Clansman 351 Battery Modification
1: Source suitable defunkt donor battery
2: Get hold of 2 x 12v sealed batteries
3: Height/size difference - We'll deal with that later
4: Saw off the base of the donor battery
5. Reveals what seems to be cavity wall filler... Horrid stuff!
6: Start removing the filler to reveal the old Ni-Cad batteries... Try not to puncture them or get any chemicals on your skin as it is nasty stuff!
7: You don't want or need the old batteries, or wiring, so DRAG EM OOT! Just be careful not to come into contact with any potential leakage! The wiring can all come out too.
8: Clean out the case as best you can... That includes removing the old charging socket, as it is no longer needed.
9: Carefully cut the sides off the empty case
10: Keep the ends where the radio clamps to the battery, these are needed!
11: Clean off the electric terminal connections as you will need to solder or add terminal connectors to these soon.
12: Cut a piece of wood to fit into the battery box... This is intended to take care of the height difference AND add insulation to the battery terminals/connections etc.
13: Then cut out recesses in the wood for the terminals... It may take a bit of trial and error to get the right fit.
14: Wire the batteries together in series VERY CAREFULLY!! You will now have a 24v battery... Make sure the wires don't touch together!
15: Then, mastic/glue the batteries together & clamp till glue sets... Take care not to glue the wires together.
16: Solder new battery wires to the cleaned existing terminals (watch polarity!)
17: ** IMPORTANT ** You will need to add a screening to prevent the terminals from shorting out... I used thin sheets of plastic card to seperate the connections.
18: Mastic/glue the wooden block into place and then mastic/glue batteries
19: Mastic/glue the batteries into the empty case and clamp the whole thing together... Leave it to set.
19: I taped the exterior case and painted it a suitable NATO green and added the decal from the original side panel.
20: I also got a smart 24v battery charger to connect to the existing terminals.
The original battery charging socket was redundant and had to be removed... I took this picture before I realised this.
21: Here's the details of the charger I bought.
REMEMBER, BE CAREFUL CONNECTING THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE WIRES BETWEEN BATTERY AND CHARGER!!