December 13, 2019

A Home for the Solar Battery Bank


After we got the batteries, we needed a home for them. Dan planned to build a box, until he took a closer look at an old box that we already had.


This was left in one of our outbuildings when we bought the place. We've used it to hold kindling over the years, but when Dan measured it, he discovered that it would work for a battery box. It's just large enough to house our six batteries, the charge controller, and the circuit breakers. All it needed was reinforcing, a base, and some paint.


The base is repurposed too. It was originally the form Dan made for pouring the concrete pad for the outdoor laundry tubs.


We had already chosen the location.

Photo from "Burying the Solar Cable." See
that post for why this is a good location.

The cable was buried in a conduit under the driveway. To run them into the box, Dan used vertical PVC pipe and two elbows the same way he did at the solar panel end.



The last step was to build a cover. This was made from scraps of lumber, plywood, metal roofing leftover from the carport project.


It still needs some paint and vents, but other than that it's ready.

19 comments:

Michelle said...

Well THAT was relatively quick and easy! Another great job!

Ed said...

Definitely a win - win situation.

Cockeyed Jo said...

I love the reuse, repurpose attribute angle for this build. I was going to ask about the venting until I read your last line. LOL be sure and cover those holes with mesh to keep the creepy crawlies out.

Goatldi said...

Good job. Keep those batteries well vented you might want to consider a small battery run fan to help circulate the air around them. We solar folks live it when the batteries are happy don’t we?😊

Mama Pea said...

Yep, I was going to suggest the fan idea as Goatldi did above. Originally we had our batteries in a box-like structure (inside the garage because of winter, ya know, up here near the Arctic!) with a cover. Soon discovered the top had to be left completely off for ventilation and even then installed a fan also. Phase 2 (or was it Phase 6?) was to build open shelves and get the batteries out of the box. The batteries are happy now.

Rain said...

What a great find when you moved in. I love when people leave stuff, it's always a treasure! The box is looking great!

Leigh said...

Michelle, I love it when it turns out like that. :)

Ed, always happy for those. :)

Jo, this worked out well by saving both materials and money. I'd hoped to have a more finished photo for this post, including vents and final coat of paint, but I'll have to save that for later. :)

Goatldi, there's something in the charge controller manual about the fan, but I haven't taken a close enough look to know if it's built in or needs to be added. All of that will be in the next phase.

Mama Pea, I take it the batteries got too warm(?) One advantage to this spot is that is that in summer Dan runs a fan to vent the crawlspace. That cooler air will run right across this box. Dan's talking about adding a small fan on the other end as well.

Rain, it was indeed. They left a couple of other things, but most of it we ended up throwing away (i.e. trash).

Lady Locust said...

Don't you love it when things just work out. What a neat old box and now useful!

Leigh said...

Lady Locust, I always thought it was a nice box and am glad to see it repaired, painted, and truly useful. :)

Barney said...

Say Leigh,
That looks like a mighty fine box and all but have you given much thought to having to lift those heavy batteries in and out of that box for servicing and replacing? It looks like you'll have to lift them at least 2 ft in the air, pivot and then lower them down almost that much.(my back groans just thinking about it). I'm sure y'all will figure it out.

Leigh said...

Barney, hello and welcome! I did mention that to Dan, and he gave me this look that he gets when I ask him certain questions and said, "oh ye of little faith." So I said okay and he's got them in there now with no complaints. Actually, that's the reason we chose golf cart batteries rather than L16s—manageability. He could always cut out the front, I suppose, if he ever changes his mind. 😉

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

What a great idea! It looks great too with the new paint.

Leigh said...

Kristina, isn't it amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do. :)

Michael Vuke said...

Hey Leigh,
I’ve been poking around/reading from the shadows for a couple years now, but I decided a few months back to go to the first post you ever made and read beginning to present, and just finished up last night. I just wanted to let you know that what y’all have done is phenomenal! I know it’s hard (harder than what we can see through the computer screen, I’m sure), but you have carved out something for yourselves that is special. Keep up the great work, and I’m excited to see what the new decade holds for you two and the dream!

God bless,
Michael

Leigh said...

Michael, hello! I'm so glad you took the time to comment. Goodness, reading through ten years of my ramblings is quite a feat, I think! Thank you so much for your kind words. I can't tell you how encouraging they are. :)

Nancy In Boise said...

Great job!

Leigh said...

Thanks, Nancy!

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

The ventilation was my concern too - but already thought of! Brilliant!

Leigh said...

TB, hi. Yeah, I mentioned ventilation some in my previous battery post, and will show details of what we end up doing. I'm sure it will be a learning experience and require adjustments as we go along.