WINTERS HERE - whats your plan?

[ZoWhat]

Lets all have a plan to go DAYS without power.... so not a single R2R person loses a tank to a Winter Storm knocking out power for Days and Days

Here's my plan:

My car and my car's battery running outside (so there's no exhaust fumes ;Dead)

PLUS

Jumper cables running from car to power a Power Inverter

PLUS

A heavy duty Power Inverter. Mines a 2500WATT. Inexpensive at Harbor Freight

PLUS

Extension cords running from Power Inverter to my tank and plug in only essential items, heater, pumps for water movement

The beauty of this setup is a car holds a LOT of gas and can sit and idle for days as you power the Inverter to keep your tank running

My setup costs roughly $150 -vs- generators usually costing a minimum of $500+

 

[salt2salt]

or just buy a cheap generator and save your car motor and the inability to travel.

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[T-J]

If memory serves me correctly (and I'm not an electrician), inverters can wreck havoc on non-DC powered pumps/wavemakes/gear.
Also, your title suggests that your making plans to make a plan...

 

[ZoWhat]

or just buy a cheap generator and save your car motor and the inability to travel.

IMO .....Generator are LOUD, EXPENSIVE and a TARGET FOR THIEVES during a crisis

Your car you can at least lock up.

Everyone thinks idling a car is bad. Ive had several Master Techs say BUNK...

I would think if the power is out due to a Winter Storm, you ain't going to be traveling anywhere but the Grocery and to fill up the car in an area that has power.

Once the tank is stabilized by the Inverter, you can unplug everything fir an hour to drive to get essential things.

 

[brandon429]

team get the igen 2200 Westinghouse from amazon its amazing and ran my nano + fridge out of one side of the outlet for 5 hours in an outage last month, and the other leg we ran to neighbors house so they can charge phones off a long extension cord. $500 lifesaver. plus I can take it camping w me and run microwave for glamping food preps.

*the igen has a place you can run a chain through it to avoid theft. mine simply stayed hooked on with a bike cable to my jeep wheel during our power outage.

I live in an apt
noise factors bigtime it was quiet bc I put six blankets over it lol and vented up one end for gas exhaust.

 

[ZoWhat]

If memory serves me correctly (and I'm not an electrician), inverters can wreck havoc on non-DC powered pumps/wavemakes/gear.
Also, your title suggests that your making plans to make a plan...

Good point but

(Possibly) replace pumps, heaters
-VS-
Losing your entire tank

I know where I stand....

 

[salt2salt]

I think a thief would rather break a window and steal your car than a cheap, not very loud generator. But i live in a nice area so i wouldn't really know.

 

[ajjw0828]

Actually just wired up a generator plug to my breaker box, so I can plug my generator and power the whole reef with hopefully no issues!

 

[brandon429]

biological preps matter too if we are hedging for tank safety.

during a cold power outage, a tank with a typical common sandbed is competing for oxygen orders above what a bare bottom tank will command, biological and chemical oxygen demand of detritus + mixed heterotrophic bacteria is more 02 command than all your fish added up, Ill bet.

so if anyone wants to run safe deep sand bed cleaning for bio preps, message me we need more examples for our forty page work thread.


sending your reef cleaner than usual into winter is far safer than letting it run all accumulated into risk season. Clean reefs live longer than dirty ones during stress tests of any type. this is rip cleaning season let's get going, scrub in for tank surgery, stat.

 

[ZoWhat]

*the igen has a place you can run a chain through it to avoid theft. mine simply stayed hooked on with a bike cable to my jeep wheel during our power outage.

Not bunking your plan... but for me...Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I don't think a generator would last 2 days outside my house during a crisis

Stealing a generator is a misdemeanor
Stealing a car is a felony

 

[brandon429]

I know that when Im out riding my bike around at night the degree of people carrying those chain breakers is shocking

 

[T-J]

Hmmmm.....

(Possibly) replace pumps, heaters
-VS-
Losing your entire tank

I know where I stand....

This is laughable. Replace expensive gear just to use your suggested "power failure saver", or spend a lot less and get a generator that is made for situations like this.

Regardless, I hope nobody has to deal with a power failure.

 

[brandon429]

I haven't seen a way to idle a jeep and not get it stolen/ $500 vs 30K I gotta go with the expendable igen

 

[T-J]

I haven't seen a way to idle a jeep and not get it stolen/ $500 vs 30K I gotta go with the expendable igen

Also, many cities have laws against leaving a car idle unattended in order to curb theft.

 

[X-37B]

I have a generator, always will.
I have many other things that need power.
Snake room is one, plus refrigerator and freezers.
My generator is in the back yard, come and get it, lol.

 

[josephxsxn]

Have a 3250 watt generator, used it 3 times already this winter including a 20 hour outage. Tanks are fine! Looking at getting a standby installed for peace of mind, the investment in these coral are huge at this point and I believe to be worth protecting,

 

[Casket_Case]

I don’t have a lot of options so I just pray really hard, wrap the tank in a sleeping bag, leaving top open for oxygen. I need to get a battery powered bubble maker. My tank survived by the grace of God a couple days without power around two months ago.

 

[salt2salt]

Not bunking your plan... but for me...Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I don't think a generator would last 2 days outside my house during a crisis

Stealing a generator is a misdemeanor
Stealing a car is a felony

IMO...I could get in your running car faster than cutting a chain.

 

[piranhaman00]

Running an inverter off your alternator is a bad idea. I have done lots of research into it as I originally purchased and inverter to use on car battery.

 

[h2so4hurts]

I have a westinghouse generator and a transfer switch. Pretty easy DIY install. Not sure there's any reason to die on the "Inverters are better hill." Sounds like a good way to get your car stolen. If you're worried about the noise, pay double for a nearly silent Honda...