[RE-wrenches] Battery Box Construction

[Ray Walters]

Thanks for all the replies so far.  I've tried foundation waterproofing 
membrane for a couple of years, but found it will deteriorate in high 
acid concentrations.  IT gets all gooey and begins to dissolve.  It had 
peel N stick adhesive, and seemed like a good idea, until later.  (it 
was HDPE?)
I've seen construction 10 mil plastic sheeting hold a gal of acid for 
many months, so I know that at least works for acid.

The pond liner looks good as well as Roy's wall plastic, but the 1/8" 
polypropylene would seem to be possibly more durable for about the same 
$$.  Plastic welding looks relatively easy with a heat gun and special 
tip on a soldering iron, too.  I'll report back on what we actually do.

As always thanks for the input, and I welcome all further comments. I 
feel battery enclosures are a somewhat neglected part of off grid design.

R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760

On 1/28/2016 7:06 PM, frenergy wrote:
> Add to the list...I've had good luck with Grace roofing underlayment: 
> tough and to a degree, self-healing, sticks to itself (and anything it 
> comes in contact with) very well making seams secure, easy to find at 
> building supply store, sticks aggressively to battery box sides 
> without mechanical fasteners, experience has shown it resists acid.  
> As with other solutions, something to uniformly distribute the weight 
> and irregular bottoms of batteries should be employed.
>
> Bill
> Feather River Solar Electric
> Bill Battagin, Owner
> 4291 Nelson St.
> Taylorsville, CA 95983
> 530.284.7849
> www.frenergy.net
>
>
> On 1/28/2016 5:35 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:
>> Ray,
>> Just a couple of weeks ago we installed a 24V HUP set in an existing 
>> installation. We had an existing plywood battery box made of Baltic 
>> Birch (the 9-ply 12mm thick plywood typically used for cabinet drawer 
>> carcases) with a liner made of 40(?)-mil pond liner material. We 
>> removed the six cells from the steel case, set the case in place in 
>> the plywood box and lowered the cells into it. However, the box had a 
>> non-removable 5" wide strip across the top rear, and we needed to 
>> slide the entire 1100 pound case back about 8" in order to fit both 
>> steel cases.
>>
>> Before setting the steel case in the box I sprayed the floor of the 
>> pond liner with a layer of the new spray pulling lube from Klein 
>> Tools, then set the steel case in place and lowered the cells. Using 
>> a Porta-Power and some blocking, we slid the case into place with 
>> little effort.
>>
>> You might find that vinyl pond liner works well in a plywood box. We 
>> found it at a Home Depot.
>> Allan
>>
>> *Allan Sindelar*
>> allan at sindelarsolar.com
>> NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
>> NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
>> New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
>> Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
>> *505 780-2738 cell*
>>
>> **
>>
>> On 1/28/2016 3:25 PM, Ray Walters wrote:
>>> Hi All;
>>>
>>> We're looking to improve our battery box construction, and are 
>>> considering using 1/8" think polypropylene sheeting.  I've used 
>>> small premade boxes before, but this will be for a HUP install, and 
>>> we would want to build the box around the batteries after.  Does 
>>> anyone have experience/ comments on welding plastic?  The 
>>> alternative would be to just seal the seams with acid resistant 
>>> caulking. (silicone, Geocell, ?)
>>> I've had good luck in the past just using 10 mil plastic sheeting 
>>> stapled up on the inside of a plywood box, but we will be scooting 
>>> 1000 lb batteries around on it, so I don't think the sheeting will 
>>> hold up.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>
>>
>>
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