power outage
 

I bought a small Honda generator a few years ago.Never had to use it but I have lent it out to friends.Just thought a good idea if people cant afford one why not split the price with a few close reefers.Make sure you live in different parts of your city/town so your power doesnt go out same time.It always happens when things are closed.If all your powers go out at once rock/paper / scissors./arm wressle or boxing gloves.

There's now the Princess Auto specials (and other brands) that are the 1/5 of the cost of a Honda making them affordable to just about everyone.

If you cant afford the price of a $199 canadian tire or costco generator then you probably shouldnt be in this hobby. Cheap insurance for some very expensive pets.

30 volts of DC electricity comes through the phone lines I think. I bet somone could rig up a few DC pumps to run off that when the power goes out. Usually when the power goes the phone's still working :mrgreen:

you can get a generator for 200$?!?!?!

i have the little car battery sized thing that you plug into the wall and it keeps a charge for a while. that was 200$, but it sure isnt a generator.

the only cheap generator i found is $300 at Canadian Tire, still not bad (i thought they were waaay more)

I have a 500G system and my main circulation pump is an Ampmaster 3600. It only draws 190 watts to start and 145 watts to run. I have the Princes Auto 950 watt generator and it handles the pump and a couple of heaters no problem.

Tom R

Me too. Plus have a battery backup that's good for running a couple of Hydor Koralia4s or some similar stream pump for a day or so.

Princess Auto, 880W, $133.
http://www.princessauto.com/_osn.cfm...LE%20GENERATOR

sweet!!

thanks!

a 200.00 generator is not a generator worth having. hell my lights run more than 880 watts.

affording a generator has nothing to do with being in this hobby, maybe people are on a budget ect... basically a pretty elitist comment overall.

Steve

I know I can't afford a generator. Should I sell my tank? Hmm...this could have something to do with my other hobbies though....

Yes a $200 generator is worth having. No it wont run your lights but it will run your heaters and pumps and keep your tank alive for days. Im not elitist at all, if you saw my tank you would understand. But what i have a hard time believing is someone who would spend $200 on a single fish or 4 corals or just 1 Tunze pump but not a generator or some other form of a backup.

If you would spend 200 on a single fish why not spend 4 or 500 on a generator that will last. I am saving up for a generator, but not primarly for the fish tank, it will be for my RV and then a power black out device also. the problem with 200 buck generators is you get what you payfor.. they are cheaply made and generaly when they break you throw them away. another problem with the ultra cheepies is that if there not used frequently the carb gaskets dry out or gum up.. then when you do need it guess what. Idealy one should get a honda/yammaha/kippor, not only are they 4 stroke and quiet but they are built to be serviced and repaired.

If you have a cheep one only keep a little fuel in it and run it up for about 15 min once a week, make sure you have to add new fuel at least once a month to keep fresh stuff in the carb. (this goes for the good ones also.)

Steve

i ordered that princessauto generator. i figure for 130$ it can at least keep my single nano tank going in an emergency.

Thats exactly what i did as my main use for the generator was to run my RV. I was merely stating in my origional post that there are some very inexpensive generators out there for people dont wish to risk a power outage.

not elitist at all...more along the lines of smart is what it is. who needs to have their lights on during a power outtage anyhow? that's most definitely not needed, if you can run your pumps, you're laughing, heaters? bonus! lights...not needed at all.

as far as cheapies, well you do get what you pay for but this is an emergency contingency. you don't need a $1000 unit for emergencies, if you're using it for camping or other work applications spend the extra money. for tank backup...cheap is fine.

I just found out our power will be out for 6 hours on Sunday. What kind of battery pack were you using?

I am looking into UPS for computers, i have seen a few that could run 450W for 8 hours and usually when the power goes out it doesnt last that long, but 450W would keep my pumps and heater going for a long time.

I have a UPS on my tank, and its a crap shoot on whether it will fire the pump or not. Alot of UPS' make square wave AC. This doesnt harm computer power supplies, but sometimes makes a Submersable pumo just occilate and not turn in one direction. Ive tried it with both my Quiet One 3000, and Mag 350. Hopefully, when power does go out, it'll acctually start the pump

Well I will have to test my power supply this evening. It is an older unit that I have not used in ~5 years. I am sort of glad this planned power outage is happening, it forces me to figure out an emergency system.

I bought a used Honda 1500w, at an Auction when i first got my tank.It would be used just as a back up for the pumps and heaters only. I decided that the corals could do without lights if I was going to be in the dark as well, :biggrin: and then the other day i was at KMS tools and saw a $199 1500w peak 1000w rms generator on sale for $60. Works just fine for pumps and heater. And now the Honda can run my lights and TV when the power goes down or a small heater if its cold outside. Great insurance IMO.

Thats a good idea.
I would also put a fuel stabilizer in the tank as well, this helps to keep old fuel from gumming up the carbs

a square wave should run a single phase ac motor, they will run rougher than normal as its not a smooth wave but the square wave should make the motor turn, it might just be a little loud,

Heard that some generators can actually harm some of the aquarium equipment. Something about not providing the proper type of current. Dont know the exact details though, maybe someone else here can provide some better info on this.

Test Failed
 

I tested my old 300W battery back up, it would not power my pump. So I will see if I can find one of those battery backups at Canadian Tire. Any Suggestions or advice?

Any research I did suggested that a square wave UPS won't work for aquarium equipment. Even an approximation to a sine wave UPS is iffy. I found a true sine wave UPS, but they were $650 each. I wanted something that would kick in while not home, but figured I should have at least something, so I went to C-Tire to get one of those Eliminator back-ups. While there, I happened upon this...
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...eefer3/UPS.jpg
...the beauty of which is that it's automatic. This one will power a MaxiJet 1200 for 13 hours. There are bigger ones available. Up to 1500W, I think.

HTH,

That looks like what I need. Thanks

is that not square wave also? square wave will run most of our equipment, but has problems with magnetic drive pumps and electronics. probably a few other things.

Steve

I've scoped the output from inverters, differnent UPS's and even my cheap generator and other than the ones costing thousands all basically all are a modified sinewave of some sort (some look like stacked square blocks the make the sine waveform).

Either way do know I've run my Iwaki, Reeflo and heaters on some crappy looking outputs without problems.

It's modified sine wave.

Can anyone tell if this Honda generator is a true sinewave?
http://honda.ca/PowerEng/Generators/InverterandCycloconverter/EU2000iC.htm?Year=2008

hmmm, can't remember about the miodifies ones.

Steve

the modified sine wave is usually called a stepper wave as it makes a rough waveform out of squares.

Success
 

I picked up this unit on Friday at the local Canadian Tire. It was fully charged out of the box (I think someone had previously purchased it). On Saturday it ran my pump for 6 hours before signalling it was low on juice.

I then recharged it Saturday evening. The power went out as scheduled on Sunday morning and the battery pack kicked in to fire up the pump immediately. After 3 hours the readout was showing the battery to still be holding 70% of its charge. The power came on after 3 1/2 hours and the battery started its recharge program.

So I did not get a full test of it's potential. I will try that next weekend and see how long it takes to drain the battery.

What size unit did you get?...and, what is the wattage of the pump you are running on it?

Thanx much,

The Noma is the 400W model. The pump is buried in my all-in-one Cad Lights unit so I cannot actually see what the rating is but I am guessing 28W.

Warning label on my new duel Galaxy ballast. Do not use with generators. Although I would not be firing lights in a generator/power outage situation anyways.

I still just use my inverter. However its not auto, so need to be home for the power failure. When I had my large system, the inverter powered a small pump in my sump, feeding the turf scrubber, which dumped a surge in the tank. I also had a woodstove, which kept things warm.

I would guess thats my biggest problem now, is trying to keep the tank warm, with the power a heater takes.