Alan Melia said

Hi Peter I note your replacement of the sealed batteries in the UPS with

old

car batteries. The UPS will charge them correctly but the car batteries

will

produce hydrogen, I believe, even on a maintenance charge. The sealed
batteries are designed not to produce hydrogen (by careful design of the
electrode sizes) unless maltreated ( then they bulge alarmingly ). I know
your shack is in an extension and hope it is well ventilated.

The UPS batteries have been used to power the Decca transmitter until
replaced with car batteries. The problem with these batteries is that they
do not have enough capacity even though they are float charged. The charger
will run the transmitter without the batteries but the hum level is high.
The car batteries produce a much 'stiffer' supply and the power is higher,
especially when transmitting QRS.
The batteries are located in the garden shed together with the transmitter
so there is inherent ventilation. The batteries bubble quite a bit and I do
take the point about safety. I am considering locating them in a wooden box
outside the shed.
Regards,
Peter, G3LDO

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