5 ms·

I wonder why don't installers put those batteries underground? If you have a front/back yard is it safer just to borrow a battery there?

klondike_ 5y ago
Corrosion
- agermanov 5y ago
  We have metal pipes underground for 10+years. Can't powerwall handle that? Also you probably don't need full enclosure to be metal, can be some corrosion resistant material, and only metal heatsink.
  - marcinzm 5y ago
    Pipes leak all the time from corrosion or get penetrated by tree roots or get punctured by construction or get damaged in earthquakes. Lithium batteries do not need external oxygen to burn and toxic smoke coming up from your backyard with no way to reach the source doesn't sound like a fun proposition.
    - agermanov 5y ago
      How about corrosion resistant enclosure? And even it will be damaged (probability is probably low) you can have a sensor to detect that and replace the enclosure. Batteries burning underground should be less a concern compared to them burning on a wood wall of a house. In case of an incident circuit breaker will turn them off, and batteries will burn themself w/o damaging anything else.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      If you're gonna have a fire a hole in the ground is probably just about the best place for it.
      - wffurr 5y ago
        Actually, it’s a terrible place to have a fire because you can’t get to it to put it out: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/140716-door-to-hell-darvaza-crater-george-kourounis-expedition https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/140716-...
        throwaway0a5e 5y ago
        The edge case is not the rule! Unless you happen to have a coal seam in your yard or live on a peat bog it's overwhelmingly more likely that it'll run out of fuel before it hurts anything. People have been digging fire pits (or building up the ground to the same effect) for millennia because it makes fires more controllable.
chapium 5y ago
Underground is not dry.
- agy 5y ago
  Can you have a sealed enclosure with some air presure valve?
  - maxerickson 5y ago
    It suddenly costs a lot more than the garage.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Sealed enclosures always leak.

klondike_ 5y ago

Corrosion

agermanov 5y ago
We have metal pipes underground for 10+years. Can't powerwall handle that? Also you probably don't need full enclosure to be metal, can be some corrosion resistant material, and only metal heatsink.
- marcinzm 5y ago
  Pipes leak all the time from corrosion or get penetrated by tree roots or get punctured by construction or get damaged in earthquakes. Lithium batteries do not need external oxygen to burn and toxic smoke coming up from your backyard with no way to reach the source doesn't sound like a fun proposition.
  - agermanov 5y ago
    How about corrosion resistant enclosure? And even it will be damaged (probability is probably low) you can have a sensor to detect that and replace the enclosure. Batteries burning underground should be less a concern compared to them burning on a wood wall of a house. In case of an incident circuit breaker will turn them off, and batteries will burn themself w/o damaging anything else.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    If you're gonna have a fire a hole in the ground is probably just about the best place for it.
    - wffurr 5y ago
      Actually, it’s a terrible place to have a fire because you can’t get to it to put it out: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/140716-door-to-hell-darvaza-crater-george-kourounis-expedition https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/140716-...
      - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
        The edge case is not the rule! Unless you happen to have a coal seam in your yard or live on a peat bog it's overwhelmingly more likely that it'll run out of fuel before it hurts anything. People have been digging fire pits (or building up the ground to the same effect) for millennia because it makes fires more controllable.

chapium 5y ago

Underground is not dry.

agy 5y ago
Can you have a sealed enclosure with some air presure valve?
- maxerickson 5y ago
  It suddenly costs a lot more than the garage.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Sealed enclosures always leak.