Ray, As an option for the plywood box with the 10 mil poly lining. You can do two layers of the poly liner and also protect it with two lengths of 1 x 3 wood strapping on the floor of the box to support the heavy batteries and protect the poly liner. I have done this for years with no problems. Cut the 1 x 3's shorter than the length of your box and sand the wood completely with special attention to rounding the corners and edges so that the wood is smooth against the poly. Once you get one battery in place the wood strapping does not move and you can pretty easily move the other cells into place. I sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of the box before installing the cells. The plywood has held up well for twenty years or more, even with people who add too much distilled water > and create some electrolyte overflow upon charging. It gets a little stinky in the box then, but the double lined poly has never failed me because it is designed right and installed with care.
Alternatively you can use another material to protect your poly liner such as the polypropylene sheeting that you are thinking of using to build your box. Again, cut it smaller than your footprint of the plywood box and round all of the edges off the sheeting material to protect the liner from being cut. Dave David Palumbo Independent Power LLC 462 Solar Way Drive Hyde Park, VT 05655 802-371-8678 cell 802-888-4917 home plywood box with the -----Original Message----- From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Ray Walters Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2016 5:26 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] Battery Box Construction Hi All; We're looking to improve our battery box construction, and are considering using 1/8" think polypropylene sheeting. I've used small premade boxes before, but this will be for a HUP install, and we would want to build the box around the batteries after. Does anyone have experience/ comments on welding plastic? The alternative would be to just seal the seams with acid resistant caulking. (silicone, Geocell, ?) I've had good luck in the past just using 10 mil plastic sheeting stapled up on the inside of a plywood box, but we will be scooting 1000 lb batteries around on it, so I don't think the sheeting will hold up. Thanks, -- R.Ray Walters CTO, Solarray, Inc Nabcep Certified PV Installer, Licensed Master Electrician Solar Design Engineer 303 505-8760 _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
