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SLA Batteries above or below ground?

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  • SLA Batteries above or below ground?

    Hi everyone,
    Wanted to find out which type of battery storage will work for my situation.

    Am planning to put (2) 12 volt 10 watt led flood lights and a 20 watt panel, in a remote area to light a sign, and wanted to find out a way to store SLA batteries in that location for best life. Can putting batteries in a vented NEMA box above ground work year round effectively? or as I have been thinking, taking a 6" PVC pipe 2 or 3 foot long vertically in the ground with an end cap glued to the bottom. Then lowering the batteries to the bottom, cap the top (unglued) with vent hose to maintain a constant temp of around 50-55 degrees. which if I read right, is the ideal temp for SLA batteries. Not sure that would possibly be the temp at that depth though, but wanted to ask. I'm in Kentucky.

    Thanks and look forward to suggestions,
    John

  • #2
    Originally posted by sydewinder View Post
    Hi everyone,
    Wanted to find out which type of battery storage will work for my situation.

    Am planning to put (2) 12 volt 10 watt led flood lights and a 20 watt panel, in a remote area to light a sign, and wanted to find out a way to store SLA batteries in that location for best life. Can putting batteries in a vented NEMA box above ground work year round effectively? or as I have been thinking, taking a 6" PVC pipe 2 or 3 foot long vertically in the ground with an end cap glued to the bottom. Then lowering the batteries to the bottom, cap the top (unglued) with vent hose to maintain a constant temp of around 50-55 degrees. which if I read right, is the ideal temp for SLA batteries. Not sure that would possibly be the temp at that depth though, but wanted to ask. I'm in Kentucky.

    Thanks and look forward to suggestions,
    John
    An interesting idea. The NEMA box above ground would want to be shaded to keep the full summer sun from overheating the batteries. An insulated but ventilated plastic or wood box might be a lot better.
    Below ground, because of condensation and other hazards I would not be confident that your tube might not eventually fill up with water.
    On a hillside with a drain at the bottom would make me a lot more comfortable.
    Last edited by inetdog; 07-30-2014, 03:09 PM.
    SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

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    • #3
      Don't forget you have to mount the charge controller somewhere out of the elements. While protecting the batteries from the heat is a good thought I would also worry about them getting wet underground.

      I see a lot of solar powered "traffic sensing" stations along the roadway down here in Florida. They usually have a vented yet rainproof metal box mounted on the pole with a weather head and conduit to run the wires from the panels into the box. I suspect the charge controller and batteries are in the box which is accessible for maintenance. Of course I do not know what the expected battery life is with this type of mounting but it seems to be a standard installation.

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      • #4
        May experiment

        Excellent answers, thank you both,
        Your right, condensation would get in the tube, didn't think about that. I don't guess placing gravel at the bottom with holes in the cap would work, not sure if a soaking rain someday would fill the tube from the bottom up. I'm not one to know those things. May play around with various ways using that method. I just think that if I can safely put these batteries at a constant temp between 50-55, battery life should be very good.

        I may also, play around using a 6" PVC inside a 8 PVC like SRD-35 with insulation between the two with both bottoms capped? Of course a vent hose from the 6" thru the 8" to the outside

        The batteries are going to be by themselves in the tube or NEMA box. The controller is going to be in a separate NEMA box above ground along with a day/night switching circuit to turn off LEDs during the day time hours and allow for charging batteries. May need to consider the above ground in a shaded area if the tube idea won't work.

        John

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