Battery Backup

[KStatefan]

One thing I do wonder about is how much draw it takes to recharge? If this happens to recharge and it draws a lot at the same time I have the tank on full power it could exceed my load rating and pop a fuse. I wonder if the unit alone draws the same as the unit with the extra battery does? Probably, and it would jut take longer. I wonder if you could choose a slower recharge option to keep loads down (edit: according to the Ecoflow website you can choose recharging rates). Once the power is back a rapid recharge would not be required...

You are correct fast charging put you at risk for overloading a circuit. This is something that is not talked about and puts people at risk for having a power outage after the power comes back on and also another reason you must perform a simulated power outage so you know your plan works as you think it should. The Anker and the Ecoflow have a setting to change the charge rate. On the River 2 Pro you can set it between 100 watts and 940 watts. I do not know about the other brands.

 

[IPT]

You are correct fast charging put you at risk for overloading a circuit. This is something that is not talked about and puts people at risk for having a power outage after the power comes back on and also another reason you must perform a simulated power outage so you know your plan works as you think it should. The Anker and the Ecoflow have a setting to change the charge rate. On the River 2 Pro you can set it between 100 watts and 940 watts. I do not know about the other brands.

Now I have the River 3 max, I can see it defaults to a 600W charging rate! Of course it charges in like an hour. I can use the software to turn it down to basically whatever I want. I am setting to 100W. It'll take a while to recharge, but once power is back that doesn't matter. if I go for "fast" and pop a fuse, I'm out of power again and with the tank remote I most likely wouldn't even know if it was a another power outage or if it popped the fuse.

 

[Reef Puncher]

I run a similar rating backup on my reef, 600wh. I can run my return pump over 48 hours

i bought the ecoflow delta 2 with 2050wh, could i run my 500w heater and and return pump for similiar time? surely my heater wouldnt heat the whole time anyways. my return pump is 40w. i should be good for a 2 day outage i think?

 

[VintageReefer]

i bought the ecoflow delta 2 with 2050wh, could i run my 500w heater and and return pump for similiar time? surely my heater wouldnt heat the whole time anyways. my return pump is 40w. i should be good for a 2 day outage i think?

You would have 3.5 hours max with the heater alone. How much time do you feel it comes on per day?

 

[VintageReefer]

i bought the ecoflow delta 2 with 2050wh, could i run my 500w heater and and return pump for similiar time? surely my heater wouldnt heat the whole time anyways. my return pump is 40w. i should be good for a 2 day outage i think?

The delta 2 max is currently 2050 wh for $1100

The oupes mega 3 is $1199 for 3072 wh and, by being 3kw in a single unit, it qualifies for a 30% federal income tax credit

For a little more upfront, the mega 2 + expansion battery is $1400 but gives 4096 wh and also qualifies for the 30% credit

 

[Reef Puncher]

You would have 3.5 hours max with the heater alone. How much time do you feel it comes on per day?

oh jees. i guess i have no idea. i have a inkbird that shows temp climbs during day about .6 degrees, so in summer i would guess very rarely kicks on during day. mainly only at night. but i guess no way to know without staring at it.

 

[VintageReefer]

oh jees. i guess i have no idea. i have a inkbird that shows temp climbs during day about .6 degrees, so in summer i would guess very rarely kicks on during day. mainly only at night. but i guess no way to know without staring at it.

Yea it’s super hard to predict as Most of us don’t have any way to track runtime for the heater. And it varies by weather.

Maybe have a smaller heater for emergency use, or adjust heater to be 2 -3 degrees lower to minimize run time ? Easier to keep a tank 75 vs 78. That could buy you many more hours

 

[VintageReefer]

I don’t run the heater on battery backup. My house ambient is 70 and that’s not dangerous for corals or fish

Running your 40w return pump alone should get you 40+ hours

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

Thank you @VintageReefer for your recommendations. I found this thread a while ago, but now with it getting late in the year I'm seriously looking at my options so I can try get a deal during upcoming sales.
Also bumping this thread for anyone else looking for backup power recommendations.

Any new units that we should be aware of?

For me personally, I'm just running a couple 25gal nanos and I keep my house around 70 ambient so I'm just looking for something that'll run a return pump and keep flow/oxygenation until power kicks back on. The nano tanks are in separate rooms so I am looking to get 2 backups if possible. I saw the BigBlue 600W is only $250 on amazon so I'm keeping an eye on those.

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

Just wanted to say thank you again for this awesome discussion and also bump this for anyone new looking at backup power. There are currently a bunch of cyber monday deals going on Amazon right now for some of the units discussed in this thread:

Big Blue 600W - $200
Anker Solix C1000 2000W - $350
OUPES Exodus 1200W - $300

There are deals on larger and more expensive units too, but these are some of the cheaper deals for anyone looking for a nice battery backup to keep a return pump or smaller tank running for an extended period of time.

@VintageReefer I skimmed back over this thread since I hadn't read it in a while, but these are all pretty solid correct? Also, any new ones you've seen recently?

 

[VintageReefer]

Just wanted to say thank you again for this awesome discussion and also bump this for anyone new looking at backup power. There are currently a bunch of cyber monday deals going on Amazon right now for some of the units discussed in this thread:

Big Blue 600W - $200
Anker Solix C1000 2000W - $350
OUPES Exodus 1200W - $300

There are deals on larger and more expensive units too, but these are some of the cheaper deals for anyone looking for a nice battery backup to keep a return pump or smaller tank running for an extended period of time.

@VintageReefer I skimmed back over this thread since I hadn't read it in a while, but these are all pretty solid correct? Also, any new ones you've seen recently?

These are all solid choices
The Oupes line consistently has the best runtime for the $

 

[DHill6]

Oupes Mega 1 on the way. Will use it to plug in an mp40 and SDC 6.0 return pump. I needed something to auto switch on if I’m not home, since the Yeti 500x does not work that way.
@VintageReefer how many hours do you think I can get out of this running both pumps?

 

[bishoptf]

Oupes Mega 1 on the way. Will use it to plug in an mp40 and SDC 6.0 return pump. I needed something to auto switch on if I’m not home, since the Yeti 500x does not work that way.
@VintageReefer how many hours do you think I can get out of this running both pumps?

Just picked one up and probably will get additional units, they are pretty decent. It all depends on the wattage that you are supporting, basically think of it this way. Most if these devices are listed in watt hours (wh), the Mega 1 unit is 1024wh which would give you about 10 hours of run time if your load is 100w, then based on your load you can deduce from there.

 

[VintageReefer]

Oupes Mega 1 on the way. Will use it to plug in an mp40 and SDC 6.0 return pump. I needed something to auto switch on if I’m not home, since the Yeti 500x does not work that way.
@VintageReefer how many hours do you think I can get out of this running both pumps?

Depends what percent of power those pumps are running at. Only way to estimate is to know the watts pulled.

If you don’t, then once you plug them in the device will tell you the watts and runtime

 

[DHill6]

Oh, good to know. Thanks for replies. I’ll have to figure out the watts.

 

[VintageReefer]

Oh, good to know. Thanks for replies. I’ll have to figure out the watts.

Runtime formula is an estimate and should be pretty darn close to reality

When powering devices on battery power, running the AC Inverter to power the outlets…you need the total combined watt load and the stations watt hours

Then the formula is

(Station watt hours x .85) / total watt load = runtime hours

Example:
Station is rated 1024 watt hours

Pump a is 60w and set to 50%
Pump b is 50w and 100%
Total watt load estimate is 80w

Formula would be:
(1024 x .85) / 80
10.88 hours estimated runtime

 

[RobynR]

Here is a year old review of the ecoflow delta 2 - again lots of options out there...

This is what I got. A smaller one for my internet and a bigger one for tank. Still hoping I made the right call, but so far all good. I am in a location where we only really ever have planned power outages. And if unplanned, never more than a few minutes. If something outside that happens, I probably have a lot more to worry about…

 

[DHill6]

Runtime formula is an estimate and should be pretty darn close to reality

When powering devices on battery power, running the AC Inverter to power the outlets…you need the total combined watt load and the stations watt hours

Then the formula is

(Station watt hours x .85) / total watt load = runtime hours

Example:
Station is rated 1024 watt hours

Pump a is 60w and set to 50%
Pump b is 50w and 100%
Total watt load estimate is 80w

Formula would be:
(1024 x .85) / 80
10.88 hours estimated runtime

Pump a is 12.95w
Pump b is 27.6w
1024 x .85/41
21.2 hrs?

 

[DHill6]

Anker Solix 1000x gen 2 instead of Oupes Mega1. Anyone using this? Still 1024 wh