Poll: How do you plan for power outages?

[dgrigor02]

Return pump ( 120w ) hooked to a triplite 750 inverter with a deep marine battery, this will handle aprox. 5 hours. Anything beyond that we have a quiet Honda 2000w. Honda while it was more expensive ( we have had it at 10+ years now ) we use it quite alot for many uses like camping, church carnivals, kids birthday bouncy castles etc.

In the last 10-12 years we have had 2 extended outages ones was for 6 days and the other for 3 days so the generator has already paid for itself in potential livestock losses.

PS: True Story, while I was giving talk as a speaker on the topic of redundcy at a local club event at a community center, my wife called to let me know the power went at my house went out during the event. No worries, UPS was doing its job and no reason to rush home. It was the perfect testimony to give during my talk.

 

[120reefkeeper]

Yep multiple backups ...

2 battery backups for gyres.
Multiple battery powered air bubblers.
And a generator.

 

[Reefnewb]

Generator in the shed and an extension cord. Usually a beer or two before having to move the generator from the shed to porch. Pretty intense prep lol

 

[Crimson]

Unless I am missing something, i think this calculation is way off. A 100 watt load at 110v could run for 60hrs using 100aH. But that same 100 watt load at 12v only runs 4 hrs using 100aH.

I have calculated my 200aH battery and inverter to run my 65 watt return pump for 15 hrs.

Please correct me if I am wrong here, 60 hrs off a small battery seems too good to be true!!

Depends on what pump hes using, but I doubt hes getting 60 hrs. Maybe he meant 6 hours. I am getting 14 hours on my APC which is 2x 1500va (BR1500G with BR24BPG) that has a combined 18aH. I only have my return pump and pellet reactor pump on it. At some point I plan on adding something else.

In general, computer UPS's really do not make for long lasting tank power backups. To put this simply, they are designed for computer equipment to gracefully shut down or keep up for brief power outages/brown-outs. They are effective at delivering "clean" stable power for sensitive equipment. I work in a data center (systems admin) we use large battery backups for everything from servers, computers and network equipment. On top of that we have a natural gas generator to power the whole thing. The batteries are meant to keep the systems running until the generator auto kicks in.

At some point I will look into a generator or maybe something like this: http://www.goalzero.com/

-Paul

 

[rkpetersen]

1. Vortech battery backup.

2. Neptune energy bars connected to a CyberPower UPS, with staged shutdown of devices by Apex power monitor.

3. Portable generator and transfer switch. (Already had this before the aquarium.)

4. Generac Guardian 22 kW whole house standby generator and automatic transfer switch. (Just had this installed last month! )

 

[SteadyC]

Two APC 600 VA for Vortecs, one Vortec plug into each under tank. In basement sump, 1) 1400 watt computer UPS, 2) then 2250 amp gel cell car battery with inverter and battery tender, 3) gas generator in garage.

 

[quik95lt1]

I have a ups on just my return pump of power goes down it keeps it running until I can go fire up my portable generator and switch the breakers over.....next year I'm hoping to do a whole home backup generator

 

[pluikens]

I have an APC 550 with my heater and maxpect gyre 250

How long of a runtime do you get with that and how big of a heater and tank? From the runtime graph, it looks like it'd only be a few minutes once the heater kicks on.

 

[braappn]

Tripp Lite UT759UL inverter/charger and 4D 200aH battery mounted in crawl space

 

[braappn]

Tripp Lite UT759UL inverter/charger and 4D 200aH battery mounted in crawl space

Sorry typo that's UT750UL. Its sweet it has has GFCI outlets and a remote control with status lights that can be mounted up near the tank. It will run my return pump for something like 20 hrs, or more like 12 hrs if temp falls enough for my 50 watt backup heater kicks on.

Haven't tested this for more than an hour though yet so fingers crossed!

 

[pluikens]

For those of you with inverters (either plugged into your running car or connected to batteries not in a vehicle) are you using pure sine wave inverters or have you found the cheaper modified sine wave inverters sufficient to run powerheads, return pumps, heaters? I had a 90 minute power outage on Friday night (great timing, right?) and had nothing in place for backups. The average outside temp for the day at my weather station in MN was -5 F so it had to have been less than that in the evening and no heat on in the house. I'm looking to start with one battery in my basement connected to a battery tender and an inverter and run an extension cord to a power strip by my tank. I want to run my MP10, heater, and return pump. I want to make sure I get a suitable inverter. I'm also wondering if there's some sort of a device that can plug into my house power and the power from the inverter. Then have the power strip plugged into this device. When the house power is lost, it would switch over to serving power from the inverter. I'm fairly certain these exist but I don't recall what they're called or what a good one would be if anyone uses one. Thanks in advance!

 

[braappn]

I'm also wondering if there's some sort of a device that can plug into my house power and the power from the inverter. Then have the power strip plugged into this device. When the house power is lost, it would switch over to serving power from the inverter. I'm fairly certain these exist but I don't recall what they're called or what a good one would be if anyone uses one. Thanks in advance!

That is exactly what the various Tripp Lite inverter/chargers do. Automatically switch to inverter power when main power is lost, as well as maintain the battery. There are also DIY threads around where folks have pieced together each component, and you are correct you can buy the individual component that performs the switching, if you would like.

To me the auto switching is where the battery system earns its keep. These systems are really meant for emergency power when no one is home. If I am around for a power outage I would still be hooking up the generator, if possible.

You mentioned running the return and heater. If you haven't yet calculated the amp hour requirements for this it might surprise you. Also remember most batteries aren't meant to be run all the way down to 0%.

Regarding pure vs modified sine wave. I'm no pro here but the Tripp Lite is a modified sine and seems to run these devices fine. It's certainly not the cheapest thing around though.

Hope this helps get you started

 

[pluikens]

Thanks @braappn ! I was typing my post just as you were typing yours about the Tripp Lite. After pricing out some of the options, I think I'm going to go with a 2000 watt generator. I have friends in the neighborhood that I can text if I'm away from home and can't connect to my smart devices to confirm a power outage and family close enough that my dad can come over and hook up the generator. When I get my Apex this spring, I'll look into a using a cheaper UPS that can keep my modem and an Apex running long enough to notify me of a power outage or if the circuit my tank is on breaks.