Power is out! How do you get through power outages?

[PeterEde]

GovernmentS

We've come to a point where our government is looking for ways to apply extra taxation to EVs. First they tell you we should all get EVs. And as soon as a large part of the population buys one, they start taxing the hell out of it. So now, businesses are already reverting back to diesel when they need to lease new cars. Well done, you numpties!

I bet that in 5 years from now, our government will be screaming at us for not driving enough EV's. As soon as they get in trouble at the EU for not abiding the directives to reduce emissions, which they signed themselves years ago....

We used to run solaredge batteries but when they died for the second time I decided to wait for Tesla's V3 powerwall. I have more trust in them than solaredge.

You've not seen the new tax on cars 70-90k. Must have mileage of 3.5 ltr per 100. Or pay 33%tax.
Basically buy an ev or pay 33% on top

 

[PeterEde]

You should be able to get Sonnen battery systems there I would think?
We have 2 installed here with similar solar generation capacity as yours.

We still have generator backup though as the aquarium has cost more than the batteries

Yes had one originally. The power company changed it out for powerwall

 

[sugar]

Since (in our case) - every time this has been an issue - it's happened when we were away - resulting in multiple losses, a generator, natural gas - that turns on automatically. The portable generators are a great option if one is at home IMHO

This thread is making me realize I need to have something to kick in when I'm not home. I do have an Apex, which should notify me when it disconnects from Fusion (a good indication the wifi and thus power has gone out). I also have a Wyze camera which is also worth its weight in gold for me!

I need to look at one of those battery backups or a generator that turns on automatically. Grateful the boyfriend is an electrician! We're looking at upgrading out panel and doing something there that will help.

 

[sugar]

Geez, that's intense. Great effort there.

Here we tend to have blackouts for a few hours rarely (touch wood). I've probably been through half a dozen with my Waterbox 70.2 where it'd be out for a short period or upto a couple hours but I remember one time it went out and it was quite a long time. A car had hit a power pole after hours and it was down for probably 12 hours +.
Temp wise whilst there was concern at the time, I don't think that it changed too much to affect anything.
I ended up doing similar to yourself. Set a timer for every 45 mins, slept on the couch next to the tank and would get up to give it a good mix by using a measuring jug to take out some water and pour it back into the tank numerous times for maybe 10 mins at a time before resetting the timer and going back to sleep for another 30-45 mins. (Didn't lose anything thankfully)

After that my brother gave me a UPS to borrow which I don't think I ever actually had to use.
When I moved state I returned it and hadn't replaced it. I did buy an ecotech battery backup but I only had a nero 3 at the time so it didn't work with it so it sat in a drawer for 12-18 months.
My new tank I've just set up has mp40's on it so I've since hooked up 2 of them to run on the backup.

Gosh, you just brought back memories!! I also slept on the couch! Lol. What a wild ride.

Like others said, I'll need to get a battery/UPS setup going to give me a several-hour buffer for when the power cuts out when I'm not at home to get the generator out!

 

[sugar]

I’m in Canada as well, but depends a lot on where exactly.
For me, in a major city, the longest power outage in 60 years lasted 12 ish hours, so the bubbler is all I need.

But if that was not the case, I’d certainly invest in a generator to maintain my system, worth every penny!

Yes, people right in/near the city rarely lose power. We're only 20 mins. out but I guess that is far enough! It happens fairly often.

 

[sugar]

portable generator and a transfer switch that will power my tank and home essentials, furnace, refrigerator, sump pump and of course the tank. haven't had to use it in 7 years but better to have it and not need it.

This is just it. I wouldn't even mind if I had a generator and never had to use it. The peace of mind is worth it! Kind of like my pet insurance Hopefully will never have use it!!

 

[sugar]

I use a generator like many. Luckily with the recent storm we were only about a day and a half. We just got it back at 5:30 tonight, which was great as I was expecting to be without it for 3-4 days.

Yes, you would have been hit with the same storms! Glad to hear you were restored quickly, and hopefully you made out ok otherwise!! I couldn't believe the wind we had, it's not common to get wind and rain storms like that (and so warm) this time of year.

 

[sugar]

- Ecoflow battery backup
- IceCap battery back up for my Maxspect gyre
- Frozen saltwater water bottles (salt vs RODI incase they leak) for summertime - Thermacare 16 hour disposable heat packs double sealed in zip lock bag (air removed as much as possible) for wintertime.
- JBL battery air pump (two leads).
- To pull water through the filtration: Horusdy portable battery powered pump - put the intake in the AIO sump and position the output hose into the display

This is being prepared!!

 

[FMF0331]

Generators for me, I have 2 Honda 2200 on stand by. Every 6 months I conduct a start / run test, add a little bit of fuel, crank it up and let it run until it burns all the fuel.
Super Storm Sandy was a doozy. Learned a valuable lesson there.

 

[Ian303]

6 weeks in the heat!! That's rough. Ian was my longest, Irma was about 5 or 6 days. After ian, we were lucky, it drew in colder air from the north and it was a beautiful 70 something degrees afterward. My generator handles the house a/c too(everything but water heater and struggled with the stove). But the great weather made for comfortable yard work. I was the neighborhood "chainsaw maniac". Was kind of fun climbing fallen trees, cutting them down- reminisce of my childhood

Cat 5 baby, whole power network had to be rebuilt and unusually warm temps for October. Ian had me worried but wasn’t our turn. Watch them all like a hawk now!!
Have vortex battery back up , 10k and 2k generator now, swapped AC to geothermal and can now run it with the 10k.
Back home In UK never had to worry about this one with my tanks

 

[fishybizzness]

That is INTENSE. I simply cannot imagine!!

Lol! That's child's play! I live in the virgin Islands and after Marilyn we were out until 2 weeks before Christmas! For irma it wasn't as bad, we got power just before Thanksgiving at my house. Some friends of mine didn't get power until January! A generator isn't a luxury here its a necessity!

 

[DarkReefer]

Gosh, you just brought back memories!! I also slept on the couch! Lol. What a wild ride.

Like others said, I'll need to get a battery/UPS setup going to give me a several-hour buffer for when the power cuts out when I'm not at home to get the generator out!

lol yeah look, gave myself some flashbacks remembering that one. Was pretty stressful at the time!
Definitely recommend getting a backup or UPS at some point. It's a pain to have to spend some decent money to get something like that, but it'll pay dividends if it saves the life in your tank one day.

 

[zoolan70]

In my old house, I built the power design around the needs of my 500 gallon reef. Generator ready panel, with half of the circuits automatically failing over once I plugged my generator in to the outside of my house. I was never able to convince my wife that we required a permanent standby generator, though.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Deep Cycling Battery, automatically switches on two small 12Vdc pumps, on each Aquarium. Keeps the water moving just enough to keep stuff from dying. House holds Heat well. Also I have Fireplaces and big Buddy Heaters. January 21, lost power for 46 hours, didn’t loose anything. On a test ran the pumps for a week, got tired of checking the battery. Also I have a 12 volt Solar Panel to Charge Batteries back up if needed.

 

[sugar]

Power just came back on minutes ago! Peace and happiness is restored in this home

 

[Reefering1]

Power just came back on minutes ago! Peace and happiness is restored in this home

Yay!! Time for a nice hot shower

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

Yes, you would have been hit with the same storms! Glad to hear you were restored quickly, and hopefully you made out ok otherwise!! I couldn't believe the wind we had, it's not common to get wind and rain storms like that (and so warm) this time of year.

Yah it was a pretty intense storm. We have huge windows at work, and it was wild to see what the wind was doing to the trees and power lines. Tank held up well though. We got lucky a lot of people are not projected to get power back to the weekend or later.

 

[tsharpe291]

Generators for me, I have 2 Honda 2200 on stand by. Every 6 months I conduct a start / run test, add a little bit of fuel, crank it up and let it run until it burns all the fuel.
Super Storm Sandy was a doozy. Learned a valuable lesson there.

sandy was the one that taught me a lesson too.

 

[Ashish Patel]

So i have been in the hobby for 20 years and never lost anyting due to power outage. My ecotech battery backup is 6 years old and last year when the power went out at 6 am in the morning it never kicked on (which i kind of expected). I think around 7am my wife woke me up since the fan stopped and told me the powers out. Anyways my tank has Achilles, Powder, Orange should, Yellow tangs, Purple tangs, Pretty much all fish that I have I could not afford to repurchase and some are not even available. I ended up taking 5 gallon buckets and stiring the water every 15 minutes. Our township told us the power will be back on in 3 hours and luckily my tank was just getting corals so no biggie.

Today, I am absolutely terrified about losing power at night and my ecotech battery not working (so i have to get this working so it gives me enough time to get a generator hooked up). The ecotech battery backup is a life saver and saved my tank many times when I was at work or away since I know the tank loses power for a few hours here and there.

My only concern with using a generator is I have never used one before. There are so many options and I dont want to buy the wrong one and later have to replace it. They are very expensive right now because of the peak time in the US. I read having a transfer switch is required and not to run extension cords inside the doors or windows (something exactly i would do). I also have a basement sump so would be running extension cords to the basement windows and then I would need to run one to the first floor to power at least one MP60 or closed loop. I am concerned of losing power for more than 10 hours and my heat, oxygen levels dropping and causing the carbon dosing to backfire.


does anyone recommend a good generator? I am thinking something thats inverted and 5000 watts. I have 900 watts of heating though 600 watt would suffice, 160 watt return pump, 2 mp60s as the main source of power.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Reading this thread just made me even more scared. I texted my electrician to see how much it would cost to add a transfer switch. this way I can get the 2 circuits my tank is running on hooked up. Who wants a bunch of extension cords. I figure a 6 transfer switch would get my tank running, and maybe first floor furnace, fridge, light and wall outlets in the main living room. Not worried about second floor yet. I want to have this setup for peace of mind. When the power goes out your focus shift to the aquarium and it should really be about making sure your family is safe and comfortable. lol

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