Pharos Marine has designed a range of special battery boxes to meet the requirements of Zone 1 certification while offering ingress protection to IP56. The boxes, which are fabricated in either stainless or galvanised steel, include a special ventilated lid which prevents the build up of evolved gases during charging.

Zone 1 Ex e certification has been obtained for the Pharos Marine PV system when fitted with a battery comprising ten Alcad Vantage VN 285 cells connected in parallel. This provides a nominal 12 V and 570 Ah capacity at the C5 rate.

Versions are also available which offer 24 V and 285 Ah as well as 6 V and 1140 Ah.

Alcad Vantage VN cells are designed specifically for medium to low rate discharge duties and are well suited to replace VRLA batteries for critical applications such as offshore installations or other marine applications where a reliable source of back-up power is essential.

A key feature of the Vantage VN cells is their pocket plate electrode technology which requires only minimal attention after installation, as their non-corrosive construction and efficient electrochemistry reduces the need for repeated checks, topping up and recharging. Inherent reliability over a 20 year or longer service life eliminates the fear of unpredictable 'sudden death' failure sometimes encountered with lead-acid batteries and effects cost savings by eliminating regular replacement, maintenance and down time.

Compared with VRLA batteries, Vantage VN batteries are also more tolerant of electrical abuse such as overcharging or even complete discharge and perform well at temperatures ranging from 0ºC to 40ºC.

Vantage VN series cells are available in nominal capacities from 8 Ah to 476 Ah.

MJ Information No: 18742