Emergency, we need to talk...

Imaexpat2

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Im just thinking that for a grand I can have a small genset and a reasonable capacity battery and inverter and keep my tanks going for a couple of weeks if I had to. I am looking at the fact that just in one of my recently started 20 gallon Nano's I already have over a grand in just corals and I have several other tanks. To me a grand in emergency power capabilities coupled with the 35 gallon tank of gas I can siphon from my spare vehicle (a pick up truck) with the 20 gallons of gas I keep on hand anyways and rotate through is a small price to pay for assurance I wont loose everything I have worked for just because power went out for several days. I am just of the mind set that no one is gonna take better care of Big # 1 than I myself will...we certainly cant depend on our government or infrastructure as was just proven to us. Again not hating just sayin'...

We might be a modern 1st world nation wealth/technology wise but we are quickly becoming a 3rd world crap hole. I say that because being in the military for over 2 decades and stationed in many 3rd world countries I have seen first hand what can go wrong and how bad it can get! As such I take nothing in this world for granted. Thats why the run of stuff last year didnt affect me even a little. Thats why I was helping my neighbors out with food and water and heating as they werent prepared for anything close to this size in scope. Having that mind set might not save me but at least I can sleep easy knowing I will be the last man standing if "it" happens.
 

Hydrored

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I paid a bit more for a lower second transfer switch, the only lapse you will have is when the power kicks off takes about 15 seconds for the power to kick from the generator with the base supplied transfer switch. When the power comes back on the generator transfers the power back over with no downtime.
 

Imaexpat2

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I wished I could do that but living in an apartment at the moment, that aint an option. I would so love to be in a position like that though.
 

Miller535

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I paid a bit more for a lower second transfer switch, the only lapse you will have is when the power kicks off takes about 15 seconds for the power to kick from the generator with the base supplied transfer switch. When the power comes back on the generator transfers the power back over with no downtime.
O.k. That's not bad.
 

DaddyFish

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@Queenofreef I appreciate your honest re-evaluation. Not everyone is willing to do that. I'm all for being as prepared as possible. In fact, I take great pride in being "the one that WILL get you off the island".

If there's one strong piece of advice I can pass along, it's don't equip yourself with more backup than you can routinely test and properly maintain. Anything more is a total waste of money and time.
 
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Queenofreef

Queenofreef

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Agreed, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
I have the basics... bubblers, extra batteries... rotated regularly.
We have a generator and a whole bunch of gas cans.
Long term, I am looking into a small solar panel that can power a back up battery generator. In Fl., sunshine is our greatest asset and it's free.

Glad you pulled through the storm... #Texasstrong
Can’t believe I didn’t consider solar panels! Definitely should look into that myself
 

DaddyFish

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Agreed, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
I have the basics... bubblers, extra batteries... rotated regularly.
We have a generator and a whole bunch of gas cans.
Long term, I am looking into a small solar panel that can power a back up battery generator. In Fl., sunshine is our greatest asset and it's free.

Glad you pulled through the storm... #Texasstrong
I've always lived where hurricanes or their spin-offs were the dominant threat for power failures. That included several years in Texas along the Gulf. I can see how solar is a viable option for Florida where any hurricane is likely to pass within 48-hours. What's the Orlando weather motto, pretty much the same as Texas'... If you don't like the weather today wait until this afternoon, it'll change.

Just don't make the panels too large Dorothy or the house may spin! :(
 

Adamantium

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Im just thinking that for a grand I can have a small genset and a reasonable capacity battery and inverter and keep my tanks going for a couple of weeks if I had to. I am looking at the fact that just in one of my recently started 20 gallon Nano's I already have over a grand in just corals and I have several other tanks. To me a grand in emergency power capabilities coupled with the 35 gallon tank of gas I can siphon from my spare vehicle (a pick up truck) with the 20 gallons of gas I keep on hand anyways and rotate through is a small price to pay for assurance I wont loose everything I have worked for just because power went out for several days. I am just of the mind set that no one is gonna take better care of Big # 1 than I myself will...we certainly cant depend on our government or infrastructure as was just proven to us. Again not hating just sayin'...

We might be a modern 1st world nation wealth/technology wise but we are quickly becoming a 3rd world crap hole. I say that because being in the military for over 2 decades and stationed in many 3rd world countries I have seen first hand what can go wrong and how bad it can get! As such I take nothing in this world for granted. Thats why the run of stuff last year didnt affect me even a little. Thats why I was helping my neighbors out with food and water and heating as they werent prepared for anything close to this size in scope. Having that mind set might not save me but at least I can sleep easy knowing I will be the last man standing if "it" happens.
Are you sure you'll be able to siphon from the truck? Most modern cars have anti-siphon devices installed, from what I understand. Basically, a ball that sits in the pipe that allows gas to go down, but would block a hose.
 

Imaexpat2

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Are you sure you'll be able to siphon from the truck? Most modern cars have anti-siphon devices installed, from what I understand. Basically, a ball that sits in the pipe that allows gas to go down, but would block a hose.
Its an antique truck its so old...But your right about newer cars as most woldnt know about that little factoid!
 

SaltISlife

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I have a 31 year old Jeep Grand Wagoneer. I work on cars and restored this Jeep myself. Lifted it, put nice mud terrains on ect. But the best upgrade i did was the alternator and lighting.

I replaced the stock 74amp alternator with a 150amp alternator. 150amps at 14.4v can output nearly 2200watts at full power. I added a simple 3000 watt invertor to my Jeep. Theyre easy to install as well just hook up a 0 guage cable to it and the battery and thats it. You now have 3 prong 120v outlets for anything you want.

Whats cool about this being on my older classic car is i can adjust engine rpms with a screw driver on the carburetor so i can adjust the power output of the alternator if needed. Max output would be around 1200-1500 rpms.

So basically if a power outtage happens for me. I can turn on my Jeep and hook up a long extention cable to the house and power anything i wanted. A typical room in a house is run off a 15amp breaker and can put out 1850watts maximum.

Our fish tanks with lights and pumps and so forth might use about 700 watts with a 300w heater turning on and off randomly. So i could power multiple fish tanks easily and still have power for a space heater. A cooking burner refrigerator and so forth if i use them correctly.


And 150amp alternator isnt even that big for modern cars today.. I could go to 200 or higher if i want.. and 200amps can output nearly 3000 watts. And this 2200watts im speaking off is just the alternator output. This isnt even in combination with the car battery because an alternator and car battery work together, which means i could run 2200watts sustained.. but i could also peak power easily to 12,000watts for 6min due to my battery being 1000cca.. my battery is around 120amp hours. So with just the car battery i could run 1500 watts for an hour before it dies, and let say my fish tank uses 400watts for lights and pumps, and 300w for a heater. That means the tank will use 400w sustained, and 800 peak. 400w sustained on a car battery that can outout 1500watts for an hour.. means my car battery by itself could run the tank for nearly 3-4 hours. Give or take.

Anycar can do this btw. Invertors are like 100+$ depending how big you get.

20200926_172004.jpg
 
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rob taft

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I have a 18KW whole house generator with auto transfer switch installed. I've had it for 10 years now. The longest I was without power was 9 days. I didn't have any fish tanks at that time but they would have been toast as I ran out of propane after 5 days and couldn't get a delivery for 4 + days. The second longest outage in this house was 4 days and I ran on generator the entire time. Being without A/C in Florida in August is downright miserable. I grew up in FL in the 50's and we didn't have A/C until the 70's then but I got soft over the years.

Mind you these outages are hurricane driven and I live in a rural area so we are the last houses to get power i.e. Florida Power and Light goes for the largest communities first. That said, over the past 10 years I have had frequent non storm related outages ranging from 30 mins to 4 hours. If you own your own home, buy a whole house generator and install a transfer switch.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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