Tank Journal Archive

[brendan88]

As we all know a power black out is the worst thing we can think of..... With all we have invested in our tanks.....

Currently looking into a ups power back up system of 900 watts....

Just seeking what people are using as a back up.

Won't be running the heater on the back up, nor lights.

Currently looking at this:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/IT-Product...AC-LCD-Line-Interactive-UPS-with-USB/p/MP5207

 

[Lesley]

We bought a generator from Bunnings
Was just over $559

Does whole of tank and our fridge & Tv

For the extra $ may be worth peace of mind ?

 

[brendan88]

Do u have to be home to turn it on when the power goes out??

The reason I look at ups is. It runs between the tank and wall socket. So if your not home and power goes out, the ups takes over. And based on the calculations I'll get 9-10 hours with a black out.

 

[Lesley]

Do u have to be home to turn it on when the power goes out??

The reason I look at ups is. It runs between the tank and wall socket. So if your not home and power goes out, the ups takes over. And based on the calculations I'll get 9-10 hours with a black out.

ah. ok yes
have to be home.
But get sms alert telling us power is out and again with back on.
So one of us can leave work and get home if needed.
But very good point.

 

[brendan88]

We both are shift workers, so we can go hours with out being home.... And can't just leave work :-(

 

[daveH]

Try looking at the range of UPS that UMart carry - they have a really wide range at decent prices.
I run a CyberPower that has saved the day a number of times.
The thing that UPS can do that generators can't is protect against brown outs ( power out for a second and back on again). These can blow circuit boards in LED controllers in a flash (so to speak).

 

[Dave001]

I built my own.

4x 12v car batteries, around 200 Amp Hour capacity.
360 watt pure sine wave inverter:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Prod...DC-to-230VAC-Pure-Sine-Wave-Inverter/p/MI5702
15 amp battery charger:
http://www.projecta.com.au/Products...harger.aspx?iframe=true&width=800&height=100%

Runs 12 powerheads (75 watt load) for around 24 hrs.

 

[RobbieMVFC]

I have a tunze battery-back up unit (6105.500).plugged into a battery , last test it lasted 24hrs+ I have a cheep generator just in case thing go really bad.

 

[Sam Parker]

yeah personally I'd be going the SMS alert option first, seeing how often you have power outages and then maybe adding a battery backup (tunze, ecotech, fish street) to a couple of flow pumps at first. Then weigh up if you want full UPS, generator or just ride with the mobile notification.

I had grand plans of setting up a generator with auto fire up when power went out, but in reality - our power basically never goes out. The only time it has gone out is when something in the tank has failed and it has flipped the safety switch. It just wasn't worth the mega expense in the end.

Keep in mind with decent UPS setups, you need to maintain and replace the batteries which is not a cheap exercise. Same thing with generators really, you need to have fresh fuel on hand and keep the maintenance up on the gennie or it won't work when you need it to.

Do you have solar? If so, maybe look into a Tesla power-wall or a Orison Tower or Panel. Both will act as a HUGE UPS for your entire house and can also save you money on your power bill. If you can hold out a little longer, they will only get cheaper and cheaper

Sam

 

[dimitri]

i got a UPS as used for computer servers

perfect & not too pricey.