WVvan
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Thanks Patster,
One reason I'm really paying attention to the insulation is because I know what the alternative is like. I took the van camping in the fall before having done any improvements with just bare walls. It got below freezing but I was prepared with my camping cot and sleeping bag and quilt. What I wasn't prepared for was the way the van walls just radiated the cold. Something about the bare metal, Brrrrrr. I probably would have felt warmer in just a tent.
And speaking of snow. Davis WV, which is southeast of me but higher up in the mountains, has had 233 inches of snow so far this year. As I type this it's county is under a state of emergency due to the snow.
Isn't it supposed to be March in three days?
Dave
Open the pod bay doors Hal.
Once I exit Hal, this is what I do.
WWW.WVBIKE.ORG
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WVvan
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Battery and Biscuits
Time for some woodworking. I'll start with something simple. A battery box.
But before that a couple cautions.
WARNING: I'm not a carpenter and have had no woodworking training since 8th grade wood shop. I have no idea if I'm doing this the right way much less the best way. You've been warned.
WARNING: Power tools are way dangerous. You can't be too careful. Understand how the tools operate. Read all the literature. Be sure to wear your safety gear.
As you can see from this picture I always wear my safety gear whenever I'm using power tools.
Oh wait, wrong photo.
OK, this one is better. Be sure to wear all of the below gear. Your eyes, lungs, hearing and hands will thank you.
On with the project.
I'm building a box to contain my battery bank. They will be located inside the van. I'm using flooded cell batteries (AKA wet cell or Lead-acid battery) so this will have to be vented. Another design consideration is since it will be located under the sofa-bed it's overall height has be to as low as I can make it.
The batteries will be arranged in this fashion.
Mistake number 1. When you are sliding these 65 pound blocks of lead filled hard plastic around on the floor DON'T GET YOUR FINGERS BETWEEN THEM! Luckily this is not a audio posting.
I'm using furring strips as spacers between the batteries. Since batteries will heat up as they charge I wanted some space between them. Scrap furring strips happen to be the perfect size.
With the spacers the box will be 32" long by 11-1/2" wide and 8-1/2" high before I attach a base.
I'm cutting the box sides from 19/32" exterior pine plywood. The plywood I'm using is left over scraps from the sofa-bed I've also started building. Since it's scraps I won't charge the wood to this post.
After I've cut out the four pieces of wood that will be the sides of the box I have to join them together. I'm be using a biscuit cutter/joiner.
Here's what one I'm using looks like.
This is what the biscuits look like. They come in different sizes.
The way it works is you hold the cutter up against the wood. Then as you press it forward this circular saw blade extends outward and cuts a crescent shaped hole into the edge of the wooden piece.
Into this crescent shaped hole is placed one of the biscuits.
Since this is the first time I'm joining boards this size I had to adjust the joiner so it cut into the center of the board. A piece of scrap works best for this.
The next step is to figure out how many biscuits, what size biscuits and where you want to place them.
I'm thinking three #10 biscuits would be best centered at 1-3/8", 4-1/4" and 6-7/8" measured from the bottom.
This knob adjusts the depth of the cutter head. The deeper the cut the bigger the biscuit.
Since the biscuit cut-outs on each side of the joint have to line up be consistent with your measurements.
Measure and mark the board.
The biscuit cutter has a mark you line up with your mark.
After three cuts and inserting the biscuits it looks like this.
Now that I've made the cuts on the END of the board I have to make corresponding cuts on the SIDE of the other board that will make up this joint. The reason I've bolded the text for END and SIDE brings me to:
Mistake number 2. Don't get confused about which you should be cutting on the board you are working on. Should you be cutting the END or the SIDE? In my case it was back to the table saw for new board.
Here's the underside of the cutter. You'll see this when you cut into the side a board. There is a guide groove you line up with your marks
Here's what the two sides of a joint will look like if you do it correctly.
That's it. Do that again for each of the other three corners. Then just paint wood glue in the cuts, on the biscuits and along the edges where the boards will meet. One advantage of using biscuits is you have some "slop" so you'll be able to move the boards a bit if you need to make adjustments. Use clamps to hold it all together. The more clamps the better.
Be sure to check that all four corners are square. I find that a "speed square" does a great job at checking for this.
Let sit overnight.
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* This post was
edited 02/27/10 06:05pm by WVvan *
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WVvan
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After all the snow shoveling I've been doing lately, including working from a ladder to clear a friends roof, I've developed a rather nasty case of tendonitis. The first time for me. I'm going to have to halt van work till it gets better. It seems rest is the best treatment but who doesn't want to use their arm for three weeks?
Anyway progress postings might be few and far between for a while. Maybe come up with some little things that need done. Wouldn't you know it this happens just when the weather starts to improve. Oh well.
I don't mind getting older, it's the getting old part I'm having a problem with.
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WVvan
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Here's a picture of the latest piece of equipment I've bought for the van build.
$15.99 from the local CVS.
For the price it's pretty effective. Not a magic bullet but does help with the pain so I can get back to work on the van. With the sudden improvement in the weather I can't sit still. Actually got the van on the road yesterday after it having being snow bound for two months. With the big piles of snow still in front of the house I had a dickens of a time getting it back into it's parking space.
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WVvan
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OK, arm is in better shape. Back in the saddle.
I was working on the battery box before I was interrupted.
After the glue sets do a test fit.
Now I need to create a bottom. Since this box won't be used to lift the batteries, it will just hold them after I lower them into place, I'll use the 11/32” plywood for the base.
Plenty of scrap left over from sheets I used to create the van floor.
I've laid the box on the scrap to draw an outline. I've included 2x4's laid on end in the outline since a 2x4 is 1-1/2" thick. I'll be adding a 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" square block to each end. I'll use these end blocks to anchor the box to the van floor.
I'll also be using 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" size blocks on the sofa-bed build. Why 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" size blocks? Because I have a bunch of 2x4 odds and ends laying around and each one can be ripped to two equal sized 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" blocks. A good way to use them up.
After cutting the base and doing a test fitting I noticed the long sides of the box is bowed. To counteract the bow I added a section of wood. This will be used just for the glueing phase.
Draw the outline of the box on the base then use that outline as a guide for painting on the wood glue.
Apply glue to the bottom edge of the box then clamp them both together.
Let dry overnight.
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WVvan
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Battery Box continued :
While the glue was setting I realized that the board I inserted in the middle to counteract the bowing should be a permanent addition. Since it was too late in the build process to use biscuits I instead used glue and screws to secure it in place.
Now to the end pieces. My idea for securing the box in the van will be to bolt it to/through the floor. These end pieces will be where the bolts go. The blocks have a 1-1/2" square cross section.
Glue and screw the blocks into place.
I put four screws through the box base and four more through the side of the box into the end blocks. These screws are placed so none are in the center since that is where the bolt will go.
Since these are six volt batteries I will be hooking them together in pairs. The cables from each pair of batteries will exit the side of the box between the batteries about an inch from the bottom.
I need to transfer the location of the batteries inside the box to the outside of the box. Most people could just eyeball this and get it right but it's the kind of thing I usually mess up. So I created this from a nearby cardboard box.
Slid it down the side of the battery box and place against the side of a battery. Then just draw a pencil along the edge of the cardboard on the outside of the box. Do this for both pairs of batteries.
Now how big to make the holes? Here is an example of the cables I'll be using. This is a "0" gauge cable. When you talking about cable gauges, "0" is also written as "1/0" and pronounced as "one aught". Note that "1/0" is NOT the same as "1" gauge.
A quick lesson on cable sizes. American wire gauge (AWG) is the standardization system used for electrical cable. The AWG size is determined by the cross sectional area of the conductor. Excluding the four largest sizes, "0", "00", "000" and "0000" where "0000" is the largest, as the gauge number increase the wire diameter decreases in size. So a 10 gauge wire is thicker that a 14 gauge wire. This seemingly backwards numbering system originally referred to the number of times a wire had been drawn through a die which stretched out the wire making it longer and thinner. So the more trips through the die, the higher the gauge number and the thinner the wire. I always had trouble keeping the backward numbering straight until I read about it's true meaning.
The gauge size will tell you the conductor size but not the size of the wire including insulation. In this case it's a little under 1/2".
So let's make the holes 1"x2".
Here's my method for making a square hole. Drill a hole in opposite corners of the square.
Use a saber saw to cut outward from the holes to create your square.
Paint on a primer layer.
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WVvan
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Battery Box continued:
Supplies: Ace Hardware:
T-nut 5/16 - 18 $.60 ea (2)
bolts 5/16x3" $.33 (2)
washers 5/16 $.07 (2)
Need something to keep the batteries from moving around in the box. I'll refer to them as hold-downs.
Sketch out a quick plan.
Cut it out of some scrap lumber. Because the divider I added to the box isn't dead center there is a 1/2" difference between these two.
Glue and screw together.
Place hold-downs on the battery. Then drill through the side of the box and through the base of the hold-down. Here I'm checking that the hole I've drilled matches the bolt.
On the inside-the-box end of the hold-down hole I'll add a T-nut. To install a T-nut you have to create a slightly larger hole than the size of the bolt. In this case the bolt is 5/16" and the T-nut requires a 3/8" hole. After you install the T-nut it's hammered in.
In this photo you can see the T-nut installed. These hold-downs would stop the batteries from jumping up but I want them more secure. Using left over rubber mat scrap from the van floor, cut out pieces for the hold-downs.
Secure the pieces with double sided tape onto the bottom side of the hold-downs top cross piece. The rubber will act as a cushion against the top of the batteries.
Since the added rubber causes the holes in the box and in the base no longer line up take the drill and enlarge the hole in the base downwards. Don't go deeper than around 3/4".
As the bolt is inserted through the side of the box it will enter the inclined part of the hole in the hold-down. Then as you rotate the head the threads on the other end draw the bolt farther into the hold-down. This causes the hold-down to tighten down on the top of the batteries. When the bolt gets to the T-nut it's tightened into place. Everything fits very snug.
This finishes up the base portion of the battery box.
And of course my every move is being watch by Project Foreman Tiger.
Also in the picture is Tiger's assistant Bob.
* This post was
edited 03/12/10 09:14pm by WVvan *
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WVvan
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Building an acrylic lid.
Now that the battery box base is completed, time to start on the top. These are lead-acid batteries so they will produce hydrogen as they are charged. Hydrogen is lighter than air so it will raise (see Hindenburg) but is also explosive so it needs to be vented outside (see Hindenburg). I'm gong to make a "airtight" acrylic lid for the battery box. As the hydrogen is produced it will rise to the top of the lid where it will be vented via a hose to the outside of the van.
I've never messed with acrylic before so this is a first for me. The only information I have on the subject I got from reading the Internet and through trial and error. You have been warned.
Supplies:
Lowes
acrylic sheet - 2' x 4' - $19.37
Tap Plastics - www.tapplastics.com
TAP Acrylic Cement (1 pt) - $11.50
IPS Weld-On 16 Cement (5 oz tube) - $6.75
Small BD-25/2 Hypo Applicator - $3.25
Start with a the sheet of acrylic.
Need to cut the acrylic so everything is at right angles and the edges are as smooth as I can make them. This requires extra careful set-up of the table saw to stop any side-to-side movement in the sheet. To keep the acrylic in place as I feed it through the table saw I made a feather board. You can see it to the left of the sheet.
The feather board has two purposes. It holds the sheet tight against the fence on the right side. It also prevents kick-back since it only allows the material to be moved in one direction. The saw blade is adjusted so it's just high enough to cut through the acrylic. I found that if you set it higher it can cause chipping.
After some work I had a bunch of acrylic pieces.
Even though I made careful cuts the edges are slightly rough.
Not having tried this before I'm not sure what level of roughness is allowable. To smooth this out 220 grit sandpaper is recommended. From what I've read you're not supposed to run sandpaper across the acrylic since that tends to round the edge. The preferred method is to run the acrylic across the sandpaper. With that in mind I wrapped a sheet of 220 grit around a scrap 2x4 and clamped it into the vice at the end of my worktable.
Then I'd carefully pull the acrylic pieces across the sandpaper being sure to keep them perpendicular to the sanding block to prevent rounding. I'd always use two hands but needed one to take the picture.
This step is fairly labor intensive. After some time I realized that this was going to take a while so I wised-up. I switched to 100 grit sandpaper and turned the 2x4 on it's side so I'd have a larger sanding area. I was always careful to make the block level.
After smoothing out the pieces with the 100 grit I'd switch to the 220 grit for the final finish.
Mistake Number 1. I'm sanding one piece at a time. If I'd been smart I'd clamped the two top pieces together and sanded them at the same time. I'll come back to this point.
After much work I got the edges just right on the pieces that needed it. Smooth edges are not required for all the pieces I'm using.
Clean the edges that will be glued with alcohol. This bottle shows how often I use rubbing alcohol. The local Phar-Mor closed in the 1990's.
I'm ready to glue the first two pieces together. The pieces need to be held steady while the glue sets so just using your hands is out of the question. Using some leftover metal parts, from the sofa-bed that I'm still building, arrange the pieces to stand on their own.
The vertical clamp is being used to keep some pressure on the edge to be glued.
Mistake Number 2. At this point I should have done a dry fit with the other pieces.
Moving on. Here is what I bought to glue together the acrylic sheets. A better description is solvent cement. It has all the usual warning labels along with it being a possible cancer causing agent. I don't think my exposure will be enough to worry about.
I'm going to use the glue in the white can. It has the consistency of water. Squeeze some air out of the plastic bottle and suck a little cement up. Not a lot is needed.
Here is the reason for all the work at getting the edges so smooth. Since this cement is water thin it doesn't fill any gaps. The parts you are gluing have to be in contact along their complete edge. I'm applying the cement via capillary action.
Here is the where the edge of the vertical acrylic piece rest on the side of another piece. Notice how the edge looks.The acrylic is about .2" thick.
This is the needle end of the applicator bottle. I'm squeezing out a little of the cement along the edge of the vertical acrylic piece and capillary action is drawing the cement into the space where the two pieces touch. The edge looks blue where the cement has been drawn in. This is the reason for all the careful sanding prep work. Without it this wouldn't work.
The directions said it sets up quickly but not to stress it for 24 hours. Not wanting to take any chances I let it sit.
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VernM
Marion County, AR
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I'd suggest acid-proofing the interior of your battery box setup. A leak from the bottom of a battery, or a spill will render all of your craftmanship (and the floor of the van) kind of holey quick
VernM
GMC Conversion van/Wells Cargo MiniWagon trailer
Sent via HughesNet/SatMex5 Internet Portal
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WVvan
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Not a bad idea Vern,
I know of no way to make it acid-proof but I think a whole box of baking soda spread around the inside of the battery box will make it acid-resistant. Also if I see foaming it's a indication of a leak.
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