plastic battery box question

[Don Miller]

Anybody ever used a big upside-down plastic storage bin as a battery box?
I'm looking for a quick/easy/cheap way to hold 8 T105's.

I'm thinking that I could drill a 1-1/4" hole in the top/bottom of the bin
and then run 1-1/4" blue plastic flexible electrical conduit up and outside
as a vent. I'd caulk around both ends of the flex pipe and be done with it.
The flex conduit would let me easily lift the storage bin off the top of the
batteries for maintenance.

I'd drill another hold down near the floor for the battery cables to enter
the box and also serve as a fresh-air intake.

I could also use the bottom of the storage bin as a spillage catch tray
under the batteries.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Thanks,

Don Miller

 

[Robert Morein]

Anybody ever used a big upside-down plastic storage bin as a battery box?
I'm looking for a quick/easy/cheap way to hold 8 T105's.

I'm thinking that I could drill a 1-1/4" hole in the top/bottom of the bin
and then run 1-1/4" blue plastic flexible electrical conduit up and outside
as a vent. I'd caulk around both ends of the flex pipe and be done with it.
The flex conduit would let me easily lift the storage bin off the top of the
batteries for maintenance.

I'd drill another hold down near the floor for the battery cables to enter
the box and also serve as a fresh-air intake.

I could also use the bottom of the storage bin as a spillage catch tray
under the batteries.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Thanks,

Don Miller

The plastic, typically polypropylene, varies in hardness depending upon how
long the polymerization chains are made. Same chemical, different mechanical
properties for the plastic. The combination of stiffness and sheer size of
the plastic storage container mean that it won't be strong enough for you to
move around, but that might not be your intent.

Also, the height of the lid may is not sufficient to meet one of the
conventional requirements of a battery box -- to contain all the electrolyte
within all the batteries. There might be some wicking of electrolyte through
the lid/box joint, simply because it is so low.

It could still work in your application, but it wouldn't be UL certifiable.

 

[George Ghio]

Anybody ever used a big upside-down plastic storage bin as a battery box?
I'm looking for a quick/easy/cheap way to hold 8 T105's.

I'm thinking that I could drill a 1-1/4" hole in the top/bottom of the bin
and then run 1-1/4" blue plastic flexible electrical conduit up and outside
as a vent. I'd caulk around both ends of the flex pipe and be done with it.
The flex conduit would let me easily lift the storage bin off the top of the
batteries for maintenance.

I'd drill another hold down near the floor for the battery cables to enter
the box and also serve as a fresh-air intake.

I could also use the bottom of the storage bin as a spillage catch tray
under the batteries.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Thanks,

Don Miller

Required vent size for batteries

A = 100qv

Where qv is the minimum exhaust ventilation rate in litres per second and
= .006 °‹ n °‹ I

A = the area in Sq cm

n = the number of battery cells.

I = the charging rate in amps (this is taken as the maximum output rating
of the charger or the rating of it¹s output fuse or circuit breaker¹).

 

[Steve Spence]

Plastic storage boxes have been used as battery boxes. We used a Rubbermaid
box for years. They don't seal well, needing power venting for the hydrogen
gases. Never tried one inverted.

 

[William P.N. Smith]

I'm looking for a quick/easy/cheap way to hold 8 T105's.

I've used a spare cooler for a couple of years now in an outside
environment for two golf cart batteries.

http://compusmiths.com/TowerBase.jpg

Dunno about venting, but they sure are cheap, and will contain
spills...

 

[Steve Spence]

Don't need venting outside if the box doesn't seal.

 

[Robert Morein]

I've used a spare cooler for a couple of years now in an outside
environment for two golf cart batteries.

http://compusmiths.com/TowerBase.jpg

Dunno about venting, but they sure are cheap, and will contain
spills...

What brand cooler was it? Where did you get it? How much did it cost?
Aren't you worried that when the batteries explode there will be great
gobs of gooey plastic thrown all over? How do you vent it? Where are the
wheels so I can take it in every night? What kind of alarm do you have
connected? Did your insurance on your house increase? What colors does
the cooler come in?

 

[William P.N. Smith]

What brand cooler was it? Where did you get it? How much did it cost?
Aren't you worried that when the batteries explode there will be great
gobs of gooey plastic thrown all over? How do you vent it? Where are the
wheels so I can take it in every night? What kind of alarm do you have
connected? Did your insurance on your house increase? What colors does
the cooler come in?

C'mon Robert, surely you can do better than that (or maybe it's one of
your detractors forging in your name).

 

[Robert Morein]

C'mon Robert, surely you can do better than that (or maybe it's one of
your detractors forging in your name).

No, really. These points are very important to me. And that should be
"many" detractors (actually detractor gives them a sense of importance
they aren't entitled too, so let's just call them assholes).

 

[Robert Morein]

C'mon Robert, surely you can do better than that (or maybe it's one of
your detractors forging in your name).

William,
I post from comcast.giganews.net. The forger posts from other ISPs.

Regards,
Bob Morein
(215) 646-4894

 

[Don Miller]

And to think, all I wanted when I asked the original question was some
advice and I've got so very, very much more.

I'm eternally grateful for the feedback and now eagerly awaiting the answer
as to what color the cooler is and what diameter the wheels are. What a
helpful group this is turning out to be.

Don

It is.

It's easy to forge the name on a message and [email protected] keeps doing
it to Robert.

Mark

 

[no useful info]

William,
I post from comcast.giganews.net. The forger posts from other ISPs.

Regards,
Bob Morein
(215) 646-4894

That should be the "other keepers of the truth" post from other ISPs.

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Dresher, PA 19025

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fax: (215) 646-3443

 

[no useful info]

It is.

It's easy to forge the name on a message and [email protected] keeps doing
it to Robert.

Mark

C'mon Robert, surely you can do better than that (or maybe it's one of
your detractors forging in your name).

I would take the position that since nowhere.com is a domain that does
not resolve, it would be incredibly difficult to forge anything from
that domain.

However, should you be so interested, it is easy enough to post examples
of Robert forging posts from others, so I doubt he really cares about
the ethics of this practice.