House generators, Tesla battery walls, excellent top of the line choices but it’s going to cost a lot. Probably 20k or more
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Are there any must-have gadgets for power outages in 2024?
- Thread starter SaltwaterScoop
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Reefering1
2500 Club Member
A 5-7500w generator goes a long way and can be had for $500-$1000
I also have (4) 100Ah agm car batteries supplying a ups, closer to $1000
How much are the lipo options and what kind of capacity do they offer?
That’s true but not what we are talking about. A portable gas generator that’s in the range you mentioned will not run for 13 days. The fuel tanks last 10-20 hours.
There’s no comparison between sealed lead acid batteries and lipo batteries for performance and lifespan. Look at the discharge curves for both
The point of this thread is automated cutover to alternative power in an outage, and something indoors. A portable gas generator won’t be a solution
The home generators and power walls brought up are viable options but significantly more expensive. But, an ideal solution
OP has 16x12x27 of space indoors and wants automatic cutover. Which of your solutions can accommodate?
How much are the lipo options and what kind of capacity do they offer?
Already in the thread
we are getting off topic with power outage solutions that can’t be accommodated
Reefering1
2500 Club Member
We are discussing different power backup options, op will be fine with some conversation on the side. He seemed to show interest in a generator, so anything may be on the table. That said, why does it have to be one or the other? I suggest a battery backup(whichever technology doesn't matter) and a generator for after that dies. My caterpillar rp5500, ran 13 days with barely a hiccup, running refueling. Can shut it down and restart just the same, a decent unit will keep its temp and keep running.. pretty standard equipment in Florida, he is in the next state up(Georgia). May want to be prepared for a real power outage
Reefering1
2500 Club Member
That's arguable, you can compare cost, likelihood of catching fire/exploding, which can take more abuse(deep discharging/fast recharge).. only thing lipo does better is higher discharge rate(it can dump its power faster) and lighter/ smaller form factor. I wouldn't say there's no comparison worth talking about
OK I don't know much about electrical, so I have dumb question.
All of my equipment is plugged into GFCI in case there is a leak/short/etc.
If I buy something like the BigBlue powerstation, do I just put a GFCI between it and the equipment it is powering? So wall outlet->BigBlue->GFCI->tank equipment? I did not see anything about built-in GFCI.
Basically I want to leave this plugged in all the time, with just return and flow pumps connected (lights/heater/etc on a completely separate circuit), so that if power goes off while I am at work the water will continue to circulate until I get home. My return and flow pumps combined only use about 50 watts, so even a medium size unit would give me most of a day run time-assuming the actual and advertised watt hours are reasonably close.
All of my equipment is plugged into GFCI in case there is a leak/short/etc.
If I buy something like the BigBlue powerstation, do I just put a GFCI between it and the equipment it is powering? So wall outlet->BigBlue->GFCI->tank equipment? I did not see anything about built-in GFCI.
Basically I want to leave this plugged in all the time, with just return and flow pumps connected (lights/heater/etc on a completely separate circuit), so that if power goes off while I am at work the water will continue to circulate until I get home. My return and flow pumps combined only use about 50 watts, so even a medium size unit would give me most of a day run time-assuming the actual and advertised watt hours are reasonably close.
yes - equipment goes into the power station. The power station plugs in the wall. Gfci is good extra level of protection but not essential. If you have one use it
If the power goes out or If the gfci trips, the power station will take over until you return
Gumbies R Us
Certified Noob
Portable generators can be life savers when it comes to a power outage
Low Tech Reefer
Community Member
I use point of use 1500 watt UPS at each one of my tanks. They carry over all the power bumps and can run the tank (minus the heaters of course) for 1 to 2 hours. This is usually sufficient. If the outage is going to be longer, I have a 30A 9000W 240v whole house generator. I had to use it twice in April, once for 48 hours.
This thread is very interesting. Can someone help me figure out what size power bank I'd need? For example, the Big Blue mentioned in the second post says 1075.2Wh but what does that mean? My return pump uses 262 watts, so does it mean it will run my return pump for 1075.2/262 = 4 hours? Return is in my basement with the sump and I'd want it to run at least 10 hours, 24 hours would be better. Then I'd want a second one upstairs with the tank to run 3 WAV powerheads, say 100 watts max, though they are programmed to run at reduced speed in an outage. Those are currently on a computer UPS that is several years old. It's an APC BX-1500M and last time there was an outage it only ran for 1 hour with a load of 50 watts.
I have a gas generator as a backup but as was mentioned before these are a pain to pull out and keep filled with gas so I'd only use it for major power outage emergencies, or in winter when I need to run heaters. It is hooked up so I can also run some house lights, refrigerator, microwave and TV.
I have a gas generator as a backup but as was mentioned before these are a pain to pull out and keep filled with gas so I'd only use it for major power outage emergencies, or in winter when I need to run heaters. It is hooked up so I can also run some house lights, refrigerator, microwave and TV.
OP
OP
I just bough the Eco Flow Delta 2. I was able to find it new for $500 on TikTok. Thanks everyone for the discussion and suggestions.
Your math looks correct from what I've read. I am planning to run my 20 watt return pump for 50 hours on a ~1000wh battery. I can let you know what it actually does when I get mine.
Stevorino
Well-Known Member
I'm in the process of getting solar for our new home.... I'm sorta on the fence on whether or not we want to get batteries as well..... just so dang expensive, but I also love the idea of not worrying about outages/hurricanes as much.
We also have a propane tank and no city gas, so I get nervous about relying on a generac that may only last a couple of days, when I can potentially just add a battery and forget about it.
Their proposed battery is the Enphase 5P (5kWh capacity). Our solar system size would be 13.2kW.
Would this thing keep the tank vitals running for days?
We also have a propane tank and no city gas, so I get nervous about relying on a generac that may only last a couple of days, when I can potentially just add a battery and forget about it.
Their proposed battery is the Enphase 5P (5kWh capacity). Our solar system size would be 13.2kW.
Would this thing keep the tank vitals running for days?
JustAnotherNanoTank
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Get another big inverter for the Runner.
Just run the whole tank off of the truck.
Just kidding. But at some point getting an actual generator and maintaining it, is the best option.
Start skimming marketplace for a decent used one.
The runtime formula is
(Watt hours x .85) / watt load of connected device
Get a more efficient return pump and reduce your watts if possible to drastically increase runtime
I went from a 80 watt mag drive to a 19w dc pump and have the same gph, but increased my runtime on battery 4x
I needed a pump strong enough to run a manifold and also pump water from my basement up to my tank on the first floor. This one did end up being a bit overized, but it's throttled back some and that reduced the wattage to what I show. The only other pumps I found that could handle the head height were much more expensive and used the same amount of power or more. Haven't seen any DC pumps that can handle it. If you have a suggestion, I'll take a look.
Sounds like a specialty situation. What gph do you need and how much head height? I don’t know if I can find you something but I’m willing to take a look
And what pump are you using nowv
