Battery Terminals
Battery Terminals
Find out how to connect cable safely to the terminals of a battery or battery bank
storage | shoppingWhen using a
battery or
battery bank in a
renewable energy system it is essential to ensure that all cables are fastened very securely to the terminal posts of the battery. If you look under the bonnet of a car at the
battery you will see that the positive and negative cables of the electrical system are bolted to the battery using
battery terminals. These should also always be used in renewable energy system battery banks.
If for example a
wind turbine is connected to a
battery bank and one of the power cables disconnects from the battery, the wind turbine will spin faster and faster out of control. This is dangerous both to the turbine itself and to people, animals, and property nearby.
Battery Top Post Terminals
Pictured above is a pair of
battery top post terminals (available on sale in the
REUK Shop). These can be bolted onto the
terminal posts of 12 Volt
leisure, marine, and motor car batteries. The red terminal should be fixed to the postitive post of the battery, and the black to the negative post. The cable which is to be connected to the battery is then sandwiched between two metal plates on the terminal and can be bolted safely and securely in place.
These
battery terminals will accept cable up to 40mm
2 in area - equivalent to a diameter of around 7.2mm corresponding to AWG 7. (click here to view our
AWG wire size converter. The majority of battery terminals accept wire with a diameter of up to 8mm however battery terminals from lorries and other heavy vehicles can sometimes have a 10mm cable entry.
Where different colours are not used (see image above),
battery terminals will be marked with an
N for negative, and a
P for positive as shown below.
Article Last Modified: 10:50, 23rd Mar 2007
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