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Until recently, most marine starting and deep cycle batteries (including our batteries made by East Penn Manufacturing) have included wing nut battery terminals. If you own batteries with wing nuts, we advise you to replace them with nylock hex nuts. Here’s why.
In 2006 the ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council) boating safety standards organization published new recommended practices for the selection, location, installation, and wiring of storage batteries, including this requirement:
E-10.8.3: Battery cables and other conductors size 6 AWG and larger shall not be connected to the battery with wing nuts.
They made this change because wing nuts have the possibility of working loose due to the vibration of stiff battery cables while a boat is in operation. Loose cables create resistance and heat, with potential for overheated wires and possible fire.
For outboard engine applications we recommend replacing wing nuts with nylock nuts or hex nuts and lock washers that are tightened to at least 10 foot pounds of torque. For inboard engine applications you should use clamp-on battery terminals connected to the correct gauge of battery cable. Just in case you need to remove or disconnect your battery, carry a West Marine compact battery terminal wrench, model 9523663. It clips onto the battery box.
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