[RE-wrenches] Ideal platform for flooded type batteries: opinions wanted

[William Miller]

Jeff:

This racking system sounds like it would be a nightmare during an 
earthquake.  We have a system with IBE 2 volt batteries that suffered major 
damage during an earthquake in our area in 2003.  All of the batteries 
tipped over and spilled their entire contents in the battery 
room.  Fortunately, these batteries were slated for replacement in the near 
future.

Now we strap all batteries to the wall with strut and all-thread.  Given 
the opportunity, we have the framing reinforced during construction.  We do 
not advertise the restraints as an engineered solution, but rather as a 
common sense remedy to minor earthquakes.

In our hot and cold climate. we favor placing the batteries on a slab to 
thermally couple them to a more stable temperature source.  I laugh when I 
see an insulated battery box with large vents.  I'm not an licensed 
engineer, but it seems pointless to insulate a box and then vent it.

We have tried the shower pan material as a liner, but it was not acid 
resistant -- it degraded in two years.  Now we use 1/8" sheet neoprene and 
build a dam using it and pressure treat lumber to support the rubber.

William Miller



At 08:47 AM 5/1/2010, you wrote:
>As you know, cold floors reduce battery charge.  We use a support "shelf" 
>made of pressure treated 2 x 4 on EDGE, separated by 3/8" pressure treated 
>plates every 2 feet, using 8 foot long boards.  This 16" wide by 8 foot 
>long shelf is placed on standard concrete blocks spaced every 2 or 3 feet, 
>keeping the shelf  8" above the floor.  This puts the battery fill caps at 
>a nice level for re-fill, and the bottoms off the cold floor which allows 
>good air flow.  An occasional acid spill may cause some minor issues, but 
>we have these shelves in systems now over 15 years old with no 
>problems.  The are also easy to site build.
>
>Jeff Yago
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