Battery Backup

[VintageReefer]

If you want simplicity plug and play:

Look for any power station that has the "UPS" feature.

Correct

I use ecoflow river 3's. I just plug everything into it and then its plugged into the wall. If the power goes out it switches from AC to DC. If your have more power demanding needs. You should factor that in. I can get away with it for several hours before I need the generator to kick on.

The river 3 plus version has 3x more juice as well for additional needs. That or again look for other brands.

The river 3 is 245wh with a 300w inverter. It’s a entry model ok for a few hours tops with a low load.

The river 3 plus is a 300wh with a 600w inverter. It has more juice but barely anymore capacity (runtime). This is a 300$ power station…with a very small battery and decent inverter.

For 100$ more than the river 3 plus, you can get 4x the runtime and twice the inverter power

The units being suggested are 1000-2000wh with 2000w inverters

 

[KQuillan]

The reality is all of these should last 8-10 years and almost none will have issues during the warranty period anyway. SeeDevil gives “2 year full warranty and lifetime support”


Same with the SeeDevil, and BigBlue, both of which I highly recommend


Only issue on units pulling very high amps to charge. My servomaster has same app capability for charge amps but I no longer recommend this brand and it’s off market anyway

Yes they all should be roughly 10 year battery lifespan

What is your budget and how many watt hours do you want ?

I will say this…the biggest SeeDevil is a $2000 unit…and Amazon has it for 600$. The only downside to the SeeDevil compared to others is it does not have that super high speed charging, but also consider it’s twice the amount of battery to charge so naturally it will take more time. There is no app. It’s an American company that built a quality product with no extras.

At the end of the day I want as long of runtime as possible. There simply is nothing else in this capacity near this price. 600$ for 2100wh and 400$ for 1132wh are both great prices. Buy now before they realize the pricing mistake lol

These temporarily are $400 and $600 on Amazon

So the Sea Devil is a good choice if I'm understanding you correctly?

Also, because I really don't know and appreciate the help, but you just plug your equipment into this unit and this unit plugs into the wall and if the power goes out, then this automatically turns on your equipment?

 

[VintageReefer]

So the Sea Devil is a good choice if I'm understanding you correctly?

Also, because I really don't know and appreciate the help, but you just plug your equipment into this unit and this unit plugs into the wall and if the power goes out, then this automatically turns on your equipment?

Yes and that is correct.

The anker suggested early (had a Best Buy link) is also a good suggestion. It works the same way, has a few more features but slightly less run time. Also 30$ more for anker but longer warranty

For the 600$ SeeDevil model, there is almost nothing comparable to its capacity / runtime for under $1000. Not from any decent company at least.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Correct



The river 3 is 245wh with a 300w inverter. It’s a entry model ok for a few hours tops with a low load.

The river 3 plus is a 300wh with a 600w inverter. It has more juice but barely anymore capacity (runtime). This is a 300$ power station…with a very small battery and decent inverter.

For 100$ more than the river 3 plus, you can get 4x the runtime and twice the inverter power

The units being suggested are 1000-2000wh with 2000w inverters

Yea its meant for nano tanks at best. The river 3 plus has the extension for the 800wh+ and 600w inverter.

For bigger tanks its really meant to keep pumps moving for oxygen. Though I do like to use a backup heater to keep temp above 74F. It keeps the power consumption down a bit until I get home.

For larger tanks. 100% need something above 1kwh and if possible, even run a cable to a solar for extra longivity.

 

[Idech]

These stations aren’t great with heaters, they are high wattage draw devices and kill battery life.

What about if you plug them into a mart plug (on the battery back-up) that’s programmed to go on say, 10 minutes every hour ? Would that work for long enough for one 250 watts heater or two ?

 

[VintageReefer]

What about if you plug them into a mart plug (on the battery back-up) that’s programmed to go on say, 10 minutes every hour ? Would that work for long enough for one 250 watts heater or two ?

What is a mart plug

 

[Dragen Fiend]

What about if you plug them into a mart plug (on the battery back-up) that’s programmed to go on say, 10 minutes every hour ? Would that work for long enough for one 250 watts heater or two ?

Wouldn't make real sense since your heater is not on 24/7. Its not drawing a constant load.

Either you do a very large battery backup that can handle the max loads. Or you add a smaller heater for a lower temp target to maintain that is easier on the battery.

 

[VintageReefer]

Wouldn't make real sense since your heater is not on 24/7. Its not drawing a constant load.

Either you do a very large battery backup that can handle the max loads. Or you add a smaller heater for a lower temp target to maintain that is easier on the battery.

Correct. Without knowing ambient room temp, and whatever formula is needed, I can’t predict how often the tank will drop 1-2 degrees, and how long it takes a heater to correct it.

We do know the heaters come on and off.

If we assume for example / estimate purposes they are on for 1 min and off for 2 min, on average, then we can figure out how many hours a battery backup could run wit the heater connected

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Correct. Without knowing ambient room temp, and whatever formula is needed, I can’t predict how often the tank will drop 1-2 degrees, and how long it takes a heater to correct it.

We do know the heaters come on and off.

If we assume for example / estimate purposes they are on for 1 min and off for 2 min, on average, then we can figure out how many hours a battery backup could run wit the heater connected

Yea only real way is using a smart power meter. Govee are great and fairly cheap. For my 5G tank that has a 50w heater. It kicks on every 20 minutes or so and stays on for about 1-2 minutes. I can see the power chart from hours to 30 days out. I'm a bit of a smart home nut so I like data.

 

[dangles]

So many great suggestions and not a single “Buy the Ecotech battery backup”
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I love this so much


There should be an “emergency plans” forum with stuff like this stickied.

 

[VintageReefer]

A 50w heater coming on for 1-2 min each hour ago shouldn’t affect run time too much

 

[bubbgee]

The one in my last pic will run my return pump for 39 hours, automatically, in an outage.

How about a heater?

I just went through power outage during the fires here in LA and my icecap battery pack took care of the powerheads but now I am thinking heater since it was cold. Good thing it was just for about three hours but I just got lucky and others here have no power for a few days already.

 

[VintageReefer]

So many great suggestions and not a single “Buy the Ecotech battery backup”

Because it’s overpriced antiquated garbage battery tech lol

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I love this so much


There should be an “emergency plans” forum with stuff like this stickied.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

So many great suggestions and not a single “Buy the Ecotech battery backup”
.
.
.
.
I love this so much


There should be an “emergency plans” forum with stuff like this stickied.

$200 for a 18 Amp-Hour 12-volt sealed battery.

Hard no. My river 3 I paid $160 lol.

 

[VintageReefer]

How about a heater?

I just went through power outage during the fires here in LA and my icecap battery pack took care of the powerheads but now I am thinking heater since it was cold. Good thing it was just for about three hours but I just got lucky and others here have no power for a few days already.

Depends on the wattage of the heater and how often it comes on/off per hour

 

[bubbgee]

So many great suggestions and not a single “Buy the Ecotech battery backup”
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.
.
.
I love this so much


There should be an “emergency plans” forum with stuff like this stickied.

The only reason why I want the ecotech one is for the vectra pump to keep my filtration going. Although it wouldn't be hard to just plug the return pump to the power bank if necessary.

 

[VintageReefer]

The only reason why I want the ecotech one is for the vectra pump to keep my filtration going. Although it wouldn't be hard to just plug the return pump to the power bank if necessary.

That’s what I do, but with a different brand return pump

 

[Dragen Fiend]

The only reason why I want the ecotech one is for the vectra pump to keep my filtration going. Although it wouldn't be hard to just plug the return pump to the power bank if necessary.

I mean it you like the cleaner look as power stations are indeed bulky. Sure why not. Wouldn't be surprised they have the basic batteries like APC's have. You could probably fit a bigger battery in it.

 

[dangles]

Because it’s overpriced antiquated garbage battery tech lol

$200 for a 18 Amp-Hour 12-volt sealed battery.

Hard no. My river 3 I paid $160 lol.

EXACTLY

The only reason why I want the ecotech one is for the vectra pump to keep my filtration going. Although it wouldn't be hard to just plug the return pump to the power bank if necessary.

I actually have 2 that I bought before I knew any better. So far I’ve replaced one of the guts with a LiPo battery and have the other on the to-do list.

Since then I’ve also added an Ecoflow for my return pump that will kick in automatically if the power goes out (with a brief delay).

 

[bubbgee]

I mean it you like the cleaner look as power stations are indeed bulky. Sure why not. Wouldn't be surprised they have the basic batteries like APC's have. You could probably fit a bigger battery in it.

yeah, I can just mount it next to the Neptune wire organizers and it'll look alight next to the Ice Cap battery packs.