workinonit
Elite Member
Do like I do on ALL of my equipment. I put remote aux battery posts on everything so I can jump it off or if I need power for something like my fuel pump on my trailer it's right there where I need to fill up.
Speedy/easy replacement for wing nuts
- Thread starter future_vision
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- utv
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2011
- Messages
- 11,804
- Location
- Philadelphia
- Tractor
- John Deere 3033R, 855 MFWD, 757 ZTrak; IH Cub Cadet 123
Dude... you need a solar battery tender. I keep one on the big battery bank that powers my trailer winch, and they work great.
Charging capacity is great in winter, when you really want to be sure your battery doesn't go flat in the cold. Tree cover obviously hampers summer capacity, but you also get more hours of sunlight and have less urgent need for maximum capacity in summer anyway, so it all works for me.
After burning thru no less than 3 "Battery Tender" brand units, which appear to be total junk, I went with this no-name solution. It's been working great for several years, now. Go figure the generic would be better than the name brand!
Removing batteries is for chumps. I do it probably less than once every 6 - 8 years on most vehicles and OPE.
Charging capacity is great in winter, when you really want to be sure your battery doesn't go flat in the cold. Tree cover obviously hampers summer capacity, but you also get more hours of sunlight and have less urgent need for maximum capacity in summer anyway, so it all works for me.
After burning thru no less than 3 "Battery Tender" brand units, which appear to be total junk, I went with this no-name solution. It's been working great for several years, now. Go figure the generic would be better than the name brand!
Removing batteries is for chumps. I do it probably less than once every 6 - 8 years on most vehicles and OPE.
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2011
- Messages
- 11,804
- Location
- Philadelphia
- Tractor
- John Deere 3033R, 855 MFWD, 757 ZTrak; IH Cub Cadet 123
Outdoor solar? I find that hard to believe!
I have their indoor units, 110VAC, and they work great. I think my oldest one is probably almost ready to vote... maybe even drink! But their outdoor solar units seem to be good for only 1 - 2 years maximum.
rv7charlie
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2020
- Messages
- 94
- Tractor
- Kubota M4700
Battery type? 'Wet' cell batteries self-dicharge quite rapidly. 'AGM' are smaller, lighter, and can sit for close to a year while keeping around 80% of initial charge. Only wet cell left in any of my stuff is a monster in my Kubota diesel tractor.
That, and making sure there are no 'parasite' loads when the UTV is turned off should solve most of the dead battery issues.
You want aviation DZUS fastners. They can be wingnut style or slotted screw head, and are captive, won't be lost when you loosen them. Find a local aviation mechanic or a race car body tech. Or you can buy them on line and put in yourself. Need 2 3/8 holes and 2 pop rivets to install. Look them up.
rv7charlie
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2020
- Messages
- 94
- Tractor
- Kubota M4700
The issue with DZUS (1/4 turn) fasteners is that they don't have any adjustment range, to speak of. They're designed to hold two panels together that are already touching, with separation loads limited to a few pounds at most (the pressure it takes to insert/latch them). The weak spring in the load circuit will allow a heavy load to bounce around, fatiguing and possibly breaking stuff.
I share the OP's frustration with spinning wing nuts on long threaded rod; I'd be sawing off the thread leaving enough for minor height differences among batteries, and using hex nuts. At least with those, you can spin them off with a deep socket & a drill or impact driver.
edit: another option with wingnuts is to use a spacer, cut from rigid tubing/pipe. Another piece to lose, but would minimize the spinning routine.
My personal go-to is a sectioned stainless worm drive hose clamp. A section gets riveted to an angle bracket for one side/top, and the worm drive + short section gets riveted to another strap/angle. Fairly long adjustment range, and can be tightened/loosened with a nut driver, and opened completely for battery swapping.
*If* one side of the battery is exposed enough, and an actual latching system is really important, I'd look at adjustable cam latches like these; just one example from ebay. Would require adapting to or replacing the existing hold-down posts, of course.
I share the OP's frustration with spinning wing nuts on long threaded rod; I'd be sawing off the thread leaving enough for minor height differences among batteries, and using hex nuts. At least with those, you can spin them off with a deep socket & a drill or impact driver.
edit: another option with wingnuts is to use a spacer, cut from rigid tubing/pipe. Another piece to lose, but would minimize the spinning routine.
My personal go-to is a sectioned stainless worm drive hose clamp. A section gets riveted to an angle bracket for one side/top, and the worm drive + short section gets riveted to another strap/angle. Fairly long adjustment range, and can be tightened/loosened with a nut driver, and opened completely for battery swapping.
*If* one side of the battery is exposed enough, and an actual latching system is really important, I'd look at adjustable cam latches like these; just one example from ebay. Would require adapting to or replacing the existing hold-down posts, of course.
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