Well,it happened.

[VintageReefer]

How do you figure out what size you need? I have a genny but may get one of these for short outages. I saw the prices on some of them and was like “ouch” but then came across the smaller, more reasonably priced ones.

They are rated by watt hours. It literally means what it’s called. It’s how many hours it can run based on watts used.

There is a formula to calculate runtime based on the units watt hours (battery capacity) and the amount of watts you are pulling.

The inverters and ac to Dc conversions do consume some power. We call this efficiency and it’s approximately 15% loss.

So the formula is
(Device watt hours x .85 efficiency) / watt load

Example.
I buy a station rated for 1000 watt hours

I have a Dc return pump that is 60w and I run it at 50%. Therefore it consumes 30w. I also have a powerhead (or other device) that consumes 20w. My total watts for the two items I want to power is 50w

Formula
(1000 x .85) / 50 = 17
A 1000wh power station will run my devices for 17 hours

So you need to pick only essential gear. Figure out the watts it’s pulling. And then price our different stations based on capacity and see how long they will last for you and make a decision based on cost vs runtime

My pico tank is very sensitive to temp changes, as it’s only 1 gallon. In complete power outage I had no hiccups

The tank ran as if nothing happened. It pulled an average of 12w and the station has 99 hours of runtime. i actually calculate it to be closer to 140 hours
But the screen only has two digits. This is also a large station with a very light load

 

[edsbeaker]

So sorry you went through this. I think everyone who has a reef tank worries about something like this. So happy that you caught it before everything was lost.

 

[VintageReefer]

These work best for two scenarios - smaller regular everyday style outages that are typically a few hours

And for longer outages - ensuring critical gear stays running when you are asleep, not home, etc tk buy your time to get a gas generator running as your main source of power

 

[VintageReefer]

I like the oupes company a lot. Their pricing is very competitive to other brands, and you tend to get more wh for the $ especially during the sales. They also make solar panels. With solar you can recharge for free during daytime and drastically increase runtime if it was a prolonged outage.

Oupes has two main product lines

The exodus series is the basic line. They are a little less expensive and great bang for the buck

The mega product line is a little more money, but these are expandable with add on batteries and can go up to 45kw of backup power with expansion batteries. The mega also comes in a larger range of capacity in the main station. They can connect to transfer stations and can power breakers in your house. They basically have more freedom for future expansion.

You also can get a 30% tax credit on these stations. I believe it needs to be 3kw or higher capacity to qualify

 

[JGT]

They are rated by watt hours. It literally means what it’s called. It’s how many hours it can run based on watts used.

There is a formula to calculate runtime based on the units watt hours (battery capacity) and the amount of watts you are pulling.

The inverters and ac to Dc conversions do consume some power. We call this efficiency and it’s approximately 15% loss.

So the formula is
(Device watt hours x .85 efficiency) / watt load

Example.
I buy a station rated for 1000 watt hours

I have a Dc return pump that is 60w and I run it at 50%. Therefore it consumes 30w. I also have a powerhead (or other device) that consumes 20w. My total watts for the two items I want to power is 50w

Formula
(1000 x .85) / 50 = 17
A 1000wh power station will run my devices for 17 hours

So you need to pick only essential gear. Figure out the watts it’s pulling. And then price our different stations based on capacity and see how long they will last for you and make a decision based on cost vs runtime

My pico tank is very sensitive to temp changes, as it’s only 1 gallon. In complete power outage I had no hiccups

The tank ran as if nothing happened. It pulled an average of 12w and the station has 99 hours of runtime. i actually calculate it to be closer to 140 hours
But the screen only has two digits. This is also a large station with a very light load

Thanks. Very helpful. Will check it out.

 

[VintageReefer]

I had a glitch and double posted. Revised one to say something different / additional

 

[JGT]

I had a glitch and double posted. Revised one to say something different / additional

I saw. I gave each 2 thumbs up.
Have you used the solar panel option?

 

[VintageReefer]

I saw. I gave each 2 thumbs up.
Have you used the solar panel option?

Not yet, but I just got a collapsible 200w panel and it’s a new avenue for me to explore. It folds up for storage, and then has an adjustable kickstand one the back. And when you need to recharge you just put it on the lawn or driveway, patio etc and point it at the sun. And run a cable to the station. Most of the stations come with adapter cables to connect to solar panels terminals

 

[VintageReefer]

I picked this one and got it on sale for prime day/week

Amazon.com

 

[JGT]

I picked this one and got it on sale for prime day/week

Amazon.com

Cool. What’s gonna screw me is my heaters. My pump is like 90 watts but my 2 x 300w heaters are a big draw.

 

[VintageReefer]

Most of the time heaters wouldn’t be run for outages from a battery station And most small regular outages wouldn’t need a heater

If your house ambient is…70? 72? And the tank is 77/78 - then the tank will naturally drop down to room temp, but with a high volume tank and thick glass, it would happen slowly and end result would be a “non lethal” temp.

If the weather outside was 20, or 110, then, then your room ambient would change In time, as the tank starts dropping to room temp concurrently. Ambient room temp would need to get dangerous, and tank temp would need to drop to ambient. You can get away with letting this happen for a few hours but really should have a generator to power those high draw devices like heaters. The lack of flow and oxygen will kill faster than the time needed for temps to get to lethal levels.

 

[JGT]

Most of the time heaters wouldn’t be run for outages from a battery station And most small regular outages wouldn’t need a heater

If your house ambient is…70? 72? And the tank is 77/78 - then the tank will naturally drop down to room temp, but with a high volume tank and thick glass, it would happen slowly and end result would be a “non lethal” temp.

If the weather outside was 20, or 110, then, then your room ambient would change In time, as the tank starts dropping to room temp concurrently. Ambient room temp would need to get dangerous, and tank temp would need to drop to ambient. You can get away with letting this happen for a few hours but really should have a generator to power those high draw devices like heaters. The lack of flow and oxygen will kill faster than the time needed for temps to get to lethal levels.

Yeah I’m concerned about the winter. As I said I have a genny but it’s a hassle to get it all gassed and setup to have the power come back on an hour after I get it going. . Plus sump is in basement which has my return pump and heaters. Maybe I get this for the DT which has my gyres.

 

[VintageReefer]

Yeah I’m concerned about the winter. As I said I have a genny but it’s a hassle to get it all gassed and setup to have the power come back on an hour after I get it going. . Plus sump is in basement which has my return pump and heaters. Maybe I get this for the DT which has my gyres.

You could get a dedicated one for the heaters and a dedicated one for return pump

It’s larger cost over time but smaller initial investment to get multiple stations. That’s how I did it. I started with small 300wh ones to buy me a hour or two on the small tanks. Then got a 600wh for my main reef. Then I got another 600wh. Then a 1000wh. Then a 1200wh. Then a 2100wh. This was spanned over several years as bonus money came in, or sales occurred. And also, over time, the cost per wh significantly dropped. It’s still expensive. But picture being where you are now, needing what you need, and it being 5 years ago. The prices were double. Many of you are learning about this tech now, but I’ve been buying these devices for a while. They used to be 1$ per wh. Now it’s half that or even less during sales.

And as I got larger units. I swapped out the smaller ones and repurposed them. Moved the small ones to my router/phone in an office, and now in an outage I still have wifi, land line phone, led lamp, and a fan - a comfy place to be and cool to have a room illuminated and on wifi, charging your phone and you look out the window and your neighborhood is completely dark.

Another one got moved to my tankless water heater. It’s natural gas. I just need to power the device itself - a lcd screen and come circuitry. Boom. Now in an outage I have INFINITE hot water - useful if I need to fill water bottles to maintain tank temps.

 

[JGT]

You could get a dedicated one for the heaters and a dedicated one for return pump

It’s larger cost over time but smaller initial investment to get multiple stations. That’s how I did it. I started with small 300wh ones to buy me a hour or two on the small tanks. Then got a 600wh for my main reef. Then I got another 600wh. Then a 1000wh. Then a 1200wh. Then a 2100wh. This was spanned over several years as bonus money came in, or sales occurred. And also, over time, the cost per wh significantly dropped. It’s still expensive. But picture being where you are now, needing what you need, and it being 5 years ago. The prices were double. Many of you are learning about this tech now, but I’ve been buying these devices for a while. They used to be 1$ per wh. Now it’s half that or even less during sales.

And as I got larger units. I swapped out the smaller ones and repurposed them. Moved the small ones to my router/phone in an office, and now in an outage I still have wifi, land line phone, led lamp, and a fan - a comfy place to be and cool to have a room illuminated and on wifi, charging your phone and you look out the window and your neighborhood is completely dark.

Another one got moved to my tankless water heater. It’s natural gas. I just need to power the device itself - a lcd screen and come circuitry. Boom. Now in an outage I have INFINITE hot water - useful if I need to fill water bottles to maintain tank temps.

Something to think about, thanks.

 

[VintageReefer]

You could also get one that’s expandable like the mega series. then as time goes on you add batteries as you can, and as they go on sale. In time, I promise the expansion batteries will go down in price. And you can connect lots of expansion batteries to any unit in the mega series.

You may like this so much, you’ll eventually get a transfer switch and connect a station to the house to automatically power outlets and circuits directly. I know several people here that have done this

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Wow so sorry to hear about this, at least some of your fish bounced back from it!