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Rolling Battery Banks with Server Rack Batteries

JD McGyver

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Joined
Jun 20, 2022
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Hello. I am looking for alternative solutions for my Server Rack batteries.

The current solutions are:

1. Hand Truck Dolly. - Best to only carry one battery. Lithium Solar on Youtube has a nice instructional for something similar with the inverter mounted.

2. Furniture Floor Dolly. - Kind of awkward to move without building some kind of handle and is not great for mounting the inverter.

3. Railroad Cart / Platform Truck - Has the handle needed but is generally too long and expensive for a heavy-duty one. There are some tight corners to navigate.

4. Server rack cabinet: - Problem: $500 - $600 each at Signature Solar + suitable casters.

I've looked at some used cabinets on Craigslist/Marketplace. Most of them are too tall. The smaller ones look like they would not handle the weight.

I plan to eventually have two rolling banks of 3 batteries each. I'd consider one rack of 6 batteries, but think that will just be too dang heavy.

Somewhat larger wheels will be necessary to cross some thresholds.

Was thinking of a slotted or strut rail system for the frame, but do like the idea of a locking cabinet to keep the grandkid's fingers away from 48V.

Does anyone have some ideas or photos?
 
Have seen the video from Will using the wire NSF shelf system for inexpensive racking as well. Most of the 24x24x34 height units are not designed to use casters but could be adjusted for lower center of gravity and some kind of mobile platform utilized. Many of the other rack systems are currently not in stock (SOL) and are not shown as caster compatible. We are not in an earthquake zone (North Texas). Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
Second hand toolchest to keep price low and take the drawers out?

Not familiar with server rack battery dimensions though.

If they are deeper then you do get shallower 30cm depth cheaper toolchests and bolt two back to back and cut the backs out between them to create a deeper 8 wheeled cabinet?

Screenshot_20220719-082642_Lazada.jpg
 
I spent an enjoyable time a few months back searching box with dolly wheel options. In the end i just used a steel box I already had and put wheels on them but not server sack sized batteries. I just looked up 48v server rack size so I see what your size requirements are.

Screenshot_20220719-084845_Chrome.jpg

Any cheap steel cabinet you can get and put a 360deg rotating wheel on each corner will work and even a center wheel for extra support if you like. My wheels were cheap and they do taller ones since you said you need to move over obstacles. With weight of 3 or 6 batteries you will need lots of wheels to avoid damaging tiles or wood floors.

My wheels rated for 100kg each.

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Screenshot_20220719-094821_Lazada.jpg

Another alternative is the roady boxes for transporting concert equipment. They are cheap here (3,600 baht = $100 US) and hopefully cheap where you are.

Screenshot_20220719-095329_Lazada.jpg

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Costco has a good convertable platform hand truck for $140 with a 1,000lb rating. Likely one of the more practical solutions if portability is really the primary objective. Add a couple ratchet straps and you should have something pretty solid.

Personally though, I view portability as more of a liability than asset. I want 8 batteries, so I am going to have a rack custom fabricated that will allow me to put the inverter, SCC, and breakers on one side, and the busbars, shunt, and primary battery fuse on the other.

Will's metro shelves are great if you are reconfiguring things all the time, or if your needs just continue to evolve. Don't put casters on with that much weight though; it will be top-heavy and a tipping hazard. I would rather have a Unistrut grid and shelf system that gives me more mounting flexibility... but it is kind of throwing money down the drain. (Not as much as 80-20 extrusions though.)
 
Is this for one time use or are you going to be carting these around regularly?

If it's one time only, grab a pair of handtrucks from uhaul for a day and get them where they need to go.
If you are going to move them regularly, then rack them up in a real server style rack. You don't have to use a full size rack, you can use a half rack or look for something like APC's full size units that are designed to fit under a standard size doorway without needing to tip the rack.
If you are going to move them around, then get something with rack rails, that will greatly stiffen the entire structure when you mount the batteries in the frame.

You can get a lift table at HF, Northern Tool, etc. and that makes moving and adding them to a rack much easier than trying to play jenga with the heavy packs. And it's much easier to pre-position the rack, then load it up, than it is to move a fully populated rack if you don't have a lot of experience with them.
 
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