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Ques. (Question of the Day) Battery backup
- Thread starter Cpage101
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Lots of people are running ecoflow backups from what I've seen online
The problem is battery backups are only good for short term outages. I’m thinking less than 12 hours. Especially if you have a larger system. I would suggest a generator if your a serious reefer. The battery backup batteries only last a few years before needing replacing. Save your money and buy a better solution. Get a generator
I have a decent sized computer UPS for my 50 gallons, and a talent cell mini for my nano tank.
Mixed reefer is right. A generator is the best bang for your buck. UPS systems for PC's won't run long and often need replacement batteries making them expensive and not a permanent solution. For folks in an apartment where running a generator is an issue, then the Li-Fe (Ecoflow, Schumacher, Jackery) style battery banks are a good solution. Be aware, you need as much capacity as you can afford, and going small is pointless. Do some quick math in your head, a 250 watt heater will kill a 500 watt battery in 2 hours. How long would like your heater and pumps to run? We know that heater isn't a constant load but if you'd like a battery to run your tank for 24 hours add the pumps, lights and you can see buying a small unit will just disappoint. Consider a winter storm by candlelight......no cable, no internet, just watching your tank die. An automatic standby generator doesn't seem that bad a price to prevent all that and save the candles. I had a power inverter in my car and a 100' extension cord in years past. It saved my stuff several times and didn't cost much.
I have a APC UPS that i got for free since the batteries were dead and i put some LiFePO4 batteries in it. I have my apex kill everything except my return pump in the event of a power failure and that gives me enough time to get the generator going.
We were running a portable generator whenever we had issues. Last year we installed the generac. Now we never lose power.
I have a coralbox battery backup for my return pump that should run for several hours since there is no loss from the DC/AC conversion.
I did just use an old work UPS they were going to throw away and buy a new one instead of just replace the batteries so I snagged it and spent $75 on a setup. I tested it last night and I can now get almost 2 hours running everything besides return pump, lights and heaters. I plan to add a bigger battery down the road but the main goal is to keep everything running until I can hook up the generator or to keep it running for the under 2 hour power outages my Town usually only has if we even loose power.
In a back and forth discussion with @Kens Bees we had talked about hooking up the UPS to a large solar panel as a way to extend the time even longer! FB marketplace has cheap larger 300'ish watt panels for sale under $100.
I did just use an old work UPS they were going to throw away and buy a new one instead of just replace the batteries so I snagged it and spent $75 on a setup. I tested it last night and I can now get almost 2 hours running everything besides return pump, lights and heaters. I plan to add a bigger battery down the road but the main goal is to keep everything running until I can hook up the generator or to keep it running for the under 2 hour power outages my Town usually only has if we even loose power.
In a back and forth discussion with @Kens Bees we had talked about hooking up the UPS to a large solar panel as a way to extend the time even longer! FB marketplace has cheap larger 300'ish watt panels for sale under $100.
I have mine for just this. Gives me time to get home and pump the genny. Have ecotech backups but man, longevity of these expensive units is disappointing
Have you thought of just upgrading the amperage with a new battery? That is what I did with the free UPS I got and the wiring was super easy and I upgraded to a LiFePO4 battery with battery management system which is much better than the standard lead batteries.
Similar to above but have you thought of just upgrading the battery to one with more amperage? I used the same exact voltage for the UPS I got and upped the amperage (ah) significantly for longer backup times.
I have a 12volt 100Ah battery to run my MP40's and a UPC to run the return pump and the Apex. The UPC doesn't run the return pump for long enough and it's on my list to get the return pump running off the big battery.
Edit: and get an even bigger battery
Edit: and get an even bigger battery
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Lights can pass for a day or two, heat could be an issue beyond that, but when the zombie apocalypse comes I want the returns and flow pumps working. This is what I’m messing around with.
2 returns at 30w each - 60w
2 powerheads per tank, each at 12w - 48w
Plus 20% buffer = 130watts per hour.
A lifepo4 battery would need to have a minimum capacity of 3.12kwh to run that for 24 hours without interruption.
Voltage and amperage will drive the battery cost but a 48v, 100ah battery = 4.8kwh and you can get them for about $800 if you shop for them a bit. Spend more and you can get an ups function and fast recharge with a built in battery management system. You could also piece together lower voltage batteries and make a bank but it’s still going to be spendy.
Any battery storage system like this over 3kwh is eligible for a 30% tax credit from energy star. No solar needed.
Solar adds in a whole level of complexity to the maths but the panels themselves are cheap, $100-150 for a 300w panel on Facebook.
Check out Ree Wray Outdoors and DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse on YouTube for pretty detailed but understandable explanations.
2 returns at 30w each - 60w
2 powerheads per tank, each at 12w - 48w
Plus 20% buffer = 130watts per hour.
A lifepo4 battery would need to have a minimum capacity of 3.12kwh to run that for 24 hours without interruption.
Voltage and amperage will drive the battery cost but a 48v, 100ah battery = 4.8kwh and you can get them for about $800 if you shop for them a bit. Spend more and you can get an ups function and fast recharge with a built in battery management system. You could also piece together lower voltage batteries and make a bank but it’s still going to be spendy.
Any battery storage system like this over 3kwh is eligible for a 30% tax credit from energy star. No solar needed.
Solar adds in a whole level of complexity to the maths but the panels themselves are cheap, $100-150 for a 300w panel on Facebook.
Check out Ree Wray Outdoors and DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse on YouTube for pretty detailed but understandable explanations.
@Kens Bees way to show off and be all smart and stuff!
OP
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this is all good stuff I have (2) automatic battery bubblers. These run until I can start my generator and get it online. I am looking into an emergency lighting inverter to wire inline with the aquarium circuit. these will run 150 or 250W of lighting with max load for 1 hr and 90 min. I feel like if I wave pumps and return pump which totals about maybe 200w I would be good for close to 2 hrs. Still working through this though. There are some pretty good inline battery systems out there w/ substantial load capabilities
All this talk about back ups makes me really want to see how long my actual return pump can run off it's small dedicated UPS. Might have to test it out next Friday on my day off!
I just got a new kill-a-watt meter. One of my 30w returns is taking 36w, the other just 28.
