Hi guys, I am about the last person my friends consult on DIY or mechanical things so caveat. But given my growing investment in my reef tank and living in South Florida, I was determined to get an electricity backup for my 300g tank. Here's what I did last month, which seemed reasonably economical and seems to fit the solution:
First, I bought an Ecoflow power supply which given the needs of my mission critical tank equipment can run for 3 or more days without being recharged. This also provides instantaneous switchover and even stores up more battery juice when a storm is coming. It protects the electronics and gives me margin to get my longer term solution running.
Second,
- I bought a 7000w inverter trip-fuel (gas, propane, natural gas) generator from DuraMax on sale for $1100. It comes with a 15' natural gas hose.
- I spent around $500 to get my natural gas line equipped with another bib and regulator (I think this cost was excessive but it was a "friend")
- I hired a local generator company to install the necessary equipment [to code] to allow me to connect the generator to my main panel with an interlock. This was pricey at $1600 but I wanted everything to be to code. Didn't want to kill anyone from the power company or myself!
- At this stage, I can switch on/off any of the circuits in my house to match the capacity available on the generator.
- By testing it, it seems that I can keep all of the circuits in my on except those that draw heavy: so no a/c units, stove would be iffy, microwave is possible. The key is that all of my aquarium runs with a huge margin to spare. My fans run but on the tank and in the house. I have a 1100w chiller and there's plenty of room for that.
I have little aquarium experience but my experience in Florida is that the power can go off for up to 3-4 hours maybe once a year, for a day or longer maybe once every 5-10 years. This seemed worthwhile insurance and without the cost of a whole house generator.
First, I bought an Ecoflow power supply which given the needs of my mission critical tank equipment can run for 3 or more days without being recharged. This also provides instantaneous switchover and even stores up more battery juice when a storm is coming. It protects the electronics and gives me margin to get my longer term solution running.
Second,
- I bought a 7000w inverter trip-fuel (gas, propane, natural gas) generator from DuraMax on sale for $1100. It comes with a 15' natural gas hose.
- I spent around $500 to get my natural gas line equipped with another bib and regulator (I think this cost was excessive but it was a "friend")
- I hired a local generator company to install the necessary equipment [to code] to allow me to connect the generator to my main panel with an interlock. This was pricey at $1600 but I wanted everything to be to code. Didn't want to kill anyone from the power company or myself!
- At this stage, I can switch on/off any of the circuits in my house to match the capacity available on the generator.
- By testing it, it seems that I can keep all of the circuits in my on except those that draw heavy: so no a/c units, stove would be iffy, microwave is possible. The key is that all of my aquarium runs with a huge margin to spare. My fans run but on the tank and in the house. I have a 1100w chiller and there's plenty of room for that.
I have little aquarium experience but my experience in Florida is that the power can go off for up to 3-4 hours maybe once a year, for a day or longer maybe once every 5-10 years. This seemed worthwhile insurance and without the cost of a whole house generator.
