Power outage here in CA. Police ask me to turn off my generator!
- Thread starter Leicobra
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DancingWind
Active Member
Do not panic.
Do you need a skimmer? Maybe its has a DC pump?
Just run DC pumps off batteries by connecting their power input directly to a battery. Much better efficiency than running of ac/dc inverter.
40W 24V pump runs ~0.5A (40W/24V), So on a 10Ah 24V battery it will run for 20h (10Ah/0.5A), 40h if you will hook it up to a mp40 emergency battery connector - as it draws half voltage. And from a 60ah car battery? it will run for half a week. Seriously buy a couple of big UPS batteries - biggest you can find/afford, some dc jacks for your dc pump controllers, cable and connectors for batteries. An hour of cursing if you are a complete noob with electrics and you have more than enough backup to last through the night. Do not mix + and -, dc jack plus is usually the inner dc pin - pump power supplies and pump controllers (or any dc equipment for that matter) have pins schematics like:
+ terminal on dc jack connect to + on battery and same with - terminals. You are done.
Do not forget to charge back batteries during the day.
and during the night all you really need is flow.
2x 12V batteries connected in series produce 1 24V battery (aH unfortunately do not add up - resulting ah is the average of the 2 - best practice use identical batteries)
Want more Amphours? 2 batteries connected in parallel doubles the capacity (voltage stays the same).
(4 small batteries in 2x series x2 parallel bank produce 1 double the capacity double voltage battery).
power (w) = Current (apms, A) x Voltage (V).
Run time in hours h = Ah / A if V(producer) = V(consumer)
Now best not to drain battery completely I would leave at least 50% safety margin. And get sufficiently powerful charger (or better 1 for each battery bank).
Now this is not pretty setup but this is an emergency. And after an emergency you will be able to convert this mess to a permanent pump power backup with some extra electronics (relays and battery tenders).
Do you need a skimmer? Maybe its has a DC pump?
Just run DC pumps off batteries by connecting their power input directly to a battery. Much better efficiency than running of ac/dc inverter.
40W 24V pump runs ~0.5A (40W/24V), So on a 10Ah 24V battery it will run for 20h (10Ah/0.5A), 40h if you will hook it up to a mp40 emergency battery connector - as it draws half voltage. And from a 60ah car battery? it will run for half a week. Seriously buy a couple of big UPS batteries - biggest you can find/afford, some dc jacks for your dc pump controllers, cable and connectors for batteries. An hour of cursing if you are a complete noob with electrics and you have more than enough backup to last through the night. Do not mix + and -, dc jack plus is usually the inner dc pin - pump power supplies and pump controllers (or any dc equipment for that matter) have pins schematics like:
+ terminal on dc jack connect to + on battery and same with - terminals. You are done.
Do not forget to charge back batteries during the day.
and during the night all you really need is flow.
2x 12V batteries connected in series produce 1 24V battery (aH unfortunately do not add up - resulting ah is the average of the 2 - best practice use identical batteries)
Want more Amphours? 2 batteries connected in parallel doubles the capacity (voltage stays the same).
(4 small batteries in 2x series x2 parallel bank produce 1 double the capacity double voltage battery).
power (w) = Current (apms, A) x Voltage (V).
Run time in hours h = Ah / A if V(producer) = V(consumer)
Now best not to drain battery completely I would leave at least 50% safety margin. And get sufficiently powerful charger (or better 1 for each battery bank).
Now this is not pretty setup but this is an emergency. And after an emergency you will be able to convert this mess to a permanent pump power backup with some extra electronics (relays and battery tenders).
Thanks guys for all the help. Out of my surprised my neighbor showed up on my front door about 12pm. Admitted and apologized about last night's complaint. He went on and said that the cause of the fire was the houses down the street from where we live got burn down. Including one of PG&E's transformer tower. Looks like it's gonna be for a while. Praying for a miracle.
I did not read the entire thread(a lot of it though) so I don't know if this was mentioned. I am looking at getting a tank of compressed air from a local welding shop. It would suffice for oxygenating the water for at least several hours, maybe even a day. Yeah, the filtration wouldn't run, but for the one day it might be good enough to prevent a crash. Just a thought.
If a person could find a way to couple that with water movement in the tank it would probably last at least several days. hmm...............
Buggers and rasberries to that officer too!
If a person could find a way to couple that with water movement in the tank it would probably last at least several days. hmm...............
Buggers and rasberries to that officer too!
Thales
Valuable Member
I am in alameda and have a brand new in box one of these if you think it would be helpful -
It may still be too loud for you but if you want to borrow it let me know and we can figure out how to get it to you.
Here is a vid of its loudness compared to the honda.
It looks like your power was off do to the structure fires and not due to the pge shutdowns. I bet they have it on for you soon.
Good to hear both these generators in action. I’ll need to grab one soon even though we’ve been safe the last 2 times
Daniel@R2R
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My Tank Thread
Man, that's rough! Praying things work out quickly!
Thank you so much. Luckily my water heater is powered by gas. During the night I am flooding hot water bottles in the tank to battle temperature lost. Thanks for the offer though,my neighbors now seem to understand me a little more. Besides the tank I also need to power a refrigerator in my kitchen. I left notes at all my neighbor s front door letting them know about the generator on and off time. More then anything I was hope someone can house the coral and fish, because I am not sure how long it's gonna last. Until then I will keep on trying to save them.
King Turkey
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Just turn it on take the ticket probly cheaper then restarting a tank. That's what I would do
AllSignsPointToFish
"No Longer The Guy Without FaceBook"
Yay! Awesome! Power outages are so stressful!
Honestly, I have like four different emergency power strategies depending on the outage duration. If I were you, I'd be formulating a couple right now!
The best strategy is the one you never have to use!!
Honestly, I have like four different emergency power strategies depending on the outage duration. If I were you, I'd be formulating a couple right now!
The best strategy is the one you never have to use!!
Great news! Power just came back on about a minute ago. I truly appreciate all of you for all the comments and love!!!
I am ready for a beer
Good to hear, can't imagine the stress.
Thales
Valuable Member
WOOT! Now sell that noise generator!Great news! Power just came back on about a minute ago. I truly appreciate all of you for all the comments and love!!!
I am ready for a beer
Glad the power is back on.Similar threads
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