I have 2 sites with 800 Ah each of front terminal batteries. The are Northstar Silver that I got from some telecom surplus dealer. It was 12 months from the manufacture date, maybe they clear them out at that point, they didn’t need much charge to top them off though. Interstate has telecom batteries they private label from someone. Exide/GNB has a Marathon M FT. C&D makes them.
Most sites I don’t rack mount them and just use Group 27 AGM batteries (or two have the 8D Lifelines). Tessco sells complete rackmount battery systems (big $$$), so maybe they have the shelves. From: TJ Trout Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2015 2:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Rack mount batteries Do you have any brand of battery and the corresponding shelf in mind? On Sat, Nov 21, 2015 at 12:52 PM, Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: If you are comparing similar batteries, the difference for front terminal is not 4X, maybe 1.5X or less. But you will only find premium deep cycle AGM batteries in that form factor. So if you are comparing a $300 battery to a $75 battery there’s more different than just the shape and where the terminals are. It is a lot easier to wire and replace rack mounted batteries if the terminals are on the front, and you just pull on the front rope handle to pull them forward and out. Some of them come with these nice jumpers that connect adjacent batteries in series. And it minimizes the chance of accidental arc welding, which can happen if you are using a wrench in a tight space above top terminal batteries in a metal rack. If you have lots of space above the batteries in the rack, these may not be issues. Shipping cost of course is a big factor when buying 500+ pounds of batteries. Buying local or getting a bunch of them on a pallet is best. From: TJ Trout Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2015 1:27 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Rack mount batteries I haven't calc'ed the exact load yet, so thats my estimate. Those 12v 100ah front post telecom batteries are super expensive, you can get the same watt hours in a marine battery for 1/4 the price! Those are the cleanest though, especially if you can get the special shelf made just for those batteries. I guess maybe i'll do a 4 post rack and throw some marine batteries on the shelfs On Sat, Nov 21, 2015 at 11:18 AM, Josh Luthman <[email protected]> wrote: That's a hell of a range. What kind of load and runtime are you looking for? Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 On Nov 21, 2015 2:02 PM, "TJ Trout" <[email protected]> wrote: Could someone recommend a battery / shelf combo to rack mount some batteries for a home brew dc ups ? I need like 400ah-800ah of batteries mounted cleanly on a rack or otherwise that won't break the bank. I know the cellular power plants are really nice with the slim batteries but aren't those really pricey ?
