Battery Box location?

[ColoRockiesFan]

Hi all,

I could use some suggestions on where to put my soon-to-be installed electrical system (no solar now but to be added later) in my E350 RB.


I'm going to have a platform bed across the back. 

Where is the best place for the battery box and components/monitor?   :huh:

Thanks in advance!

 

[Trebor English]

If the plan is to use the alternator to charge while driving you need a low resistance connection to the alternator.  You can run a very fat (expensive) wire far or a smaller wire near.  A near place is the front passenger seat foot space.  Behind the driver seat is still pretty close.

 

[Artsyguy]

Mine is going behind the driver seat in my Chevy Express. For the reason Trebor posted above.

 

[rm.w/aview]

Using the area behind the driver seat for the battery(s) and a wall partition for accessories creates a neat & central location & leaves the passenger area available. "A place for everything & everything in its place" becomes very apparent in smaller spaces.

 

[suzanne]

Does anyone worry about EMF pollution (electromagnetic field) with sitting on wires running a lot of current all day long?  I would feel more comfortable having the batteries near the wheels... a few feet away from where I am sleeping or sitting.

 

[unicutie]

I put mine under a table I built that goes between the front seats for a short cable run to the engine. That way also i don't have to do any complicated venting because off gassing can just escape from the front windows that are always cracked.

Dc currents don't really put off dangerous emf, it's stuff like your cell phone and inverter that are more likely to put off any kind of hazardous rf radiation

 

[Almost There]

Does anyone worry about EMF pollution (electromagnetic field) with sitting on wires running a lot of current all day long?  I would feel more comfortable having the batteries near the wheels... a few feet away from where I am sleeping or sitting.

Umm, no!

In any case, there is no current 'running' unless the circuit is being used, which if it's going to the living area of a van, won't be in use normally when you're driving. We're also talking 12 volt here not major urban overhead superwires carrying thousands of volts.

 

[frater secessus]

Does anyone worry about EMF pollution (electromagnetic field) with sitting on wires running a lot of current all day long?

That is literally what the tinfoil hats are for.

 

[Weight]

I have a foil lined trucker's hat. It works much better when I use my grounding wire down to drag on the earth.

 

[Chuck1]

Does anyone worry about EMF pollution (electromagnetic field) with sitting on wires running a lot of current all day long?  I would feel more comfortable having the batteries near the wheels... a few feet away from where I am sleeping or sitting.

ballasts and transformers put out the most EMF in new builds, avoid fluorescent lighting because its also a high EMF , we use LED now anyway. ( home 110v leds put out EMF also)

If your worried metal line the cabinet you install the Inverter and charge controller in, use LEDs

 

[breeze]

Does anyone worry about EMF pollution (electromagnetic field) with sitting on wires running a lot of current all day long?  I would feel more comfortable having the batteries near the wheels... a few feet away from where I am sleeping or sitting.

Good question. Lead acid batteries may be and li-ion batteries may not be: but I don't positively know. Li-ion does have very powerful capabilities, and you are never far away from the powerful battery inside a van (to keep it interior shielded away from freezing temps.) It's better to know these things up front to design the housing to shield passengers. I'll ask a leading li-ion system company, and my van battery is like a car battery: as far from the driver as possible on a Nisan NV 3500 

But yeah, for a lead acid battery, I would not snuggle up near one, lol.

 

[Chuck1]

Your PC and phone will = your van EMF, more if you keep it in your Pocket, a hair dryer will double that since its close to you, Distance matters a lot, each inch away will lower exposure, 3 feet will lower exposure greatly.

Products have to be tested to pass guidelines.

Its measured in mG (milligauss) you can get a meter for less than $150 Trifield™ Meter Model 100XE (shop for the best deal)
https://www.alphalabinc.com/content/trifield-meter/

 

[Trebor English]

Most people who are concerned about magnetic fields worry more about higher frequencies like cell phones.  Some are more concerned about lower frequencies like 60 Hz.  All the 12 volt stuff in a van is DC, zero Hz, no frequency, direct current not alternating current.  The magnetic fields generated are constant like from a permanent magnet, like a refrigerator magnet, like the Earth's magnetic field.  Turning on and off an LED light is like walking towards and away from a refrigerator magnet.  X-rays really do damage human cells, low intensity permanent magnet fields not so much.

Aluminum foil hats don't have any effect.  Literally, tinfoil hats don't work on DC fields.  Tinfoil hats keep out the high frequencies used by space aliens and the NSA to read my thoughts.  You need ferrous hats, iron or steel, to keep out permanent magnet fields.  If you put up shields you need to demagnetize them on a regular basis as they tend to get magnetized.  Tinfoil hats don't need to be demagnetized.  

I have a cousin who used to sell magnetic socks, magnetic knee supports, magnetic wrist bands, and magnetic ankle bands.  They were alleged to cure and prevent all sorts of ailments.  They were "good" for you and really good for her bank account.  

Its measured in mG (milligauss) you can get a meter for less than $150 Trifield™ Meter Model 100XE

Those meters are 40Hz to 100kHz, AC not DC.  Really, low level DC fields aren't a thing to worry about.

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

In my E350 I put my two SLAs behind the driver seat to keep the wire to the starter battery as short as possible. However, I wish I had mustered up the ingenuity to mount a battery box on the frame under the cab. I may circle back to that one day.

 

[John61CT]

If your bank weighs hundreds of pounds, between the wheels, well secured and low.

Big wire gauges can compensate, prevent voltage drops.

 

[suzanne]

I have a foil lined trucker's hat. It works much better when I use my grounding wire down to drag on the earth.

you are inspiring me.  I was unfamiliar with the "foil lined hat" concept so I looked it up on Wikipedia.  I am realizing that if I put Reflectix all over, I'd have a sort of Faraday Cage!  How relaxing!  Who knew?  Many hidden perks of van living.   I am a health professional and work with a lot of cancer patients.  Brain tumors induced by cell phone damage are particularly tragic.  I like to think of myself as prudent, not paranoid.  If i have a chance to set up a clean water system over a dirty water system, I pick clean.  If I have a chance to set up an electrical system that is healthier than another, I will do that too.  I like to run a quick potential cost/benefit analysis before I make semi-permanent decisions.

 

[Weight]

EMF. Electromagnetic Field. also Electromagnetic Force. What is usually considered the problem, is the pulse from a electromagnetic field. These are caused by an interrupting electrical current. Such as the alternating current in 120V. Or the radio waves from transmitters. DC can produce a pulse when suddenly switched off, not while current is flowing, that is a magnetic field. There is no evidence that general magnetic fields cause any physical, medical, problems. There is limited research on cell phone problems do to the nature of the waves emitted by the transmitter. If you have access to a oscilloscope, moisten your finger tips and hold a lead in each hand. In most areas you will see the ac wave from the grid reproduced in your body. What does that do to our brain waves?

 

[John61CT]

The stress of worrying about such things is far more harmful than the things you're worrying about.

 

[vtwinkicker]

Here's where I put the batteries (2 6v golf cart) in my GM van. Don't know if the Ford will have the same space.

 

[vtwinkicker]

Here's another vid of the van battery box and how it was constructed.