Bluedog225
Texas
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2019
- Messages
- 2,974
I’m doing this. I‘ve got a lighting need in the garage at the cabin. I’ve decided to get a cheap ($500) 200 amp hour LiFePO4 12 volt battery and bury it. Then 12 volt light strings through the garage. I’ve got some battery pack spots for high-lighting needs. Or can get a little inverter if I need a couple hundred watts of good light occassionally.
The way things are set up, I’ve got a pipe through the slab underground and a vertical west facing wall. My mock up with a lead acid and little 100 watt panel has been working great. It charges when I’m away and has plenty of juice for my occasional nights out there. But the battery was inside and exposed to the 110 eff heat.
I’m going to mount a couple of spare 400 watt panels and bury the battery a foot down or so in an action packer box. Acceptable chance of flooding as it’s on as it will be on a hill and very good drainage from the spot for 200 yards to the creek.
I can run some more wire and put the victron mppt inside the garage, or I can bury it with the battery inside the action packer.
I see the victron mppt’s are rated for 95% humidity (non-condensing). Candidly, with the heat generated by the battery and the contoller, the humidity in the buried box may be less than the garage in many instances.
What do you folks think? Bury the charge controller with the battery or mount it in the garage? The actual wiring loss and distance between the two options are negligible. Burying has a little appeals from a stealth and temp standpoint.
Thanks!
The way things are set up, I’ve got a pipe through the slab underground and a vertical west facing wall. My mock up with a lead acid and little 100 watt panel has been working great. It charges when I’m away and has plenty of juice for my occasional nights out there. But the battery was inside and exposed to the 110 eff heat.
I’m going to mount a couple of spare 400 watt panels and bury the battery a foot down or so in an action packer box. Acceptable chance of flooding as it’s on as it will be on a hill and very good drainage from the spot for 200 yards to the creek.
I can run some more wire and put the victron mppt inside the garage, or I can bury it with the battery inside the action packer.
I see the victron mppt’s are rated for 95% humidity (non-condensing). Candidly, with the heat generated by the battery and the contoller, the humidity in the buried box may be less than the garage in many instances.
What do you folks think? Bury the charge controller with the battery or mount it in the garage? The actual wiring loss and distance between the two options are negligible. Burying has a little appeals from a stealth and temp standpoint.
Thanks!
