What size nuts for battery terminals?

[Cricket Too]

Hey guys, I have an Optima Blue Marine battery on my boat, and I want to use regular nuts on the terminals.

What size nuts will I need?

The Optima batteries don't have two different size posts for the + and -, like other batteries do, at least I don't believe so, they seem to be the same diameter and thread on this battery.

Either way I want to replace the wingnuts with ny-lock nuts, as the wingnuts tend to come loose over time. So just wondering if anybody knew the size off hand.

Thanks.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: What size nuts for battery terminals?

Take the wing nuts with you. Lowes, Home Depot etc, have a metric and SAE try-out panel. See which one fits and buy what you need.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: What size nuts for battery terminals?

Thanks Silvertip. Didn't know that Lowes or Home Depot had that, I've never seen it in there, then again I never looked for it.

Sounds easy enough, thanks for the advice.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: What size nuts for battery terminals?

Lowes has a an entire aisle of specialty hardware in drawers and bins as you walk in the door. There is a panel somewhere along that aisle with bolts and nuts mounted in a panel that you can try for size. If you can't find it, go to the bins with bolts. Find a bolt that fits the wing nut. Then buy that size nut. Simple huh?

 

[fdmsiv]

Re: What size nuts for battery terminals?

This may sound paranoid, but I bring a magnet (usually from the tool dept.) with me when I buy stainless at HD or lowes. I always double check that the stainless in the bins is actually stainless. Its not that I don't trust the employees, but when you are stocking 20,000 little baggies of nuts and bolts, its not very hard to put one in the wrong place.