 2 coats. POR 15 recommends top coat if exposed to UV. I didn't top coat as no UV in the compartment
10. Some of the cable terminal (mostly positive) had corrosion that had removed the tinning from the copper terminal. I wire brushed tham and re tinned the questionable ones using a torch & solder and wiping them while still hot. Retaped ends, adding Red Silicone Rescue Tape to all Pos Cable ends
11. I used the tip from JFXG about greasing the rollers and using a fender washer as a dirt seal - THANKS
12. Reassembly & alignment took longer than expected to get the rollers lined up so the tray contacted them evenly and nothing was binding. After installing the frame in the bay I had some binding and had to shim a rear corner with a washer to keep everything square & not bind
13. Installed new AGM-GC2s from Sams Club (All dated Mar or Apr 2020 Mfg so very fresh) Reinstalled tie-down straps after washing & neutralizing acid residue with baking soda solution. Repainted strap clips and had to reorder a couple replacements from StrapWorks.com for corroded ones
14. Reinstalled cables on battys first then negatives to chassis & inverter and positives last
15. Sprayed all connections with CRC batty terminal protector
16. Powered house & chassis batteries back up and rest the Magnum Inv / Charger for AGM Type 2 and 100% Charge Rate (125A for my charger) which is less than a 0.2C charge rate for the 4 banks at 190AH Ea or 760 AH total
17. All is well and charger topped off the batteries in a few hours.

Before and after pics below
Thanks to all who provided previous info, pictures and tips.

["007"]

Nice job Don, will be adding with John's link in Thing to fix and repair, link.

[Tigerfan1]

Originally Posted by Winemaker2

I want to say thanks to "007" and all the other posts that helped me do this project.

I thought it worth summarizing my findings based on the recommendations.

I was about due for batty bank replacement as mine were original and ~8 yrs old.

1. Disconnected house & chassis batty with switches and unplugged shore power
   
2. Diagrammed and took photos - A must - I numbered all of the cables on the diagram and IDed the cables w/ masking tape & sharpie
   
3. covered the top of the batty bank with a rubber mat and had a couple pieces of rubber hose large enough to cover positive cable ends cut about 4" long
   
   Caution - The Magnum Inverter cautions that Pos cable needs to be removed first (and replaced last) to avoid damage to inverter.
   
4. I removed inverter + lead from batty bank - slid hose over end and taped in place - removed cable from fuse block in compartment side wall. Did the same with house + cable and the 3rd? + cable at rear that's bundled with other Neg cables - guessing this might be for the always on loads but not sure
   
5. Removed all batty cables labeling each as I went along
   
6. Removed top rollers to allow tray removal
   
7. Removal of slide frame fairly easy mine only had 2 bolts in rear of slide frame
   
8. Clean up of slide frame, tray and compartment straight forward using grinder, sander & wire wheels. I didn't worry about feathering edges to make it pretty just wanted rust & loose paint gone. Vacuum dust & wiped everything down w/ alcohol (mineral spirits not recommended for POR15).
   
9. Painted all 3 with POR15 - Heard about it here, did some research and it looked good. Having used it I like it and it seems like a very hard & durable finish compared to most paints. I did 2 coats. POR 15 recommends top coat if exposed to UV. I didn't top coat as no UV in the compartment
   
10. Some of the cable terminal (mostly positive) had corrosion that had removed the tinning from the copper terminal. I wire brushed tham and re tinned the questionable ones using a torch & solder and wiping them while still hot. Retaped ends, adding Red Silicone Rescue Tape to all Pos Cable ends
    
11. I used the tip from JFXG about greasing the rollers and using a fender washer as a dirt seal - THANKS
    
12. Reassembly & alignment took longer than expected to get the rollers lined up so the tray contacted them evenly and nothing was binding. After installing the frame in the bay I had some binding and had to shim a rear corner with a washer to keep everything square & not bind
    
13. Installed new AGM-GC2s from Sams Club (All dated Mar or Apr 2020 Mfg so very fresh) Reinstalled tie-down straps after washing & neutralizing acid residue with baking soda solution. Repainted strap clips and had to reorder a couple replacements from StrapWorks.com for corroded ones
    
14. Reinstalled cables on battys first then negatives to chassis & inverter and positives last
    
15. Sprayed all connections with CRC batty terminal protector
    
16. Powered house & chassis batteries back up and rest the Magnum Inv / Charger for AGM Type 2 and 100% Charge Rate (125A for my charger) which is less than a 0.2C charge rate for the 4 banks at 190AH Ea or 760 AH total
    
17. All is well and charger topped off the batteries in a few hours.
    

Before and after pics below

Thanks to all who provided previous info, pictures and tips.

The Magnum inverter has a setting specifically for agm batteries that is different than flooded wet cell.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by Tigerfan1

The Magnum inverter has a setting specifically for agm batteries that is different than flooded wet cell.

Read his whole post, he took care if that.

[paisleytime]

Super helpful post, I need to do the same to mine soon. THANK YOU!

[Dutch Star Don]

Well.....you'll never have to deal with battery acid issues or adding water again....that's a great feeling.

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Read his whole post, he took care if that.

[emoji106]set to AGM 2

[Dutchstar411]

"Installed new AGM-GC2s from Sams Club (All dated Mar or Apr 2020 Mfg so very fresh) Reinstalled tie-down straps after washing & neutralizing acid residue with baking soda solution. Repainted strap clips and had to reorder a couple replacements from StrapWorks.com for corroded ones"



Nice job Don

What length strap(s) did you order and did they have the clips that hook into the battery drawer as well? I need two of them.

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by Dutchstar411

"Installed new AGM-GC2s from Sams Club (All dated Mar or Apr 2020 Mfg so very fresh) Reinstalled tie-down straps after washing & neutralizing acid residue with baking soda solution. Repainted strap clips and had to reorder a couple replacements from StrapWorks.com for corroded ones"



Nice job Don

What length strap(s) did you order and did they have the clips that hook into the battery drawer as well? I need two of them.

I mentioned in the post
Washed, neutralized and reused my straps. They were in OK shape.
Most clips OK but ordered 2 new from StrapWorks.com
I dont know if they have the straps but they certainly have the components and wouldnt be hard to make them up.
Didn't measure them but they were way longer than needed... more than 3X depth of the tray.

[pduggs]

Great post. Thanks.

[Chief Alen]

Nice clean professional job ... saving this thread when it’s time for me to change out the batteries.

[britcon]

Thanks everyone
Looks like I am going to be without power for a couple of days