Well, you know, the people who steal batteries from cell towers just show up with an angle grinder…
I’ve heard of people who literally cemented steel bars into the floor and welded security across the batteries… and the thieves just ripped the steel out of the concrete (probably used hydraulic jacks). The more remote the area, the more time they have.
I find that the best security is to sleep under my panels. That is why I put them on my roof, else it might get a bit cramped under there 
Yea, I saw same over time … there is just no stopping a committed organized drive to steal XYZ en-mass.
Just look at how they steal the metal from Eskom pylons …
Next level I say … only insurance can help one with that.
How about a bit of concrete to help thermal efficiency!!
Even this doesn’t work anymore!
From (because a reference is good academic practice ;)): https://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/351685-the-creative-ways-vodacom-fights-cellphone-tower-battery-thieves.html
I know someone who up until recently worked for a company who does maintenance on cell towers.
It’s unbelievable to hear the stories and to see the photos of the lengths the companies go to, to try and secure and then the lengths the criminals go to, to steel the stuff.
Hardened steel, concrete, epoxy, blast doors, pepper spray cannons name it, but they still steel it and the sites doesn’t even have to be very remote. They also can’t put down security guards, if they can’t silence the security with R500 then they do it with a bullet.
One of the guys working for me currently use to do maintenence on cell towers, they were not allowed to go to the towers without armed guards escorting them. Without guards they were sitting ducks the moment they unlocked the towers, use to get robbed and assaulted while trying to do their jobs…
The particular story I heard was actually of a radio tower housing a repeater (for radio communication). It’s up on a mountain somewhere, and it is actually somewhat remote. You can get close with a vehicle, but the last bit is climbing. Still didn’t prevent battery theft…
Weird / interesting thing according to this guy I know, in certain areas and at certain times they are not so much interested in batteries and at other times they will again spend hours and do everything possible to break out the batteries. I guess this is due to supply and demand similar as with car high jackings.
They always steel the coax cable for the copper, a 100m run of 7/8 hard line costs around R20k to replace but they hardly get R500 for the copper in that cable.
Much of that industry started using aluminium coax even though it’s much more expensive. Somewhere on the ground where the cable is visible they will then cut off the outer jacket to expose the aluminium so the perps can see that it’s aluminium and not copper, this sometimes helps unless they just anyway cut it off and leave it there just to vandalize.