Jump to content

Battery disguise case


woodie49

Recommended Posts

I am running an Optima battery, which I think is the best thing since sliced bread, but it is also uglier than my brother's pug dog (no offense to pugs anywhere).

Is anyone using one of the battery disguise cases, and if so, how does it look?

I know quail makes a full case one, and I have seen a few tar-top mimics that are the top and 3/4 cases (not sure why you would want the back open).

Darn things are kind of expensive - anyone have a good alternate?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

woodie49,

I don't run an Optima battery but have long felt that should I ever get one I'd find an old dead battery and gut it from the bottom. The Optima could easily be connected internally with a couple solder joints and the cost would be next to nothing.

-Randy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

woodie49,

I don't run an Optima battery but have long felt that should I ever get one I'd find an old dead battery and gut it from the bottom. The Optima could easily be connected internally with a couple solder joints and the cost would be next to nothing.

-Randy

This is an interesting idea. I have an old 6V that I could gut, but have always felt this would be an awful job. I have no idea what the inside of a battery looks like. Does anyone know, if you removed the bottom of a battery, would everything drop out? It seems like the terminals are attached in some fashion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is an interesting idea. I have an old 6V that I could gut, but have always felt this would be an awful job. I have no idea what the inside of a battery looks like. Does anyone know, if you removed the bottom of a battery, would everything drop out? It seems like the terminals are attached in some fashion.

I have done this before, but not for a long time, and my purpose was to save the lead (for shotgun slugs), not the battery case.

Yes, the terminals are at the least tarred in, and you would have to break out the plates to get to the back of the terminals. (Assuming that you want to make some kind of internal connection from the service battery to the original battery terminals.) Or else you would need to break the bond between the terminals and the top of the battery, so that you could slide the old case over the service battery. I never tried to save the case of a battery, but I would think that a good approach would be to drill out the post and collapse it first, so that it would be free of the case material, then cut out the bottom and gut it.

It definately is a nasty business. You can try to rinse out the battery first, or try to neutralize the acid with baking soda, or some such, but the way a battery is constructed doesn't allow much actual circulation. It is chock full of screen-like plates made of lead (newer batteries use other materials, I've been told) with paper or cardboard insulators between each plate. By the time a battery has reached the end of its useful life, a lot of corrusion and corruption has taken place in there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just went in to Pep Boys today to buy some high temp paint for my boat engine and came across a battery display. All of the batteries that were on display were gutted to keep the weight down for the display. I'm sure other stores have them. Maybe you can talk to one of the workers and walk away with one of them for cheap :D.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use