[RE-wrenches] Midnite Powerflo16 Enclosure Rust Issues

[William Bryce]

Hi Jason

Rust will have no effect on the IP65 rating of the battery.
 The batteries are intended for  outdoor protected install only.
Because the batteries are heavy, installers can easily nick or damage the
powdercoat on the battery leading to rust. Because the battery is white it
shows the rust way easier than other outdoor rated batteries.

The case of the battery must be made from* steel *because the UL rating
certifies if the battery was to have a meltdown, no flame can escape from
the battery

The manual needs to better specify the protected install.

Are the batteries installed outside unprotected?








On Thu, Aug 28, 2025 at 7:54 PM Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> We have five PF16 installed outdoors at a home. It has been only 2 weeks
> and I'm seeing rust forming around some cover screws (both the top cover
> and front cover). The brackets are also showing some rust spots, and under
> the rims of the top cover I'm seeing rust spots that look like they are
> from small metal shavings. We also found minor rust around a prepunched
> knockout immediately after removing the protective plastic cap.
>
> This all happened after they had been mounted outdoors for two weeks, but
> no conduit had been installed yet and the top covers hadn't even been
> opened once.
>
> Is anyone else seeing these issues? I'm pretty concerned that my customer
> won't accept this early defect, and I have lots of outdoor installations
> planned for other customers.
>
> P.S. This is not a coastal location (although all of Florida is kind of
> coastal). Regardless, it's IP65 and should withstand a typical outdoor
> installation.
>
>
> Jason Szumlanski
> Florida Solar Design Group
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