diy solar

diy solar

Safe Enclosure recommendations?

KCBlues said:
I have a question that this thread's topic triggered...

I keep seeing a lot of installation pics in RVs with components mounted on both carpet-covered and uncovered plywood and keep wondering if they missed this in the manual, or if I just take things to literally/seriously?

"Mount the solar charger vertically on a non-flammable substrate, with the electrical terminals facing downwards."

After having lost almost everything I owned when my parent's house burned while I was in college, I admit I take fire prevention very seriously...

I am planning on using Hardi Board between the pass-through wall and my components since is is rated fire resistant and the wall can use some reinforcement.

Any pros or cons in doing so?
Click to expand...

Cement board is good; just make sure to wear proper gear when cutting and working with it. It's not great for you. Many don't know this.

The other option is fireproof paint over wood which I see used a lot in boats; and probably a good choice for the RV installs.

Certainly never over carpet - that's asking for Zeus to toss a few lightening bolts at you.
 
I doubt hardiboard would hold up, long term (20 years), in an RV application without being sandwiched into an assembly. There is a heck of a lot of vibration going on when you are heading down the road.
I left the automotive carpet in the bay where I located the battery rack in our RV. It's a good vibration damper and with the batteries in a metal rack enclosure, I didn't think it was a safety risk. I could not bring myself to build a plywood style enclosure for raw cells, so I spend the extra money for the server rack style metal cased unit.
 
Sanwizard said:
This is why there is such a need for a battery kit like the Seplos Mason, but without the cells. If they made a kit like that which fit 16 280ah cells, they would make a killing selling them to folks like myself who have the cells, but want a sturdy way to mount and stack the banks.
I bought 4 135ah kits with the cells, but would love a 16s 280ah setup the same way without cells. Its kinda dangerous with all of us coming up with ways to hold the packs we build, especially if inside a house. The toolbox method is nice, (mine are also in a toolbox) but a built for purpose solution is needed in the market.
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And Later, in July 2022, we see on Seplos Mason a 280 Ahr kit without cells offered! I have asked for a quote.
 
OffGridForGood said:
Oh, Can you say how much these kits cost? about?
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I paid $235 per kit without the BMS(already had two Selpos 200amp BMS's, and $450 per kit with a 200amp BMS included. Shipping was a bit over $400. The end result though is a rack mountable or stackable 14.2KW battery for around $1850 all in(including the 280ah cells)! That is an awesome value in my opinion. They are very heavy though.
 
Sanwizard said:
I paid $235 per kit without the BMS(already had two Selpos 200amp BMS's, and $450 per kit with a 200amp BMS included. Shipping was a bit over $400. The end result though is a rack mountable or stackable 14.2KW battery for around $1850 all in(including the 280ah cells)! That is an awesome value in my opinion. They are very heavy though.
Click to expand...
Be advised that I was one of the first to buy the 280ah EVE kits, so the price I paid may be different now. They are worth the money though. Their BMS's are also one of the best I have found so far. The ability to connect them together and load share is pretty cool. (Although I have yet to test all seven of mine together).
 
jberger said:
I doubt hardiboard would hold up, long term (20 years), in an RV application without being sandwiched into an assembly. There is a heck of a lot of vibration going on when you are heading down the road.
I left the automotive carpet in the bay where I located the battery rack in our RV. It's a good vibration damper and with the batteries in a metal rack enclosure, I didn't think it was a safety risk. I could not bring myself to build a plywood style enclosure for raw cells, so I spend the extra money for the server rack style metal cased unit.
Click to expand...

I laminated 1/4" plywood to the Hardie Backerboard. That gave the cement board a lot more strength than it had on its own. This is in a bumper pull toy hauler that sees plenty of rough roads. I'm using the cement board only for a lid, not sides.
 
Sanwizard said:
Be advised that I was one of the first to buy the 280ah EVE kits, so the price I paid may be different now. They are worth the money though. Their BMS's are also one of the best I have found so far. The ability to connect them together and load share is pretty cool. (Although I have yet to test all seven of mine together).
Click to expand...
yes i got a quote and the price (like everything) has gone up some.
i am playing with a design for one unit to be on casters on the back panel, so it can be rolled around on a concrete floor or transport to my cabin in my truck.
 
this is a great thread! I will be building a double-wall 5/8" drywall box for my lifepo batteries and installing a smoke detector above the inverter. both are in the service room next to the water tank and concrete. If upgrade to a larger system in the future, it's all going in a dedicated exterior vented fire cabinet in the garage.
 
I would say .. the easy and cheap way is "aerated concrete", cost nothing.. easy to cut and glue together, highly resistant to fire.

Box cost me 20€ for a 10cm thick box, for a 16S, 280A pack.

beton-cellulaire-6297-l760-h550.jpg

Box
 
Honuz said:
Ho really ... strange, cause it's a pretty interesting material, thought there would be a market for that in the US.
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I would agree but there is a lot of the cool environmentally friendly/cheap/useful materials like that that are not readily available in the USA.. triple pane windows (many order from manufacturer in Europe), wood fiber board, glass foam, ground screws, etc, etc.
 
You can get a ground screw here in the USA (I used them to set fence posts) they also have larger ones that beed equipment to install.

Americangroundscrew.com
 
coding2021 said:
I have seen a couple of completely burned homes in this forum caused by the battery/inverter/etc... I can't help but wonder if anyone out there has fire-proofed the crap out of their set up. I have a neighbor that put all of their inverters and batteries in their master closet in the house. I think personally, I am thinking of building a "solar shed" that will house my batteries, inverters. I want to make a fire wall between the two (minimize destruction in case one side starts burning).

Any one else thinking about this and what specifically have you done?
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My whole system is 20 ft from any structure… .all electrics and all panels are outside …I don’t need a firewall . When complete the only thing touching my dwelling will a 30 ft 6 ga shore power cord plugged into a recepticle.. Obviously I think your idea is great.. good luck.
 
mrzed001 said:
Check this thread out ... we talked a lot about shelves and cabinets ... (with pics and videos and ...)
diysolarforum.com

Shelves for 3x 280Ah 48v LiFePO4 Banks?

My 48 280Ah cells arrived a few weeks ago, but I have yet to unpack all of them for balancing due to other projects taking priority. I would like to have a storage shelving solution for the cells and would like some input. I was going to have a cabinet custom made, but a price-tag of over $3500...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com
Click to expand...
LFP can’t go on fire anymore then any high current device. Won’t be spending too much money on housing theM
 
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