Monday 14 May 2018

Never that simple! (part 1)

When I installed the new engine starter battery on Saturday, I found that the two threaded studs were of different sizes.


The negative terminal had a thread identical to the that on the battery I was removing, but the threaded stud on the positive side was larger. The battery came with two wing nuts, as shown in the photo. I managed to adjust the battery wiring so that there was room to screw the wing nut down tight. However, the terminal at the positive end of the domestic battery bank has a significant number of heavy cables attached to it – and good wiring practice means they'll stay there.


I didn't think it would be easy to connect anything to the threaded stud of that terminal with a wing nut, especially as, on the new batteries, the stud is 90˚ round from its location on the current set. A normal hexagonal nut would be easier to fit, so I had to work out what size it should be. The battery seller's website gave mixed information, with one suggestion being a US 5/16", which is supposed to be the equivalent of the metric M8 size. I took battery and wing nuts to a local hardware store about a mile from the marina, to see what they could do. They certainly were not M8, and an M10 nut, which looked the right size, had the wrong pitch to the thread, and wouldn't screw on.

Grr! I'd really been hoping to install the set today.

I rang up the firm and got an answerphone. Rang back later and got a bloke who didn't know much about anything, except that I ought to ring back on a different number. I did and eventually spoke with a techie who at least knew what I was talking about. He said they it looked as though it was a new arrangement that not even they had been told about, but he promised to send some sets of nuts post haste. Unfortunately, because this had all taken time, post would be less haste, but they should arrive on Wednesday.

Ah, lack-a-day. At least the weather's great!

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