Back up power source?

[maryd]

Last night we lost power for several hours. I had used the power surge with battery back up from my computer to keep the filter going on the tank but that didn't last long and is only for computers.
Does anyone know of a place where I can purchase a back up power source for events such as this?
Thanks.

 

[scsinet]

There isn't any such thing other than a generator or a UPS rigged with a whole bank of batteries that can keep a tank going for "hours."
There are ways to rig what you want... using only a couple powerheads, rigging external batteries to a conventional UPS, etc but IMO the most reliable solution is a generator. UPSs get expensive to maintain becuase the batteries have to be periodically replaced, and it's finite... no matter how many batteries you buy, there is always a limit.
At least with a generator you can back up your fridge at the same time.
One thing I tell people to do is buy a big power inverter... maybe 750 watts or so... that's usually enough to power a return pump and a couple powerheads. Just hook the inverter up to your car and keep your engine idling. It's dirt cheap and accomplishes the same goal.

 

[misfit]

Look in the news papers for generators.I bought my cheap 100 bucks 3000 watts.had it for about 3 years now and never used it till recently when we got a bad storm and the power was out for like 5 hours ran my whole tank, lights, fan to move air around the house and the tv,dvd player and still had power left

 

[wattsupdoc]

You can do the inverter on a deep cycle battery. It'll give you a few hours. Install a automatic charger on it and it'll be fresh and ready to go when needed. Also you can install a relay in the circuit so it comes on automaticlly. Most power outages would be covered with this. If the battery is kept charged it's life will be greatly extended. Also if you have an extended outage then you can use you're car as suggested by ssci above. (a ups is essentially the same thing only manufactured for computers).

 

[cgrant]

I have my return pump hooked up to a ups, its a pretty good sized one though.
I tested it once and it ran for 4 hours on just pump and 2 heaters and was still going, but that ups is like $1200 new, I got a really good deal on it...FreeBee!!!

:joy:

 

[maryd]

Thanks I'll see what we can come up with. We have 2 generators but I want something which will come on by itself when the power goes off., just in case we are not home.
Ill relay this info to the old man.

 

[maryd]

Why doesn't one of you clever men (or women) invent a back up power source. It could probably run off a car battery. Make it so the filter at least will kick in on the alternate power source automatically when the electric goes off.
I think there would be a big market for this. My sister has 2 power sources for her freshwater tank but has to be there to manually hook it up or switch it over and then takes the spare one to an electrical outlet (not her house when her electric is off) and recharges it.
I would pay about $200 for such an item. Consider the market for this. How many on here alone would want one? Talk to the man from California who recently packed up his fish and took to mom's for electric.
What does the LFS use? I suppose they probably have a generator.
let me know when you've invented this item because I'd sure like one!!
Mary :jumping:

 

[cgrant]

Making this product would not be hard and they actually alreay exist, but as heavy as the batteries are shipping would hurt!
You can actually buy one from a menards or home depot, they sell them for sump/ejector pumps. They are not cheap!
I had to purchase one for my sump pump that cost me ~500 bucks!

 

[ninjamini]

Living in south florida we have to think about loosing power every year. Not for hours but for days or even weeks. Yes a generator is the only way of doing that. Thats if you can get gas. Last hurricane Wilma I lost power for 3 days and I did not have a generator. I used a battery air pump to oxygenate the water but the tank looked terrible for weeks afterwards. If I had lost power for weeks it would have been a dead tank.

 

[wattsupdoc]

I could build one of these. As stated above. But 200.00 wouldn,t cover it. And you'd have to buy you're own battery. A good deep cycle battery will run in the 100.00 mark alone. ***)

 

[maryd]

I printed out the info I got here and gave to the old man and maybe he can build me one of these. But wouldn't you think someone or some company could build one which would do the trick AND be affordable? I'm sure there's a big market for this, especially in areas which are hurricane prone, tornado prone, etc. Which is pretty much the entire country.

 

[1911_guy]

what about an alarm that sounds when power is lost and/or a paging system...you get a phone call or email alert letting you know to go home and crank up your generator :thinking:

 

[scsinet]

This idea I like. I posted a link in a thread a while ago for a 2 channel voice dialer. It's like 90 bucks and it has two inputs... one could be tied to the power and another maybe to a float switch, temperature alert...etc.
You can pre-record your message and it'll call your cell phone and literally tell you what's wrong. I'll have to look and see if I can find it again.

 

[1911_guy]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
This idea I like. I posted a link in a thread a while ago for a 2 channel voice dialer. It's like 90 bucks and it has two inputs... one could be tied to the power and another maybe to a float switch, temperature alert...etc.
You can pre-record your message and it'll call your cell phone and literally tell you what's wrong. I'll have to look and see if I can find it again.
Wow, wish I was smart enough to actually make one. Sounds cool, let us know if you find it. Are you a computer programmer or something?

 

[scsinet]

Found it...
http://www.safe-mart.com/li2au.html
It has two switched inputs. What you'd have to do to build a power failure alarm is rig some sort of relay across the unit and run the relay off a small AC power supply. It's really simple to do if you have a basic electrical knowledge.
Lastly, you'd have to have the dialer itself running off a UPS so it has power to dial in the event of a failure.

 

[cgrant]

Edit: I misread this the 1st time, didnt realise you wanted it to actually dial a cell or page you, that would work, also if you have adt could also rig up adt alarm to page you by adding a sensor to an addition zone but would need to do some moding to like a motion or fire sensor, would have to look at the schematics of the sensors and check it out, i might just look into the adt thing since we have it.
should be able to rig a sensor to page you from adt alarm when power goes out.
Biggest thing with adt is the newer systems are wireless sensors but i have seen adt add on sensors at home depot, really dont want to mess with existing sensors, the wife would flip!

 

[scsinet]

The problem with an alarm panel (at least the one's I've played with) is that they only dial as a data link... they don't use any kind of voice dialing. They are designed to call a monitoring center and establish a data connection....
I tried doing this with an old Caddx, FBI, and some other brand alarms I had laying around and found this out... it's very possible that the ADT system you are speaking of has this functionality...
Hmmm this does bring up a very interesting idea...
Everybody who has any kind of monitored alarm system can affect a $0 cost solution. Almost every commercial alarm panel made can be programmed to dial the monitoring center on power failure. All you have to do is have your alarm panel programmed by your alarm company to do this, and have your monitoring company set up to just call your mobile phone on a power failure signal.