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Back-up power
Running low voltage 24VAC or 12VDC through the same conduits as 120/240 VAC is frowned upon by many building codes. You are supposed to run the low voltage power and control wiring through a separate conduit. If you live far enough out, building codes may not apply, but it is worth mentioning.
Any wire in a conduit has to have good enough insulation to insulate it against other wires carrying different voltage. But, you do need to be careful. This argument extends to low voltage telephone and computer lines, coax cable used for TV or radio communications, and other such "non-power" wiring runs.
I fully understand the problem of keeping the batteries warm. I keep a bank of batteries for my ham radio. I put them in old ice chests. The plastic case and good insulation works well as a battery box. I have one big Igloo cooler that will hold 4 deep cycle 6 VDC batteries like are used on golf carts. I leave the water drain open on the cooler to allow some venting. In my climate, heat from charging the battery will keep it above freezing, but in worse climates a thermostatic heat tape or small light bulb would keep the temperature high enough.
None of these "heaters" need to draw over about 20W. The heater might also be a small 12VDC lightbulb inside the cooler that is run by the batteries. My battery bank would keep a 5W bulb running continuously for about 1000 hours and would normally be run by a charger. You could even add a themostatic switch to only turn on the light bulb if the temperature got below 40F or so.
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The reason that I went with coolers is because they are acid proof, will catch any spills that might occur when checking electrolyte or adding water, and they insulate against both heat and cold for the batteries. The coolers that I use generally have been discarded for a cracked exterior, broken hinge, leaking lid or other minor problem that make their use for cold beer less than ideal.
The heat tape that you describe sounds like the same thing that I use on plumbing and it is what I was mentioning in my previous post also. These tapes tend to only produce a few watts of heat. Higher power tapes might overheat if not in contact with a water pipe or the concrete that you described. I have one mounted on my water lines that has an electronic thermostat built into the cord that comes on at 39 degrees. It makes 18w of heat. I do not know if it will stand up to a sharp bend if you wrapped it directly around a battery. Anyway, the concrete slap idea certainly has merit.
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I have never had a problem with hydrogen buildup, but I tend to use old coolers that do not make a perfect seal. Some of the coolers have cracks or holes that caused them to be retired from beverage service in the first place. Hydrogen is a pretty small molecule and will leak through most rubber hoses like helium on a TIG welder, so I doubt that it will stay confined easily, but the points made are good.
I think that I might consider drilling a hole in the top of the cooler lid and installing a couple of L pipe fittings to make a splashproof vent. That combined with the open drain vent should ever keep a problem from happening. My battery boxes are outside. Being outside, the boxes keep the batteries from getting too cold during the mild (20F)winters or too hot in the desert sun.
I use the rod type heaters in my gun safes also. I think that they may put out too much power for a well insulated environment. I have never tested them, but I believe that they do not have thermostats, but I could be wrong. Where I live, the humidity doesn't often get much above 25%, so gun rust is a minor problem.
Earlier in the thread, someone was talking about air cooled motors not heating up. When I was growing up on the farm, I used to ride a dirt bike for checking cattle and so forth even during the winter. Snow kicked up from the front wheel would cool the cylinder and the two stroke would not run well. When the temperature was very cold, I would wrap the fins loosely with aluminum foil to limit the air flow and cooling from snow. This worked well. You have to experiment to find out how much air to restrict. I also notice that diesel tractor trailer rigs use a cover over their radiators in the winter. I suspect that it helps to maintain a proper engine temperature.
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Gas Generator Weather Protecti
04-10-2003, 10:55 
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