Battery back up

[fishcrf450r]

Deep cycle marine battery, battery tender. Able to run your gyre or mp40/60 and also vectra pumps.

Can the gyre run on a deep cycle batt pluged into the backup power port ? And switch over automaticaly during power outage ?
I would like to do this .

 

[GatorScott]

Can someone link us to what we would need to power a mp10 powerhead with a battery? What type of battery tender?

Thanks

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

As far as the charger goes, really any will work (if you just want some links, skip to the end of the post :)). You just have to make sure it's a battery maintainer and NOT just a battery charger. Battery maintainers switch into maintenance mode once the battery is full, and you can leave them connected essentially forever. Regular dumb chargers do not stop once the battery is full, and will attempt to cram current into the battery until it fails.

Another thing to consider is charge times. Battery maintainers (Battery Tenders included) will have a given charge capacity. I have the Battery Tender Junior, which provides 0.75 amps. This roughly equates to 0.75 amps per hour of charging capacity. To get a rough idea of charge time, simply divide your battery's capacity by the chargers amp hour capacity. For example, my battery has a capacity of 50A. For me, the equation would look like this:

50A battery / 0.75Ah charger = 66 hours of charge time

While this is glossing over charge rates at different charge modes and the remaining charge left in the battery, this is good enough for a rough idea of how long a charge may take. If you'd like to substitute in your own variables, you may do so. Just divide battery capacity by charge capacity:

50A battery / 1Ah charger = 50 hours of charge time
50A battery / 3Ah charger = 16 hours of charge time

You can find high-capacity chargers, which can offer 10Ah+ of charging capacity. Personally though, I believe it's better to charge a battery slower. The faster a battery is charged, the more it heats up, which could lead to failure down the road. I'm not sure if this is actually true, as I can't find any solid sources, but my reading of anecdotal evidence and opinions seems to suggest it is true. Plus, if your power only goes out once every few weeks or months, it won't matter if your battery takes 2 -3 days to recharge.

Personally, unless you have over 100Ah of capacity or have several batteries connected to form a battery bank, I would get something with around 3 to 6 amps of capacity. The benefit of having a smaller charger is they usually don't need active cooling (read: not another fan adding noise to your living space). They also usually are pretty cheap, between $15 and $30. Battery Tenders are a fine option, but anything from a brand name (Energizer, Schumacher, Black and Decker, etc) will likely do the job. Just look for something that's a battery maintainer, and make sure the charger explicitly says it works with AGM or Gel batteries. Here are a few decent options:

Black and Decker 6 amp - $35 (Amazon)
Schumacher 3 amp - $33 (Amazon)

In addition to a charger to keep the battery topped up, you'll also need some sort of plug that fits into your Vortech's battery backup power input. I've never done this before, so I can't say for certain which size you'll need, but other guides seem to recommend a 1.3mm size H plug. You should probably seek out a specific Vortech-related DIY for this part though. You want to make sure the polarity is right so you don't short out your controller.