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

[R Ray Walters]

We had a HUP cell freeze and crack once, and it didn't leak out. 
I just double checked with Northwest Energy Storage, and they confirmed that the steel casing will contain a spill, and doesn't have drain holes.
They said that in one case, a customer overfilled the batteries, and that the casing actually held several gal.s of overflow.
Also, I mentioned previously that the casing was powder coated, its actually an epoxy coating.

R. Walters
ray at solarray.com
Solar Engineer




On Apr 30, 2010, at 11:06 AM, Kent Osterberg wrote:

> Ray,
> 
> I haven't installed any HUP batteries in several years so my info may be out of date but the steel case on the older HUP batteries had drain holes on the bottom.
> 
> Kent Osterberg
> Blue Mountain Solar, Inc.
> 
> 
> 
> R Ray Walters wrote:
>> 
>> I haven't seen a problem with concrete, but wood definitely rots out when exposed to acid, including pressure treated.
>> (Saw a system with Battery shelving made from wood where the top shelf collapsed from acid rot......)
>> Acid also eats foam board, unsticks silicon seal, and gets under and dissolves the spray-on bed liner ( our last attempt at corrosion protection)
>> 
>> I worked on one system with a simple lining made of heavy plastic sheeting, that actually contained long term several gallons of acid from a set of cracked L16s.
>> The plastic options mentioned would probably be good, if they're not too expensive. I've had the plastic tubs crack from the battery weight though.
>> Since HUPS come in a powder coated heavy plate steel container that hold any spills if the inner liner is damaged, I  haven't tried to exceed the manufacturer's efforts.
>> (although, we recently had an inspector require us to ground all the cases, but there was no grounding point provided....)
>> 
>> R. Walters
>> ray at solarray.com
>> Solar Engineer
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Apr 30, 2010, at 9:21 AM, Mick Abraham wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi, Mechanix~
>>> 
>>> My "customer du monde" has a dirt floor in the battery space but he's willing to build something on which we could place his "wet" type batteries. 
>>> 
>>> Concrete is strong but it also tends to begin dissolving when battery acid gets on it. Been there, seen that, didn't like it.
>>> 
>>> Wood could be strong but what about the dissolving problem? Would pressure treated wood be better than white wood, redwood etc.?
>>> 
>>> OR: what else would the group advise for a support structure?
>>> 
>>> ************************************************************
>>> 
>>> The above questions assume that whatever we do will probably get wet, but that may be too pessimistic. Could someone give me a mini-review of plastic trays which would protect whatever goes beneath? 
>>> 
>>> I'm pretty sure polypropylene is the right type plastic but short of custom welding by a plastic fabricator...where can I find trays which fit OK with floor scrubber type battery case dimensions?
>>> 
>>> Thanks all around,
>>> 
>>> Mick Abraham, Proprietor
>>> www.abrahamsolar.com
>>> 
>>> Voice: 970-731-4675
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