Inverters: How many of you use them as a back Power Source ?

[Khh27]

But it's not a long term very viable option in my mind

 

[Finatik]

But it's not a long term very viable option in my mind

Why not ? And please don't mis-understand...
I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I'm genuinely trying to understand, as this would only be something I use "when there is an extended emergency power outage". So once maybe twice a year, if that. I'm just trying to be prepared. We keep hearing stories about people loosing their entire tanks because of a few hours without power. I'm sure most tanks would be OK with an outage of 2 - 3 hours, but when you get above 5 hours, there can be serious consequences.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I have one. Haven't had to use it yet, but I have it.

 

[JoshH]

As long as you have enough room on your balcony for the batteries you should be fine with that set up, as for how long it will last that's something that will be hard to calculate as it's dependant on SOOO many variables. How often your heaters cycle on and off, what there actual current draw is, how warm or cold the batteries are, how effiecent your inverter is ( pure sine waves are definitely the best) and so on. I'd just go for it myself if you're in an area that is frequented by power outages and given your situation it's really the only option. Definitely require a trickle charger as mentioned above. Also think long and hard about the cost and upkeep of a system like that. Typically those batteries only get a few 100 cycles before there charging capacity starts to decrease. To extend the life of your batteries charge them to full then unplug the charger after. But if you're only using twice a year or so it will probably last you quite some time.

 

[SethOF]

Hi Seth... I do have a balcony, however, we are prohibited from using "anything" that requires gas or propane fuel - even for cooking. So we can't even use grills on our balconies. The complex has several grills stationed throughout the property that we can use, but we are not supposed to use our own on our individual balconies.

What are the options allowed by the complex after a power loss?

 

[Khh27]

Why not ?

For me just cost vs. need.

I'm in virginia so almost same weather patterns

In my mind I live in the area where I could use a generator so to me it is not a viable option. I only have the battery because of my boat. because of the cost Factor versus how long I'm power might be out now it's different in your situation you may have no other option if you do $400 + batteries you would have to get them regularly charge somewhere even if the power is out once they're dead they're dead so unless you spend like $600 on batteries use three at a time charge three of them while you're using other three but then again you have to find somewhere that has power to charge. I would much rather check into a Honda inverter generator and run log extension cords from where it would be safe to run. They don't get much quite then those

 

[Finatik]

For me just cost vs. need.

I'm in virginia so almost same weather patterns

In my mind I live in the area where I could use a generator so to me it is not a viable option. I only have the battery because of my boat. because of the cost Factor versus how long I'm power might be out now it's different in your situation you may have no other option if you do $400 + batteries you would have to get them regularly charge somewhere even if the power is out once they're dead they're dead so unless you spend like $600 on batteries use three at a time charge three of them while you're using other three but then again you have to find somewhere that has power to charge. I would much rather check into a Honda inverter generator and run log extension cords from where it would be safe to run. They don't get much quite then those

Let's keep in mind that using generators has a cost too. Gas and propane aren't cheap, and generators use a lot of it, and have to be refilled often if used over 2 or 3 days.

 

[Khh27]

Let's keep in mind that using generators has a cost too. Gas and propane aren't cheap, and generators use a lot of it, and have to be refilled often if used over 2 or 3 days.

Much more cost effective than batteries and inverters in my opinion. But I understand that you have no other option and need to do what you need to.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Let's keep in mind that using generators has a cost too. Gas and propane aren't cheap, and generators use a lot of it, and have to be refilled often if used over 2 or 3 days.

All options cost a lot of money if you have to span a long power outage. The trick is to find the one that best suits you.