Storm Season among us. Power outage readiness!!!

bakbay

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We survived a power outage this week. It was caused by a storm (possibly a microburst). I’ve lived in this house for 16 years and it’s the first time we’ve lost power for more than 20 mins. All total it was a 6.5 hour outage. My reef tank is running on a Cyberpower 850va AVR UPS which kept things going for about 2.5 hours. After that I hooked up a 400w inverter to my car battery. That got me through until the power came back on.

I’m going to buy a Honda inverter generator (EU2200i) in case this happens again. It was a little stressful. I’m also thinking about getting some large battery packs (Ecoflow or Bluetti). I could run the generator during the day, and use the battery packs at night. The generator could probably even charge the batteries if I size everything right.
I have a Honda generator as well but that requires me to be home to jumpstart it and run extension cords into the house.

I also have a CyberPower 1500va UPS that’ll give me ~3hrs since the Apex would kill power to everything and keep one WAV running. However, these inverter-type UPS systems aren’t efficient for running DC pumps.

Recently I bought a JBJ Maxum air pump. It runs continuously and will fail over to its Lithium-Ion battery. I was able to run the air stone for around 24hrs. You can configure it to run at an interval to stretch it to 32-48hrs as claimed. I think 24hrs is good for me — enough time to kickstart the generator.

JBJ Maxum Air Pump
https://a.co/d/b4lbcMq

good luck!
 

Screwgunner

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I am out of gas from the last two outages. Going to stock up today. The old generator sure comes in handy!
 

Snoopdog

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We survived a power outage this week. It was caused by a storm (possibly a microburst). I’ve lived in this house for 16 years and it’s the first time we’ve lost power for more than 20 mins. All total it was a 6.5 hour outage. My reef tank is running on a Cyberpower 850va AVR UPS which kept things going for about 2.5 hours. After that I hooked up a 400w inverter to my car battery. That got me through until the power came back on.

I’m going to buy a Honda inverter generator (EU2200i) in case this happens again. It was a little stressful. I’m also thinking about getting some large battery packs (Ecoflow or Bluetti). I could run the generator during the day, and use the battery packs at night. The generator could probably even charge the batteries if I size everything right.

Is there a reason you are doing the Honda? Champion has a fairly quiet hybrid inverter generator for half the cost with twice the power.
 

BitReef

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Is there a reason you are doing the Honda? Champion has a fairly quiet hybrid inverter generator for half the cost with twice the power.
Reputation. I actually bought a Craftsman inverter generator last year. I ran it for 2 hours, changed the oil and it never started again. Completely dead. I took it back to Lowes (I had it over 90 days before I tried to run it). They tried to repair it but couldn’t and eventually refunded my money. I’ve decided, when it comes to disaster equipment, I’ll buy only the most reliable stuff. The Champion might be as good as the Honda, but Honda has the best reputation in this space.
 

oreolk

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Just last month I had a whole house natural gas generator installed. Was it expensive? Yes but when I added up the cost to set up the tank, cost of livestock etc. it was well worth it. Just the peace of mind was worth it.
 

thatmanMIKEson

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Reputation. I actually bought a Craftsman inverter generator last year. I ran it for 2 hours, changed the oil and it never started again. Completely dead. I took it back to Lowes (I had it over 90 days before I tried to run it). They tried to repair it but couldn’t and eventually refunded my money. I’ve decided, when it comes to disaster equipment, I’ll buy only the most reliable stuff. The Champion might be as good as the Honda, but Honda has the best reputation in this space.
I have several honda small engines on various pieces of equipment, you are completely correct and cost is not much different for the reputation and quality.
 

thatmanMIKEson

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Just last month I had a whole house natural gas generator installed. Was it expensive? Yes but when I added up the cost to set up the tank, cost of livestock etc. it was well worth it. Just the peace of mind was worth it.
Absolutely best route hands down, other than maybe solar with a huge battery bank in Florida!
One of them is on the list of things to aquire :) :)
 

Josh Hobgood

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Small battery backup for pumps of some sort. Next level is a generator. Next level is backup the breaker/s that power your tank. Some will think im crazy for the last one, however, if you have a lot invested in it why not protect it if possible. Just my .02.
 

Malcontent

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Small battery backup for pumps of some sort. Next level is a generator. Next level is backup the breaker/s that power your tank. Some will think im crazy for the last one, however, if you have a lot invested in it why not protect it if possible. Just my .02.

How do you backup the breakers?
 

thatmanMIKEson

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I know mine does . So when you add everything up it justifies the cost of a generator.
Yeah but what justifies a tank and a generator along with the ongoing expenses of this hobby, do you stop keeping track at the generator :) my neighborhood is finally going underground electric, they have started boaring the lines !!!! Yay !!!!!! I still wish I had a backup generac, but I think I'm going to look into solar. I'm in FL and solar can help all year round where a generator is only when you need it, my boss has a generac for the past 4-5 years and he says it's only came on once or twice from needing it. Solar I could use to lower my electric bill and possibly sell back electric. I could get a battery bank in my garage and go all night with battery power and no loud engine outside. Some things to think about....

Anyone have solar with batteries?
 

OfficeReefer

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I went out and purchased a battery-powered backup system with 100w solar panel if needed that can recharge off the truck. It's enough that it will run my return pump for hours but use of the heater and lighting is problematic for more than an hour or so.
 

OfficeReefer

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I have a 16 k propane for the daytime and a 3000 Honda for at night. I live in the Caribbean and after last year you can't be too prepared!!
IMG_20170828_160454.jpeg
I hope to be doing this at some point soon! I love it!
 

OfficeReefer

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Reviving old thread. Checked the weather this morning. Apparently there's a storm off the coast of Africa and something brewing in the caribbean.

Yay for Miami living

I live in a condo so I can't have a generator. What can I do just in case for a power outage? I was thinking about buying the Ecotech battery backup for my MP10 since that will last about 72 hours but I think 3 days still isn't enough. I want something that could run the MP 10 for about 5 days or longer. Max 7.

I can charge my battery at my families house(they have a generator connected to the city) but then I'll need to do something to keep the water flowing in the tank while the battery charges...

Any recommendations would be appericated. This will be my first hurricane season with a reef tank so I want to be prepared
Try the Yeti and similar brands of backup power for camping. They are stackable and you can recharge with solar or another source.
 

neo1738

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Yeah but what justifies a tank and a generator along with the ongoing expenses of this hobby, do you stop keeping track at the generator :) my neighborhood is finally going underground electric, they have started boaring the lines !!!! Yay !!!!!! I still wish I had a backup generac, but I think I'm going to look into solar. I'm in FL and solar can help all year round where a generator is only when you need it, my boss has a generac for the past 4-5 years and he says it's only came on once or twice from needing it. Solar I could use to lower my electric bill and possibly sell back electric. I could get a battery bank in my garage and go all night with battery power and no loud engine outside. Some things to think about....

Anyone have solar with batteries?
Can get both, I have both and actually finally had an outage last night. Was only about an hr but for that hr my fish had all their circulation, I never worried about them, and we were the only house in the neighborhood with power. Was convenient the dishwasher could keep going :p
 

Screwgunner

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I am notified if my power goes out. If it is out more than 1/2 hour I leave work to start my gen. Only had to leave work once. Was home on the weekend the second time.
 

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