Recently,my team has been working on a new battery cart. We decided to get a 26 “ husky from Home Depot. We pulled the bottom 2 drawers and are working out the cad for a shelf insert. The dilemma is that the cart is 18 inch deep and we only plan on using 10 for the insert. Trying to get ideas for what we could fit in back of the cart to not waste space. Currently some thoughts were vacuum or small compressor.
Where do you plan to install your battery chargers? Will they be in the same cart? You could install the chargers in the back as you really don’t need access to the chargers themselves most of the time. You just need to be able to see that the lights change when you plug in the batteries for charging.
If you do this, I have two suggestions:
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Have a light mounted somewhere on the cart that indicates that the cart has been plugged in. Make this light easily visible from a distance. That way, someone standing near the pit area can easily verify that the cart is plugged in and that the chargers are receiving power.
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I would add a louvered vent on the back of the cart to help with cooling of the chargers.
It is also a good idea to have segregated areas for “used” batteries (that need charging), charged batteries (that are ready for a match) and batteries that are currently being charged. We also like to have a cooldown area where batteries are placed when they come off the charger. We typically wait until the batteries are cooled down before we test them with the battery beak to see if they are ready for a match. Not all of these segregated areas need to be in the cart itself, but if you are able to include the charging area, and cool-down area on your shelf, Then the “ready” batteries could be set on top and the “used” batteries could be set on the floor next to the cart (or in a milk crate nearby).
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This was what we did for 2022 and it worked out great. The batteries were put in the bottom drawer of the toolbox for transport then moved into their slots once at competition or in the shop.
This year we expanded the cart to include a fridge and a dedicated drawer for batteries since the bottom drawer of the cheap Sam’s club toolbox didn’t like handling the weight of the batteries. I only have pics of the modified cart while it was being constructed. It has since been completed and is working out great.
Edit: I’ll try and remember to get some finished pics at our next practice. The battery rack is mounted back on the toolbox now. Here is a sketch of what it looks like now
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love it. I need me one of these
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The computer that had the cad on it crashed and the student lost all of their work but they are starting over and hopefully we can post it for anyone looking to replicate it.
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How is all of this powered? At our regionals (in high school gyms) they only let you plug in one power strip. It’s a slight challenge to charge everything we need.
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I can say that some places allow Daisy Channing power strips. But also some Regionals I’ve been to have at 2 outlets available in the pit we were using
Try these:
Or just go here for more of the threads on this topic:
https://www.chiefdelphi.com/search?q=battery%20cart
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In the boxed area behind the chargers is a power strip that all the chargers run to. The power strip’s cord comes out a hole and is plugged into a strip mounted on the side so it only looks like we have one power strip. No one has ever said anything about multiple power strips together at any event before but I still wanted the appearance of only 1 power strip.
Here’s 696’s battery cart. It’s still going strong after 8 seasons including 3 trips to Houston, one to Indianapolis, and countless others up and down California, to Arizona, and Nevada. Share Your Battery Cart Pictures! - #9 by sanddrag
When did it go to Indianapolis?
Didn’t you go to IRI one year with our trailer?
2013, long before the battery cart came into existence in 2016. But anyhow, yes, I like that cart, and I know the guy who designed and built it. 
I would also recommend a place for a battery spill kit.
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Sorry for the delay on the cad. The second laptop the student was using crashed too. We really need new computers.
This is amazing! I appreciate the simplicity of the drawers and might use it for inspiration on a similar build. Thank you!
I like that yellow sliding front plate design. Simple but strong.
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Thanks, i need to take a new pic of the sliding door. An artistic student painted Torquey(our mascot/logo) on it so it doesn’t look as bland. Also we added a white board to the back with a grid for filling in our match schedule and match results. With brackets to hold it on top of the battery charger section.
Edit: we also added a swing out TV mount to watch the stream of the event for those stuck working on the robot in the pit.
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