Speedster Battery group size 27 battery tray Mod with pics - How To

[Windig89]

Hello Folks,

As you all know our Boats generally come with a group 24 battery, which is difficult to find a +100amp hour dual purpose setup for a reasonable price. Allot of people just add a second battery which was too much work for me (and I didn't want to drill anything or modify the boat itself), so I decided to modify my existing tray to fit a group 27 instead. The stock tray mounting bolts are very specific and I could not find an off the shelf solution that would work without drilling new holes in the boat. I think the pictures are self explanatory as I took lots. All you need is a new seacraft group 27 tray, dremel with cutting wheel, and a tube of your choice of adhesive. I Chose E6000 because I had a few old tubes laying around. Since the battery tie down secures everything in place, the adhesive is not as critical. Just make sure the adhesive has some vibration density properties (like polyurethane, silicone etc) and make sure its mold, mildew, water proof, chem resistant, and binds ok to plastic.

End result is full days worth of music and cell phone charging without worrying about the engine not starting. :thumbsup:

Let me know if any questions.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Sure cant hurt having a larger battery...

Nice project.

 

[Dr Honda]

That's a very creative way of doing it. But, where the battery box is mounted, is a nice thick hunk of wood under the fiberglass. SO... drilling new holes isn't a big deal. I've done a few conversions, and what I do is... drill new holes for machine threads. Then I tap the holes for the new bolts. But before I permanently mount the box... I drizzle in THIN CA glue, and it will soak the threads, and make the very hard. Once dry... run the tap back in... and the threads will be as hard as threaded aluminum.


But... it's a good thing to have a little extra power of a Group 27 dual use battery.


FYI... I feel the same way, but in my islandia... I just went to a dual battery. I have one group 27 and one group 24 because of the size of the mounting location.



Good work :thumbsup:

 

[Windig89]

Great idea with the thin CA. That's how I build my model RC airplanes. Never thought of doing it in a real world application.

Good to know about the wood base. When I saw the aluminum inserts and hardware I decided to keep it stock. It's a rock solid mount, should handle all the abuse that a speedster dishes out (things get pretty rough at 55mph:drool5:

That's a very creative way of doing it. But, where the battery box is mounted, is a nice thick hunk of wood under the fiberglass. SO... drilling new holes isn't a big deal. I've done a few conversions, and what I do is... drill new holes for machine threads. Then I tap the holes for the new bolts. But before I permanently mount the box... I drizzle in THIN CA glue, and it will soak the threads, and make the very hard. Once dry... run the tap back in... and the threads will be as hard as threaded aluminum.


But... it's a good thing to have a little extra power of a Group 27 dual use battery.


FYI... I feel the same way, but in my islandia... I just went to a dual battery. I have one group 27 and one group 24 because of the size of the mounting location.



Good work :thumbsup:

 

[Dr Honda]

Great idea with the thin CA. That's how I build my model RC airplanes. Never thought of doing it in a real world application.

.................

Nice to have other RC guys here. (it's a nasty habit, LOL) Lot's of good building and mod technic comes from that realm.


Sorry to get off topic... but thought you would like it.

 

[Windig89]

It is a bad habit. I would be too embarrassed to post my fleet roster, like a heroin addict showing their track marks lol

Our field does not allow turbines (burns the nice grass, no asphalt), so I haven't toyed with them yet, looks like you are well deep into that world

Here is a shot from last weekend catching a Funcub flight while the family was still sleeping (before putting the boat in.... ) Electric foamies are good for not waking up the lake at 6am.




I like high wing sport planes at the club, Clipped Cubs, Decathlons, taylorcraft etc. Building a 50cc clipped cub right now. Anyway there are other forums for this hahaha Good to see other RC'rs are on here too!

My Shop


My Decathlon