Re: Battery Boxes...What One Company Designed

[nospam.clare.nce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 17:27:35 +0100, John Beardmore
<wookie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>In message <1126968408.243469.263290@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
>Too_Many_Tools <too_many_tools@xxxxxxxxx> writes
>
>>I think that is the path I may take...in the past I have found that
>>since the electronics continue to get "better" it is usually not worth
>>trying to design in old stuff....and sometimes "old" means just a few
>>years old.
>>
>>My cost for the UPS equipment I am able to find is nil but one needs to
>>factor in long time power usage (idle current), ability to replace it
>>when it fails and suitability for the home enviroment. It is a fool who
>>designs a system around a surplus component that when it fails, you
>>have to toss the whole system.
>
>I don't know.  Any future 'surplus' inverter is likely to be smaller,
>cheaper and more powerful than its predecessor, and it's easy enough to
>rewire to another battery voltage.
>
>
>> This battery box in question is a
>>component that can be useful as my system evolves as it will.
>>
>>This is one reason for the question of "what voltage" since it is
>>apparent that the trend is to different voltages than in the past.
>
>But not to a single obvious choice of voltage I fear.
>
>
>Cheers, J/.


Well, with 8 6 volt batteries, the obvious alternatives are 12, 16
(not common at all), 24,32 or 48 volts.36 volts doesn't work out too
well, and 72 and 96 are out of the question. The most common voltages
for low cost inverters and UPS systems are 12 and 24 - with 48 being
used on several large units.
Problem with 48 volt systems is they are generally larger capacity -
and should really have a larger battery pack than you have.

I'd suspect 24 volts is the most likely scenario in your position. (or
wire it as 2 12 volt packs that you can easily switch s/p for 12 or
24)