On 12/13/2011 5:47 PM, Dan Fink wrote:
Esteemed Wrenches;
An email question from my recent Home Power article on charge
controllers that I'm unsure of.
Does NEC specifically forbid mounting other gear, such as charge
controllers, inside a battery enclosure? How about shunts?
It's not in 480 that I can see, and 480 doesn't seem to treat the
interior of a battery enclosure as particularly explosive, because as
per 480 it has to be adequately vented anyway.
Of course there are a zillion common-sense reasons not to actually DO
that -- even an MX60 has a relay that can spark-- and of course
corrosion on the controller terminals, circuit board, etc. Bad news
all around and I never do it. I learned this as an apprentice back in
the 1990s, and I just don't do it. But I do put shunts in there
sometimes...is this a no-no? The shunt terminals are brass, I've never
seen any really nasty corrosion build up, but I'm quite curious.
BUT I'm wondering if I'm missing something obvious in some other NEC
section etc.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Dan. Nice article, BTW !
The NEC doesn't say that you CAN do this, but it does not dis-allow it
either.
It will come down to what the battery manufacturer says, is what we have
found.
Sealed batteries are the only ones that can be mounted in a battery box with
arc and spark equipment.
Look at UPS's that you buy from COSTCO for instance. They are UL
listed, usually.
boB
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