What do you do about electrical backup?

M

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[Just wondering what others do for backup when the electricity goes out? Just getting worried with this new setup and all the rain we've been having. It could be a wet winter as well....who knows.

What do you have? What does it run? How much and where did you get it? How long will it last with what you have on it?

I found THIS PAGE for a DIY job that is so beyond me it's sad. But, for some it might be an option.]
 
[I use an APC UPS. I don't remember which one we have off hand, but it is not just one of their power strip back-ups. Anyway, we only have the main pump plugged into a back-up port....no lights, etc. Just in case it was a long power outage, we would want there to be a minimum of tank circulation of water between sump and tank. We figure the fish and coral would be ok for a period of time without light. (Heck, I've accidentally turned the lights off for an entire day once and nobody in the tank died or looked bad because of it.) Our guesstimation is that just the pump could be powered for 10-14 hours on the UPS. Now, if it comes down to days like it did for some folks recently, then you either hope for the best or get a generator.]



Edited By buyitjody on 1092945080
 
[I have implemented a half the solution the article talks about. I have a car battery and an inverter. I was able to run a dual air pump and 3 small circulation pumps off it for 40 hours this spring. I left the lights off as I did want to tax the battery. Also, since the power outage was during the summer, I did not worry about pluggin in a heater but I would imagine this will really drain the battery fast.

At the moment, the setup is broken down but can be set up in about 10 min if the power goes out. The setup is very simple, take the black lead from the inverter and hook up the black lead on the battery, do the same for the red. Turn on inverter, plug in air pump or circulation pump.

I think I am going to look into this DYI solution at it is very straight forward IMO.

Todd]
 
[There is another very nice DIY project by "Playfair" on Reef Central. It automatically turns on when the power goes out.]
 
[i bought 2 automatic air pump for emergency which will last for 20 to 28 hours, depend you choose slow or fast mode. One from ebay , I believe from someone called aquatic KR, or i also got one from Dr Foster and Smith, about $60 a piece.
They work fine but i have to wait the next power outrage and see. :cool grin:
william]
 
[When I was a boy growing up in New England,We had a huricane back in 64 ans I remembered that out power was off for two weeks.Since then my dad brought a generator that ran off of gasoline. that he had hooked up into the house so if the power went out the generator would come on.It worked great after a Noreaster came thourgh a few years later but he had to fill the tank up every so often.He fixed that after when he plumped in a natural gas line.Now its fourty years and he passed away a couple of years ago but I'm be dammed if the system still works like the day he put it in.My Moms feels kind of bad though when all the niehbors lights are out and hers are still working..She tells me she closes the blinds!! lol]
 
[Great story! Good point about plumbing in natural gas line to feed the gasoline generator... One of my uncles had a '50 Plymouth that he converted from gasoline to propane 'cuz gas was too expensive (this was in the days gas was around 11 cents a gallon - prolly was expensive at the time!). He had a large propane tank in the trunk but the car ran well and oil stayed clean as propane does burn cleanly. He ran that car for years until I think he or his wife finally tired of it - that was in the days when the mentality was to trade cars every year or so...the MPG wasn't as good as gasoline but the offset was cheaper fuel and far less maintenance...

Sounds like a great option for those of us blessed with both gas and electricity connections - thanks for the reminder.]
 
[Wow! The DIY link is just incredible - I like the tail-end tag about adding a solar panel of 80W 'should allow the system to run indefinitely'. There was a LOT of concern about how long the battery-inverter and APC power units would last when we had our last big storm-caused power problems in the Ft. Worth area...]
 
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