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Roadie case for portable 1000ah bank?

Yurtdweller

Solar Enthusiast
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Nov 23, 2020
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USA
So, I just got a roadie case(road case) in a sweet deal, and I want to put my batteries in it. I have 4 packs at 12v and 280ah LiFePo4.
I've measured, and if I reconfigure the wooden dividers, I can wedge all four packs along the back (hinge) side, with their long sides together. It is just barely long enough. I can slip in a couple spacers here and there, and I won't even really need to compress. This will leave about an eight inch wide space for the wiring along the whole front side length. The case can handle the weight. I just wanted to see if I'm overlooking anything, battery-wise, or if anyone with experience with these sorts of heavy cases has any advice. It is a really nice case from Olympic Case company (olycase dot com). The only downside that I'm seeing is that I will probably need to build a ramp to get it into my van. It will weigh around 300lbs when finished. I change locations every two months for my work, and the batteries need to stay in camp when I drive the van, so I will need to load and unload several times a year. What do y'all think?IMG_20220706_111233.jpg
 
The case does have casters, but the wheels will need to be replaced at some point. I'm told each caster is rated to over 200 lbs. I also have a hand truck.
 
Any concern with cooling? What’s peak charge/discharge you’d be looking for?
 
I'll probably crack the lid. I could install a couple case fans. I don't plan to increase my array, as I have to load everything when I travel. My 1kw array kicks around 60 amps max, which, of course, means 15 amps per battery pack. At the moment, I usually only run one or two packs in parallel, and I've not noticed any heat, but the packs are currently in milk crates, and the cc and inverter are open to air. I haven't yet decided how to mount the electric components. (Victron cc, power in buss, inverter) I don't think they'll all fit inside. I think the inverter and cc will mount on a board on the outside somehow. I think the only heat will be ambient. I will install a seedling mat, as well, for cold days, which are a bigger concern. The case will be quite useful when it gets below freezing, which is rather rare where I winter. We usually see a few weeks of freezing weather in the forests north of Houston.
 
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Just FYI, a 4s, 12 volt, pack made with 280ah cells is just 280ah @ 12v, rather than 280ah x 4. When batteries are wired in parallel (+ to + and - to -) the capacity (AH) increases, and in series (+ to -) the voltage increases, but the capacity stays the same.

I'm definitely not trying to be a technical Nazi, but putting a thousand amp hours, vs 280 in a case is a very different project. I actually clicked on this thread to see how in the world you were going to fit a battery that big in something you could carry ?.
 
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Just FYI, a 4s, 12 volt, pack made with 280ah cells is just 280ah @ 12v, rather than 280ah x 4. When batteries are wired in parallel (+ to + and - to -) the capacity (AH) increases, and in series (+ to -) the voltage increases, but the capacity stays the same.

I'm definitely not trying to be a technical Nazi, but putting a thousand amp hours, vs 280 in a case is a very different project. I actually clicked on this thread to see how in the world you were going to fit a battery that big in something you could carry ?.
I think he has16 cells 4s4p. I have a similar amount which is 200 LBS.

I want to see how he makes a portable case for something that big and heavy. I could not figure anything out. The total amount of the battery pack with casing and hardware is probably 220 lbs for me.
 
I think he has16 cells 4s4p. I have a similar amount which is 200 LBS.

I want to see how he makes a portable case for something that big and heavy. I could not figure anything out. The total amount of the battery pack with casing and hardware is probably 220 lbs for me.
I didn't catch that, I I thought he was talking about four cells, not 4 packs. Now I'm definitely interested to see how this pans out, that's a hell of a case.
 
Yes. I do have 4 individual 12v@280ah packs. It will be heavy. With the case included, I expect it to be close to 300 lbs. This is why I said I will need to build a ramp, or other method, to get it into my van. I could 'crib' it up to floor level, for example. Luckily, my van has a carrying capacity of over 3500 lbs. Also, conveniently, the case will be precisely the same height as all my other cases and tool boxes, making further loading easy, too. I was initially planning a sort of modular build, with each battery pack, or two packs in milk crates(or oversized crates) and connected by Anderson plugs, but this heavy case basically fell in my lap for just a hundred bucks. I've contacted the people who built the case, and it is capable of taking the weight. I will start the rebuild soon.

FYI, I know this is a huge, heavy crate to be moving around. I only have to move it about 8-10 times each year. I originally planned to keep just two packs, and sell the other two to offset costs. But once I got all four packs built, I just couldn't see giving up half of a matched batch. It's nice having 14kwh to get me through the dreary Texas winter. I can now go about ten days without sun, if I have to. SE Texas can be like Seattle at certain times of the year. Not to mention hurricanes and freak winter storms, which will also cause gasoline and propane shortages. You wouldn't believe how little snow it takes to shut down the Houston area!
I work from home, and that means power tools. I don't like having to lay off my work because of bad weather. Also, if my 12v inverter ever dies, I will buy a 48v inverter. I can reconfigure for 48v. All of my equipment, other than my inverter, is 48v compliant.

My final decision is if I should tightly pack all the cells along one side of the case, thus making it off-balance, or should I distribute the packs to the four corners? Once I get the internal dividers out, I will simply play around with pack spacing and see what I come up with. It would obviously be easier to keep the packs cool if they are spaced. Especially if I decide to install case fans.

I have a further option of loading the case onto my uncovered utility trailer, with ramp, but that would add the complications of trying to weather-proof it, and would also make it harder to keep my fridge running on road trips. It might be time to get a covered cargo trailer.
 
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