Jump to content

Mounting on board charger... whos done it?


FINCHASER

Recommended Posts

So I see these mounted to the inside walls of consoles on PVC board.... would love to hear from those who've done this on exactly how you did it.  IE, what thickness PVC board, what epoxy did you use, how did you attach the charger etc.  These chargers are heavy and for the life of me I dont see how the charger just doesnt rip the screws outta the PVC board??  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of those board are likely starboard. The ones I have seen the board is through bolted on the side of the console. It would be possible then to countersink screw heada in  the back of your board to  bolt your charger down. Every thing I have seen has just been screws onto the board from the face side with stainless wood screws. the largest ones that fit whatever you are mounting. If the screws are tight they hold on very well. 
 I’m sure Others will chime in with more knowledge. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mounted a charger to Starboard, then attached to fiberglass console years ago and it's still there. Don't own the boat anymore and can't remember if it was Starboard or PVC. Start by lying charger on Starboard, cut to correct dimensions and pre-drill holes to attach charger to Starboard.   I roughed-up the back side of the starboard with a metal grinding disk (at least 1/8" grooves). Find the exact area to mount to fiberglass, then clean fiberglass two or three times to remove the shine. Use Bondo (body filler) to adhere Starboard to  fiberglass. Support and tape in place for several hours.

If you are worried about the weight, make the Starboard longer then needed to mount charger and let the bottom edge of the Starboard sit on the floor.  You might be able to use some existing screws or bolts to secure the Starboard. The same screws or bolts that secure things like rod holders to the console.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, FINCHASER said:

So I see these mounted to the inside walls of consoles on PVC board.... would love to hear from those who've done this on exactly how you did it.  IE, what thickness PVC board, what epoxy did you use, how did you attach the charger etc.  These chargers are heavy and for the life of me I dont see how the charger just doesnt rip the screws outta the PVC board??  

I thru-bolted mine directly to the fiberglass wall of the console.  I too, was concerned about the weight of it pulling out the screws in a mounting board.  I made a mounting board out of 3/4" painted Coosa Board (white Kilz Primer and Rustoleum Marine Topside paint from Lowes) for the opposite side of the console to mount smaller stuff and keep the console from looking peppered with holes.  Made a 3/4" thick floor plate out of the same Coosa Board to support the weight of 3 batteries as well.  It's lighter than Star Board and has good screw retention strength.

0929182302.jpg

0929182300a.jpg

0929182253a.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, MuddyBottomBluz said:

Agree with all of the above, mine is through bolted on the console using s/s carriage bolts.

Mine is directly through bolted to the front inside of the console since 2003, no problems. Also have heavy troll n tab control box mounted to starboard side of console without any problems since 2003.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info thus far.... definately not interested in thru bolting it, I do know for a fact the factory is gluing PVC board to the inside of the console to attach charger when they do it.  Hopefully someone who has done that will come along sooner or later.

Dale.... good idea Idea on using existing holes but I wont have that option in my case

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cut some pvc board as big as the inside will let you . Place the charger on the board before gluing the board. Drill holes and place some ss tnuts on the back and epoxy the board in place. Now you can bolt to the board using the tnuts. To help heat dissipation place a small space nut between the board and charger. The extra  board area will help with future  projects.

All materials easy to work with

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, FINCHASER said:

So I see these mounted to the inside walls of consoles on PVC board.... would love to hear from those who've done this on exactly how you did it.  IE, what thickness PVC board, what epoxy did you use, how did you attach the charger etc.  These chargers are heavy and for the life of me I dont see how the charger just doesnt rip the screws outta the PVC board??  

My Stealth is on 3/4 starboard but I didn't want to thru bolt everything so the Stealth is mounted to board and thru bolted with screws countersunk. The board is then thru bolted through the console.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve done several now and use expanded pvc board. You’ll want to use a 2 part epoxy with methacrylate in it (good marine epoxies will have this ingredient). There isn’t anything that sticks GREAT to King Starboard, and that’s due to the chemical makeup of the material. I posted a few years ago about installing the amplifier in my boat and the same process can be used to mount an onboard charger. You can also glue two 1/2” thick pieces of PVC board together if you want to ensure plenty of bite with standard screws. For my application, I used stainless t-nuts and stainless machine screws. Here’s my old thread. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fin,

If you have a concern about the PVC board....go 1" thick and then use a 1/4" backing of aluminum which you can then epoxy to the back (larger than the charger) and then through bolt.

It for sure will not be coming off that.....

BTW, on my MA17, I just mounted it on a PVC board and on to the floor of the console...up off the wet floor and been doing great for 2 years.

DC

 

  • Like 1
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...