For typical "marine batteries", with a stud post, the torque is usually 95 - 105 lb-in or 11-12 Nm... The problem with wing nuts got so bad the NMMA, ABYC and USCG no longer allow them... This is not to say properly installed wing-nuts can't work but they are RARELY properly installed...
Warren,
Jeez wish I had know you were down that way I would have stopped by the say hi... Was in Deltaville a couple of weeks ago.
Do you happen to have the rest of the note of the ABYC standard? Thanks for posting this.
They need to be vented..... Usually a grate located as close to the top of the compartment as possible works..
Obviously written by lawyers for other lawyers, no knowledgeable boat mechanic would be caught dead reading that crap because of 20years of practical experience tells him what works and what doesn't. 98% of all batteries come with wing nuts which work perfectly fine when installed properly which is where experience comes into play. Is finger tight enough, No it isn't, but finger tight plus another 1/4 turn with a pair of cheap harbor freight pliers will for sure do the job. No self respecting marine mechanic would be caught dead owning a wing nut wrench unless he just graduated from MMT and they told him to finance them with more student loan money. If you don't know what your doing you need to pay for the experience of others or you will definitely get into a safety issue.
Actually not written by lawyers... The standards are compiled based on actual data & real world experience from a mix of industry, Transport Canada, manufacturers, technicians, boat yard owners, surveyors plus input from the USCG and support from the insurance industry.....
Possibly some of those have been shipped with a hex nut or two, a check at my local walmart this morning revealed all six everstarts they had on the rack were equipped with wingnuts so I guess your theory is blown out of the water there.yes any idiot can tear up threads with a pair of pliers, a skilled mech would not. an idiot with 40 thousand dollars worth of Snap-on tools in a eight thousand dollar tool box can also ruin those same threads so your analogy is meaningless Mainesail.Actually not written by lawyers... The standards are compiled based on actual data & real world experience from a mix of industry, Transport Canada, manufacturers, technicians, boat yard owners, surveyors plus input from the USCG and support from the insurance industry.....
There is also lots of support & input from other standards organizations such as the NEC, NFPA, UL, IEC, NEMA, CTL, SAE, BCI, EPA, ASME, ASTM, AGA, DOT, AMA, NMMA, etc. etc. etc. on and on.
I am on multiple ABYC committees for standards and actually know exactly how standards development and changes to them work... In my time with the ABYC I never seen a lawyer chime in on standards development..
Here on the net anyone can make up any statement they want whether it has an ounce of truth to it or not.
I see the plier approach often and it often results in damaged post threads which then makes it even more difficult to properly torque a battery wing nut... I keep both a 3/8" and 5/16" die in my tool bag for this very reason.. As I have said multiple times a wing nut PROPERLY TORQUED & locked is no different than any other nut. The sad reality is PEOPLE don't properly install them.....
Does "finger tight plus another 1/4 turn" actually meet the torque spec of the battery manufacturer???
People using poor practices are why the standards are changed and these changes or inclusions are almost always based on real world situations, not because some lawyer said so.
98% of marine batteries DO NOT ship with wing nuts. If you are going to simply make up stats you might at least want to do some home work. There are a couple left who do but the vast majority no longer ship with wing nuts.
Deka/East Penn has perhaps the largest share of the "marine" battery market in the US with all their private labeling agreements.. All their marine batteries whether they say: Sam's Club, West Marine, NAPA, O'Reilly Auto, Deka etc. all ship with hex nuts..
*Lifeline Battery ships with hex nuts
*Odyssey battery ships with hex nuts
*Exide ships with hex nuts
*US Battery ships with hex nuts
*Trojan T105, T125, T145, L16 etc. ship with hex
*Optima ship with hex
*Superior ship with hex
*Everstart Marine / Wal*Mart / JCI ship with hex nuts
Interestingly enough I got a post notification just as my daughter and I were walking into our local Wal*mart... these photos were taken at approx 3:52 PM today, December 12th at Wal*Mart in Falmouth, ME....
