Batteries, even sealed VRLA, require venting, because their failure mode, is to vent gas. 99% of the time, they stay sealed, but as they age, or if a charger fouls up, they will vent gas.
It's a good idea to have a structure separate from your home, to house the batteries and generator. If something does go wrong, it's not the house that burns up, just the outbuilding, Or you can take a chance...... Having gallons of strong acid under the same roof that I live in, is not my ideal lifestyle.
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Hi guys - I am in the process of having a new cabin/home built in a remote area without power. Believe me that if I could connect to the grid I would but this place on a beautiful lake is very special. I am still in the process of designing the solar power system (with generator augmentation to keep costs low). As the plans for the cabin are getting nailed down in terms of floor layout and rough design, I am now wondering if I should pour/build some sort of cement shelter adjacent to the basement to store the batteries. I would really like to avoid this and just use a battery storage case.
I am curious what you guys think. Here's the rough specs/assumption
- Battery system is 48volt using (worse case) L-16 6 volt cells (325AH) flooded deep cycle. I have done the math and think I can avoid AGM due to cost. Obviously need 8 batteries.
I found an off the shelf storage case built by Radiant and made from HDPE material. I tried to create a link but it didn't work
I see that it has a vent so assuming I can vent that outside somehow and then the batteries are properly fused, would this offer suitable protection to keep the batteries in my storage area in the basement ?Leave a comment:
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Sealed lead acid batteries don't really need ventilation when used indoors IF they are operating correctly. There's a nice bank of them running in a back office here, in fact... Now, the idea of using battery boxes is very good for safety reasons, to avoid short circuits.
I have had SLAs split and leak before when they got severely sulfated. This will also protect your floor!
Keep the battery temperatures as low as possible. Temps above 90F will shorten the batteries' life.Leave a comment:
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It is a good idea to protect the batteries and their connections. I use boat battery boxes. All it would take is a small child to ruin your day. Also you should always work safe and protect your investment. I get the boat battery covers at Wall Mart. Gases not so bad for sealed batteries. Please also keep batteries away from heat. Any battery will weaken power due to heating.Leave a comment:
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good point. I'm glad you mentioned Home Power. Never heard of it before, I just ordered a subscription. were the fried batteries you mentioned AGM?Leave a comment:
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I would be VERY surprised to find sealed (True AGM) golf cart batteries. Just too expensive. More likely they are "maintenance free" flooded cell batteries or Gel batteries.
AGM batteries would not need any special vent requirements.
However, Home Power had an article several years ago called "Battery Blunders" and it showed 2 fellows looking over the remains of a fried battery bank. It was NOT pretty sight, basically, something had shorted, and in seconds, about 20 batteries exploded, with sparks and spewing boiling acid. Big fire, big mess. Not in my basement.
My batteries will be in a brick or cement block shed. Way too much energy contained in a large battery bank to have it under the same roof I'm sleeping in.Leave a comment:
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Do sealed lead acid batteries require ventilation when used in a home?
I plan on wiring together eight 12V 35Ah Sealed Lead Acid golf cart batteries in series and parallel to give me a 24V battery bank. The bank will be used with a 24V inverter to give me 110VAC and will be used for backups as well as small loads like a wireless router. It will be charged with a solar panel.
If I setup the batteries in my basement, would I need to ventilate them? I've read that sealed lead acid batteries do not vent any gas but I want to be sure about it.
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