In the last couple of years, I replaced all my lawn care equipment with battery powered and it has worked fantastically. I’m sure there will soon be other large batteries that need to be charged.
However I also note headlines about fires from cheap or damaged batteries. I don’t buy cheap and I do take care of my stuff so I’m not too worried but wonder if it would be worth building some sort of battery charging enclosure. Does anyone have any links, ideas or references?
My first thought is I have an unfinished basement with concrete walls and floor so that should be fire resistant: could it be as simple as stacking cinder blocks or pavers? My second thought is that would make a great oven, so no. So is there something I can do for my chargers to protect my house from any chance of fire?
Take a look at cement board and the codes for your area for a wood stove.
There’s certain gap requirements for heat etc but you could rig up something fairly simply whether a box or more open enclosure.
There are also fire extinguishers that are activated by heat and sit above a potential fire source. People use them in 3D printer enclosures fairly often. Batteries burn for a long long time depending on how charged they are so it would have limited effectiveness.
This could actually be a really interesting and useful product idea. Maybe a kit with GFCI outlet, surge protector bar with fused outlets, huge spacing between outlets to allow for large plugs, metal/cement board case, wire shelving, ventilation fans to keep batteries cool but have louvre shut to cut oxygen for fires. Hmmm I want this for my garage.
Well, if we’re dreaming big ….. my gas water heater has a metal cage surrounding the burner section that is supposed to suppress the flame. Supposedly the cage removed heat or something so any flame didn’t extend beyond. I wonder if something like that would keep a battery fire caged