New battery won't fit through cabinet door. (I'm an idiot)

[Dipodomys]

My new LiFePO4 battery arrived! I measured before ordering and when I saw it would fit inside the cabinet of my 2017 Fleet (front dinette), I figured all was good. But I didn't think about how it had to go through the cabinet door at an angle, and turns out there isn't enough clearance. Obvious solution: disassemble the cabinet, install battery, re-assemble cabinet. But then I saw how the battery cabinet is sealed with what appears to be prodigious amounts of silicone calk at all the wood joints, i.e. it's glued together. So disassembly may be a problem. Any ideas?

 

[Jon R]

I know it’s painful, but if it was me I would take the financial hit of returning the battery and get something that goes in without having to take apart the cabinet. I might make a different choice on a really old camper or one I’d already had apart for some other reason, but yours is relatively new.

 

[CreekRob]

You might be able to slice through the silicone. A battery compartment for a lithium needed be sealed, so compromising it won't matter.

Or maybe return and get two smaller ones and wire 'em up in parallel to get the same capacity.

 

[Dipodomys]

Another possibility is to enlarge the opening an make a bigger door to cover it. But that would require moving the CO sensor and light switches either onto the new door or somewhere else. The job is getting bigger than I’d hoped. Getting different batteries might be my best bet, but the shipping cost to return it and get something else would not be trivial.

 

[craig333]

Me, I'd get out the saw but my camper is older and I'm not concerned about retail value.

 

[veryactivelife]

Silicone is a good sealant but poor adhesive. That compartment needed to be sealed due to off gassing of wet cell batteries, flooded and AGM. Won’t be necessary for lithium batteries. Cut the silicone with a utility knife and peel it off. The battery compartment in my 2015 flatbed has an external door similar to the propane locker door. My battery compartment was large enough for 3 batteries if they are installed 90 degrees to the original install. The problem I ran into was that the batteries would not fit through the door opening. So I removed the door, put the batteries in, then put the door back on. It was a pain, but hopefully it won’t need repeating for a very long time.

 

[Dipodomys]

Silicone is a good sealant but poor adhesive. That compartment needed to be sealed due to off gassing of wet cell batteries, flooded and AGM. Won’t be necessary for lithium batteries. Cut the silicone with a utility knife and peel it off. The battery compartment in my 2015 flatbed has an external door similar to the propane locker door. My battery compartment was large enough for 3 batteries if they are installed 90 degrees to the original install. The problem I ran into was that the batteries would not fit through the door opening. So I removed the door, put the batteries in, then put the door back on. It was a pain, but hopefully it won’t need repeating for a very long time.

That's the way I'm currently thinking. I don't think taking the door off will be sufficient, unfortunately; the whole front face will probably have to come off the cabinet. I can either slice through the calk with a utility knife like you suggested, or maybe use a chisel, which would gently pry the panels apart at the same time. The camper is in excellent condition and I don't want to mess it up, but I'm pretty sure I can take the cabinets apart, install the battery, then put the cabinets back together in less than a day without doing any damage. A little more time consuming will be modifying the cabinet's front panel and door, but that can wait until I have more time, and I hope that I won't need to take the battery out again for a long time.

 

[veryactivelife]

Rather than a chisel I’d use a putty knife, perhaps a plastic one. Less chance of damaging your cabinets.

 

[Dipodomys]

Rather than a chisel I’d use a putty knife, perhaps a plastic one. Less chance of damaging your cabinets.

I don't want to damage my cabinets, so I'll try that first!

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I don't want to damage my cabinets, so I'll try that first!

Get some plastic razor blades, too.

 

[Dipodomys]

Get some plastic razor blades, too.

Plastic razor sounds almost like an oxymoron, but it makes sense now!

 

[K7MDL]

If you have enough cabinet face room, consider cutting out a rectangular piece on one side of the opening to make the opening long enough then reinstall the removed piece with a backer plate and screws. Similar to how drywall patches are done.

 

[Bradders]

Dipodomys, I was faced with the same dilemma as you a few months ago when I was thinking of replacing the two Victron 60AH GELs with a single 200AH LifePo4 and I measured up as you did, but realised that, whilst it would fit in the space lengthways, it would not go in through the door diagonally. This was a disappointment and I decided to leave it that stage. Not only because of the size, but also because of the cost.

Since then, I have done a bit more research and realised that whilst, it would be nice to have the larger battery, the 160 watts of solar would probably not be sufficient to fully charge the bigger battery - especially taking into account the British weather! So I have decided to go ahead with a 100AR Lithium at a cost of about £300 ($370) which is a good price in this country. It will give me better capacity than the other two batteries, bearing in mind it will comfortably discharge to around 5% of it's full capacity and will charge probably twice as quickly.

My problem is that because I have changed to LifePo4, I will now also have to change the shore power battery charger as it is not rigged up for lithium (unless I change the the small IQ4 Smart Charge controller for the IQ4 LIFEPO smart charge controller and I can't find one of those in the UK!!)

I will also need to change the Blue sea VSR which links the vehicle alternator to the battery in the camper, for a Victron Orion Dc to DC charger, as the Blue Sea is not able to adequately control the current coming into a lithium battery from the vehicle alternator.

I have also decided to change the Overland Solar MPPT controller for the Victron bluetooth version as it is a lot more controllable.

As well as all that, I am also going to fit a Victron inverter so that I can actually use the mains socket when not connected to shore power. Its going to be an expensive exercise, especially as it will be all Victron equipment.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, to fit all these new items in, I have had to take the front of the cabinets off. I had already taken the upper front one off to make a lot of mods to the water system - new pressure vessel to stop the pump cycling, 0.1 micron filter to make the water taste great and take out all the nasty viruses and some additional pipework so that I can take water from, "clean" sources and pump directly into the tank. I have also included the ability to fill the water tank from the mains via a hose through the city supply inlet.

The top came off relatively easily, but the lower one was a pain and there were lots of screws to remove. Veryactivelife is correct regarding cutting through the, "silicon" although I was worried about using a utility knife and used a small pick with a 90 deg bend on the end which did the job perfectly.

The other thing I noticed, which may be an issue for you (depending on your model of camper) is the fact that the gas pipe for the hob comes in to the battery box at the base and does a right angle turn up the inside, but next to the front, if you see what I mean. With it being in this position, it meant that I lost about 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" on the length of the battery box.

If you are taking the lower front off, all I would say is, don't force anything or you might split the plywood and make sure that all the screws are out. For info I have a Wildcat camper (German version of what I think is the Fleet in the States) with a front dinette.

I have plenty of photos if it would help.

 

[rubberlegs]

My problem is that because I have changed to LifePo4, I will now also have to change the shore power battery charger as it is not rigged up for lithium (unless I change the the small IQ4 Smart Charge controller for the IQ4 LIFEPO smart charge controller and I can't find one of those in the UK!!)
I have plenty of photos if it would help.

I tried charging with our IQ4 charger meant for lead acid batteries. It will charge fairly quickly the first third or so, then it slows down. Then it slows down a lot. It took more than 30 hours to charge our 100Ah lithium battery, but it finally did it. The last bit was extremely small amperage. Anyway, if you start early and are patient, it works and the voltage is lower than the battery wants, so it won't harm the battery.

 

[Hiker9]

I purchased a 100 watt LifePo4 battery that would fit in the battery cabinet in my Hawk but there was no way to get it in. Using an oscillating tool we cut a battery sized hole in the side of the cabinet that separates it from the rest of the under seat/bed cabinet which allows me to slip it in and out. I thought of remounting the cut out with a hinge or something but decided it was no problem open. The way it was cut it did not compromise the integrity of the structure. Actually left structure all the way around the cut out.

 

[Bradders]

Hey Hiker9, sounds like you had a fairly drastic situation. How did you get the old battery out if you couldn't get the new one in.
Do you have any photos?

 

[Hiker9]

Hey Hiker9, sounds like you had a fairly drastic situation. How did you get the old battery out if you couldn't get the new one in.
Do you have any photos?

The older battery was smaller and went in and out through the top hatch. The new battery was larger. I just assumed the lithium would be no larger when I ordered it. Oh well, time to start cutting.
Sometimes practical and drastic coincide.
Perhaps there is also some of the after you get the first scratch in your new car you don't worry about it as much.