So I'm going to expand my battery storage now. After the CME and us disconnecting from the grid during that time I had to run the generator a bit to get us through a morning rain. My wife really does not like how loud the generator is and I'm like, when the grid is down, we'll have power, I don't care how loud it is, within reason. Heck, when there is a power outage, the neighbors won't care either if I give them an extension cord.
On Friday I ordered three more SOK batteries from
@HighTechLab and Current Connected. That is the minimum I would need to get through the longer winter days, based on what I saw this last winter. My wife actually came out of the blue and said to order two batteries after the CME, but after seeing the usage numbers, said to get three. I'm quite pleased with being able to get three batteries right now after spending 5K on the heat pump water heater.
I want to expand the storage vertically. The battery rack from Current Connected can handle five batteries, so I'll need to go with something different.
I ordered RackSolutions 55U server rack (102.5" tall) with the 20" depth kit from PC Nation as they had the cheapest price with shipping. RackSolutions themselves is having to charge an additional $300 fee that FedEx has started charging them for oversized items, probably to go via freight instead. The rack is rated to hold 3000lbs, so the batteries at a 100lbs each, shouldn't be a problem. The rack is two weeks out from shipping, but I'm fine with that to save $300.
Rack Solutions 55U Post Kit for 111 Open Frame Rack
www.pcnation.com
Rack Solutions 20in Depth and 24in Width Kit for 111 Open Frame Rack
www.pcnation.com
Finding rails to support 100lbs is not so easy. My research led me to the CyberPower rails as they make UPSs and they are inexpensive to everything else out there and seem to be a perfect lengh to fit the 20" deep rack:
I hope with these rails and the SOK batteries I can stack them right on top of each other. Really depends on how close to the 4U of space the SOK batteries are. If there is a 1/16" of space between them, I should be able to stack them right on top of each other. If this works out correclty, I should be able to get 13 SOK batteries in that rack. I'll be securing the top of the rack to the studs and concrete floor, so baring a earthquake, it shouldn't go anywhere.
So going to get bring the battery storage up to 40kWh with the potential of 65kWh in the future. Once everything is in place, I'll update the first post with the parts.