Power is out! How do you get through power outages?

[Waboss]

I run a UPS that holds everything for about 15 minutes, which is enough time (usually) for me to fire up the generator, then I can run as long as I have fuel. Luckily, the worst I've experienced since we moved into the house we're at now have been a couple of hours.

 

[JayM]

Would they still be petrol powered these noiseless ones? Never seen one of them before, but that could be interesting!

If the Honda generator mentioned is the one I'm thinking of - it isn't at all noiseless, but it is extremely quiet.

The only silent "generator" is essentially a battery with an inverter and a solar panel for recharging.

 

[Reefering1]

I run a UPS that holds everything for about 15 minutes, which is enough time (usually) for me to fire up the generator, then I can run as long as I have fuel. Luckily, the worst I've experienced since we moved into the house we're at now have been a couple of hours.

Connect some car batteries to that thing and be amazed. 4 100Ah, agm car batteries runs my tank, everything except halides(600-800w load), for about/ over 18 hours...

 

[DarkReefer]

Don't be in such a rush. I got mine as part of a power project and paid only a few thousand dollars. I would never pay retail for a battery.
Although it now has its benefits for my aquarium.

Envious. I was looking at solar when I bought my place (still haven't done it yet, but it's on the 'to do' list) and as a part of that I enquired about a battery option and wow they're stupid expensive. Would 100% have one if it was only a few grand extra, but not 15-25K LOL

 

[tsharpe291]

I know this gets discussed but I'd be interested to see how many have generators or other means to power the tank in case of a power outage!

I mainly see things like battery backups, UPS, generators, and/or battery bubblers being used.

When I had my old 25g Lagoon running years ago, when the power went out for several days, I had set an alarm on my phone for every 45-60 min. or so to get up and heat water on my wood furnace, float new hot water bottles, and manually stir the tank. I think I did have a battery bubbler also. This is in Canada so cold temps in the winter are a major concern. I remember it was brutally cold. The only thing I lost was my cleaner shrimp, miraculously. This was one of the most stressful times of my life (not to sound dramatic!). I don't think I slept for 3 days.

After that, I  swore to myself that I would  never have a reef tank without a generator.

I am currently sitting in the black again. The power was out last week for 3 days. Sigh.

Since then, and having moved in with the boyfriend, reefkeeping life in the winter so far has been good! He has a good-sized generator and we can easily keep the tank, among other things, running while the power is out.

What do you do?!

portable generator and a transfer switch that will power my tank and home essentials, furnace, refrigerator, sump pump and of course the tank. haven't had to use it in 7 years but better to have it and not need it.

 

[PeterEde]

Envious. I was looking at solar when I bought my place (still haven't done it yet, but it's on the 'to do' list) and as a part of that I enquired about a battery option and wow they're stupid expensive. Would 100% have one if it was only a few grand extra, but not 15-25K LOL

I think it's a conjob personally but as my state has the highest cost of power in Australia and one of the highest in the world, when I was asked to participate in a power program and I get a Powerwall for only $3000 instead of near $20K I jumped at it. But I'd never pay retail for a battery to "save" on my power bill. $20K is a lot of years of power bills up front. Was it Sydney that was told to save power recently?

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

I use a generator like many. Luckily with the recent storm we were only about a day and a half. We just got it back at 5:30 tonight, which was great as I was expecting to be without it for 3-4 days.

 

[Ian303]

As a Brit was my first experience was Hurricanes Michael, lost third of the roof !!
Six weeks without power, ran generator during day, charged car batteries during the day and used with an inverter at night . Keeping things cool was the biggest challenge, hot as hell after the storm and no AC.
Lost one dwarf Angel and some shrimp initially, stress of it all and eventually ended up losing two thirds of the tank.

Where is this? Power is extremely reliable in Florida. Even when a hurricane comes, you can rely on it going out

that’s some funny …. , made me chuckle, I can
Laugh now.

 

[Reefering1]

As a Brit was my first experience was Hurricanes Michael, lost third of the roof !!
Six weeks without power, ran generator during day, charged car batteries during the day and used with an inverter at night . Keeping things cool was the biggest challenge, hot as hell after the storm and no AC.
Lost one dwarf Angel and some shrimp initially, stress of it all and eventually ended up losing two thirds of the tank.

that’s some funny …. , made me chuckle, I can
Laugh now.

6 weeks in the heat!! That's rough. Ian was my longest, Irma was about 5 or 6 days. After ian, we were lucky, it drew in colder air from the north and it was a beautiful 70 something degrees afterward. My generator handles the house a/c too(everything but water heater and struggled with the stove). But the great weather made for comfortable yard work. I was the neighborhood "chainsaw maniac". Was kind of fun climbing fallen trees, cutting them down- reminisce of my childhood

 

[DarkReefer]

I think it's a conjob personally but as my state has the highest cost of power in Australia and one of the highest in the world, when I was asked to participate in a power program and I get a Powerwall for only $3000 instead of near $20K I jumped at it. But I'd never pay retail for a battery to "save" on my power bill. $20K is a lot of years of power bills up front. Was it Sydney that was told to save power recently?

Yeah I'm pretty sure. I heard something over the radio suggesting not to turn on ur AC etc until after 9pm LOL.
They really need to sort out another power station or two stat, or make it so solar etc is a lot more affordable for people to get onboard and help ease the system.

 

[KenBabich]

- Ecoflow battery backup
- IceCap battery back up for my Maxspect gyre
- Frozen saltwater water bottles (salt vs RODI incase they leak) for summertime - Thermacare 16 hour disposable heat packs double sealed in zip lock bag (air removed as much as possible) for wintertime.
- JBL battery air pump (two leads).
- To pull water through the filtration: Horusdy portable battery powered pump - put the intake in the AIO sump and position the output hose into the display

 

[Wrassenaround]

I have a generator that I purchased a few months after a tornado came thru and knocked out my power for 2-1/2 days. (generator borrowed from friend after 13 hours) Tank barley survived.

Luckily I haven't had to use the one I purchased since but I have piece of mind incase I ever need one. Tornados and winter storms seem to be more popular in KY now

 

[ErikVR]

Don't be in such a rush. I got mine as part of a power project and paid only a few thousand dollars. I would never pay retail for a battery.
Although it now has its benefits for my aquarium.

I don’t mind paying full price. We run 48 solar panels. Have a geothermal heat pump. Drive an EV. A home battery is the last piece of the puzzle to become less reliable on energy from sources I want to avoid.

We now face the issue that we’re having to pay (up to €50 a day) when sending excess solar energy onto the grid. Even though there is no excess in energy. Power companies just found a loophole to punish customers who are producing their own power instead of using theirs. So there is a solid case for batteries.

 

[PeterEde]

I don’t mind paying full price. We run 48 solar panels. Have a geothermal heat pump. Drive an EV. A home battery is the last piece of the puzzle to become less reliable on energy from sources I want to avoid.

We now face the issue that we’re having to pay (up to €50 a day) when sending excess solar energy onto the grid. Even though there is no excess in energy. Power companies just found a loophole to punish customers who are producing their own power instead of using theirs. So there is a solid case for batteries.

Most Australians are unaware our government has enabled power suppliers to charge for excess power as well. So lots of panels and no battery storage can be more costly.
Our states now dump excess power generated by solar.
We have dumb government

 

[ErikVR]

Most Australians are unaware our government has enabled power suppliers to charge for excess power as well. So lots of panels and no battery storage can be more costly.
Our states now dump excess power generated by solar.
We have dumb government

GovernmentS

We've come to a point where our government is looking for ways to apply extra taxation to EVs. First they tell you we should all get EVs. And as soon as a large part of the population buys one, they start taxing the hell out of it. So now, businesses are already reverting back to diesel when they need to lease new cars. Well done, you numpties!

I bet that in 5 years from now, our government will be screaming at us for not driving enough EV's. As soon as they get in trouble at the EU for not abiding the directives to reduce emissions, which they signed themselves years ago....

We used to run solaredge batteries but when they died for the second time I decided to wait for Tesla's V3 powerwall. I have more trust in them than solaredge.

 

[gbroadbridge]

GovernmentS

We've come to a point where our government is looking for ways to apply extra taxation to EVs. First they tell you we should all get EVs. And as soon as a large part of the population buys one, they start taxing the hell out of it. So now, businesses are already reverting back to diesel when they need to lease new cars. Well done, you numpties!

I bet that in 5 years from now, our government will be screaming at us for not driving enough EV's. As soon as they get in trouble at the EU for not abiding the directives to reduce emissions, which they signed themselves years ago....

You should be able to get Sonnen battery systems there I would think?
We have 2 installed here with similar solar generation capacity as yours.

We still have generator backup though as the aquarium has cost more than the batteries

 

[ErikVR]

You should be able to get Sonnen battery systems there I would think?
We have 2 installed here with similar solar generation capacity as yours.

We still have generator backup though as the aquarium has cost more than the batteries

I've never heard of them... 'sonnenBatterie'?
Sounds German so I bet we'll be able to get those from our German neighbours

Are they 'smart'? Do they come with software that lets you setup charging schedules? I want to be able to charge them at night during winter, when there isn't enough solar during the day and the rates are low at night.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I've never heard of them... 'sonnenBatterie'?
Sounds German so I bet we'll be able to get those from our German neighbours

Are they 'smart'? Do they come with software that lets you setup charging schedules? I want to be able to charge them at night during winter, when there isn't enough solar during the day and the rates are low at night.

Yes, they are German and yes you can set to charge using offpeak electricity at night if you wish either from a web interface or by using a provided API.

 

[ErikVR]

Yes, they are German and yes you can set to charge using offpeak electricity at night if you wish either from a web interface or by using a provided API.

API? Well then count me in!
That means I can create my own dynamic charging schedule based on the amount of sun hours and predicted intensity?

 

[gbroadbridge]

API? Well then count me in!
That means I can create my own dynamic charging schedule based on the amount of sun hours and predicted intensity?

Yes you can using their API. Also as well there are projects on github for control of the battery system.