A Tale of Two Batteries

[wildebus]

No, nothing to do with blowing up of whatever, but just a heads up of checking all your details ...

I was doing an installation yesterday - swap over two batteries, install B2B, Mains Charger and a EHU setup - all very standard stuff.

The customer had checked the measurements of the old batteries and selected new batteries to just drop in place. Identical measurements in terms of length, width and height, and even terminal location and fitting style Should have been a piece of cake to fit - and I quoted cost accordingly (first mistake).
Removed all cables and then we took out the old batteries - but first had to dismantle shelves and sides, as the cupboard must have been build around the batteries as no way could they have been fitted with that all in place.
Then, picked up the new (and very nice Lead Carbon AGM) batteries to put in place.... not fitting . They just would not drop into the frame that had been made for keep them secure . Looked at the old and new again and they measured the same, so what was going on?
Sometimes, especially with starter batteries, you get protrusions at the bottom designed to have clamps put on to keep secure, but the new batteries were totally square, so it wasn't that.
Looked at the old batteries and saw the problem! the bottom 30mm or so of the battery bottom was smaller than the rest . It was tapered in pretty significantly (don't recall seeing that on a battery before?) and when the van was converted around 10 years ago to a camper, a very substantial metal frame was built and welded up with dimensions to suit these specific batteries and the size of the bottom part of the battery, and NOT the general dimensions.

Now I don't have the tools to remake a metal battery box (I could have cut it, but could not have rewelded it or added the extra 30mm or so of metal plate needed), so ended up installing the batteries sitting on supports and a towel to over the frame for protection, wiring everything up, but leaving the cupboard half-apart and with the customer having to remove a large amount of the install to remove the batteries, rework the frame and only then being able to put everything back

Not a job I could take a picture of for a portfolio or boast about! ("here is a install I did that looks all over the place and in which the customer will be removing everything tomorrow").

Moral of the story?
1) When building a frame, don't make it so custom it will only ever work with one specific product and their oddities.
2) When quoting an install cost, don't believe anything will just drop into place even if it is apparently the identical size to what is being taken out.

Fortunately, I made sure the customer knew exactly what he was going to have to do himself to rectify the situation as soon as we found the batteries would not fit before any further work was carried out so all the rework is down to himself (if I had ordered or even recommended the batteries myself it could have been more awkward!)

 

[Nabsim]

Yes that could have been so much worse lol.

seen a few things fitted in vans that will need modification if they need replacing

 

[Millie Master]

That is always a problem for a tradesman such as you Dave being supplied parts by a penny pinching customer.

Totally different scenario, but in my commercial past we built an exhibition unit for one of the major agricultural tyre manufacturers on which were displayed 12 drive axle tyres mounted onto wheels...... They were the correct tyres on the correct wheels, however the goon who had fitted the tyres had fitted them the wrong bloody way around onto the wheels, and then our customer attempted to blame the problem on us!!

From that day on I placed a proviso onto our contracts that we had to be responsible for the supply of any item, or verify any item supplied by a client before undertaking any project as any delays in fulfilling the contract would be chargeable.

Phil

 

[wildebus]

In the above case it was not penny-pinching but the consequences of inadvertantly building to a quirk of a specific battery (I've rarely seen such a substantial battery housing!). But it did mean I was on the job for a few hours longer than planned and priced.
I can relate to this situation as when I built the battery box in my current van I sized it to a specific (but standard sized) battery x 4. When I had the opportunity to change the 380Ah Bank to a a 645Ah Battery Bank, the 3 new batteries side by side were 20mm in total wider than the box.
A little frustrating, to have to remove the side and refit with a little spacer, but I knew I had to make it taller anyway (645Ah of Battery will never go into the same cubic space as 380Ah of Battery did!)

 

[trevskoda]

If jobs were easy then every tom dick and harry would be at them,er most i get to fix the three of them have been there.