POWER OUTAGE AND HOW TO SAVE!

[Azilla]

Ok i get a lil scared when we have storm roll in cuz a few time the power went off and on turning off my lights. no i think if im ever away from home or somthing i dont want my pumps to die. So what would u suggest a battery operated pump or apc backup.
APC UNIT
http://shoppingonline.jobbankusa.com/Office/product7893-1.htm

PUMPS
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 6899&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030138&bmUID=1090378959613

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 9314&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030090&bmUID=1090378985813

[hawk]

I ordered the air pump by Penn Plax, last week. It should be here in a day or two. I like this one because it turns to battery power automatically when the power is interupted. Not a total solution, but it could be part of an emergency back-up plan.

[Quinn]

Just a thought, there's always the possibility of a portable gasoline-powered generator, new or used.

[Richer]

Out of your two choices I would personally go with the surge/battery battery backup made for computers. This (http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=23) is the battery backup I have at work... and I plan on getting one for my tank (I believe it was around 200 bucks at the Best Buy here). I don't know how long a couple of powerheads will run on this thing... but I'm pretty sure it'll run for a very long time, since this thing is rated for around 75-110 minutes on a standard computer setup. Obviously a couple of powerheads don't use a fraction of the amount of power a computer uses. The good thing about this kind of setup is that it provides surge protected outlets for things that don't really need a battery backup (ie. protein skimmer pump, lights, etc.). Surge protecting your electrical devices is not needed, but its nice. To top it all off, if the power goes out, or the breaker for that outlet trips, the battery will make a nasty wailing noise to alert you.

Its expensive to buy, but I believe in the long run it will be more cost effective. Its fully rechargable, so you won't have to replace the battery for a long period of time, and it has a pretty long life. I had an older APC battery backup run for a good 10 years before it died... fixing it was a breeze too. I took the thing apart, and found out it ran on some sort of motorbike battery... 40 bucks and 2 days later, a battery place got my battery in, and the APC was back up and running like a champ :razz:

-Richer

[monza]

Not 100% sure but from experience my back up units at work are really designed for giving you time to save and exit ASAP. I’ve tried to run the computer off the back up and it did not last. The back up unit on the server turns the computer into energy conserve mode and runs on as little power as possible.

So before you jump into that I’d for sure to some research, there are a lot of computer suave people on the list who I’m sure can help. Maybe my hardware just sucks.

My plan has always been a small gas powered generator just outside my basement fish room window. Two this stopping me, 1) the cost, 2) how to make it turn on automatically and be running everything?

Dave

[hawk]

[quote="monza"]Not 100% sure but from experience my back up units at work are really designed for giving you time to save and exit ASAP.
This has been my experience also.
Either way, air or a little water movement is not the real problem,as neither require much for power. Keeping the tank heated during a long black-out though, is a real problem. Ultimately I would like a generator too,but I have the same two problems as Monza. For now a battery powered air pump and a Canadian Tire inverter will have to do. Thankfully the power outages we get around here are very infrequent and don't last very long.(knock on wood)

[snaggle]

If I could aford to I would to both a genny and the batterie pack. That way you can swich from the battery pack to the genny just plug the batteries in to the genny and you can even turn it off at night for a bit if it is not the winter. and having a heated tank in your house will help to keep it warm in the event of an ice storm out east again. :biggrin:




well and west if we get one :lol:
well if I can ever get the mony I will a batterie pack an have gust my pump on it.

[Chad]

was just thinking, how about a deep cycle car / truck battery, then get converter for it. I think that will last a couple of hours. Also buy the Solar panel recharger for it from Canadian Tire..

Then you can run your PH / Heater and a air line in there.

[Chad]

Ok, Canadian Tire has this for sale.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortments/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444327 1700&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=2534374302192103&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=2534374303515778&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=2534374303515779&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374303515779&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395348027&bmUID=1090608939954

[LostMind]

whats the product ID for that Chad? The link doesnt work because of Canadian Tires stupid website ;)

[LostMind]

Product# 11-1815-0

This product on cad tires site sounds cool:

The Motomaster Eliminator 1,200 A PowerBox is a portable power system that can supply up to 1,200 watts of household electricity - enough to run almost any electronic product or appliance you might connect to your wall outlet at home.

An excellent alternative to a generator - no noise, no fumes, no fuel, and no moving parts

Provides 120V AC household power, 12V DC power
Built-in 1,200W inverter
Easy-to-monitor, dual-outlet AC panel
Sealed, 60 amp-hour AGM battery withstands long periods of inactivity with minimal self-discharge
Recharge PowerBox from a standard wall outlet or from your car, truck or RV
Jump starts vehicles (cables sold separately)
Ideal for power emergencies - run essential appliances like refrigerators, cordless/mobile phones, radios, fireplace fans, table lamps, microwaves, etc., when the power goes out
Operate power drills, belt sanders, circular saws, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, vacuums, computers, large monitors, fax machines, and inkjet printers
Run blenders, video games, TV and VCRs, satellite equipment, coffee makers, portable coolers and more
With a rugged cart that can be wheeled from room-to-room or outdoors over rough terrain

-----

I wonder if I could plug that into the wall and plug a few essential pumps and a heater into it. Would it provide the power to the pumps and heater while being continuously recharged? THen, if the power went out, the few essential pumps/heaters would still run, till power came back on, then the unit could be recharged automatically?

If so, I think its a great investment for $250.

hmmm - what's everyone think?

[Azilla]

So at costco they have APC Battery backup units 1000Watts says 90mins of power wont run pumps for long????

[Chad]

I am getting the one that is on sale tonight. 50$.. I figure if the power goes out a little PH should last about 7 hours .

OK, I bought it.. not bad for 57$... at 20W it will run for about 4 hours.. that is a MaxiJet 1200.. But I think in an emergency you can use a smaller PH , heater and air pump. Plus, you can always get the solar power recharger and recharge it. Also, you can leave it in the wall outlet and will recharge when it needs it.

[LostMind]

Is this the one chad?

-----

Motomaster Eliminator 300A PowerBox

The Motomaster Eliminator 300W PowerBox is easy-to-use and designed for years of reliable service.

Provides 120V AC household power, 12V DC power
Built-in 150W inverter with grounded outlets provides household power, anywhere, anytime
Sealed, non-spillable 12 amp-hour AGM battery
Reverse-polarity detector for safely jump-starting your vehicle
300A booster feature boosts vehicles' dead batteries; jumper clips designed for easy storage on the unit
Built-in light provides illumination in emergency situations at home and on the road
LED indicator for monitoring the battery charge level
Overload and over-temperature protection to ensure longer inverter life
Recharge from household current or from a vehicle
Powers camcorders, video games, stereos, 13" TV, as well as runs fans, computers, laptops, portable stereos, and clock radios

-----

[Chad]

Motomaster Eliminator 300A PowerBox

yup, thats the one.. so far so good.. even came charged..

[beaker020]

Computer UPS's are only designed to run a computer for no more than 20 min or so. Just long enough for you to finish what you are doing, save your work and shut down. A computer draws 300-400 watts and the monitor draws about 100 watts. As stated by hawk, keeping the tank warm is the major consideration, especially during the winter when it seems most power outages occur. SO your tank heater is likely 300watts or so plus figure about 100W for one circulation pump. So you're right up there with the draw of a computer. 20 min of backup power, even 40 min, is not gonna make much of a difference either way. Your tank can survive just fine all on its own for that little time. Where you need to be concerned is with the outages that last over an hour and up to several hours.

There was a thread on reefcentral awhile ago on a DIY battery backup unit using a deep cycle marine battery and a power inverter and a trickle charger. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64918&highlight=battery+backup
One of the beauties of this set up is you can recharge it with your car if it runs down or even hook it up to your car with jumper cables to keep it going indefinitely.

[steve.bridges]

hey chad have you tried it yet to see how long it lasts running a heater and ph. id be interested to find out.
we had a eleven hour power cut last year, no big deal though cos i was reefless then. different story now though.

[Samw]

I tried running a single powerhead on an APC SmartUPS 450. It lasted about 30 minutes. The battery was less than a year old and was fully charged.

[Chad]

hey chad have you tried it yet to see how long it lasts running a heater and ph. id be interested to find out.
we had a eleven hour power cut last year, no big deal though cos i was reefless then. different story now though.

Not yet, been busy this weekend. But I am planning on doing it tonight with my change water, have it run the heater and one PH.

I'll post the results.