Change in Kit Primary Battery

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Hello All,
Our electrical team began last night with attaching #6 wire and disconnects to the new kit batteries. In comparison to last year's battery, the terminals are now positioned at the outside edge of the battery. This puts them in a vulnerable spot both electrically and mechanically. Please be aware that clearances in your battery holder in the robot may compromise the battery terminals. Be sure to insulate the terminals. If you use the supplied hardware, I recommend that the head of the screw face the outside of the battery and the wire terminal, nut and any other hardware face the inside of the battery to maintain maximum clearance at the battery edge.
Remember a fully charged battery is capable of producing currents high enough to weld with.

[Lord Nerdlinger]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Hello All,
Our electrical team began last night with attaching #6 wire and disconnects to the new kit batteries. In comparison to last year's battery, the terminals are now positioned at the outside edge of the battery. This puts them in a vulnerable spot both electrically and mechanically. Please be aware that clearances in your battery holder in the robot may compromise the battery terminals. Be sure to insulate the terminals. If you use the supplied hardware, I recommend that the head of the screw face the outside of the battery and the wire terminal, nut and any other hardware face the inside of the battery to maintain maximum clearance at the battery edge.
Remember a fully charged battery is capable of producing currents high enough to weld with.

ya, and if your team is super poor / ghetto as ours is, you can use the battery to spot weld (thin stuff)

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Lord Nerdlinger

ya, and if your team is super poor / ghetto as ours is, you can use the battery to spot weld (thin stuff)

Lord Nerd,
I hope you are just joking about this. Sustained shorts across the battery can lead to high temperatures in the battery. This results in a deformed case or explosion. In other words,
Don't Short the Battery!

[pras870]

When you say outside edge, I'm assuming you mean side post terminals instead of top post? If you are, it really should not make a difference, considering you just have possibly a half inch less space to place with when designing the battery holder.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by pras870

When you say outside edge, I'm assuming you mean side post terminals instead of top post? If you are, it really should not make a difference, considering you just have possibly a half inch less space to place with when designing the battery holder.

Pras,
The top terminals are very near the outside edge of the battery compared to all past batteries. The spec sheet does not reflect what was delivered. The flat side of the terminal is about 3/16" from the outside edge of the short sides of the battery. If you use the supplied hardware to attach a terminal and place the nut on the outside ist will overhang the outside edge of the battery by as much as 1/4". I feel this is a risk for shorting in robot frame and physical damage should the hardware catch on robot structures during insertion or removal.