Best emergency solution for extended power outages

[jda]

I like the idea of a 100-150W 12V solar panel to put some juice back in there if the sun comes out and it was not destroyed or covered up by the storm.

 

[d0ughb0y]

Another option that sort of combines some of the other options is to get a solar charger controller. They are quite inexpensive on eBay or Amazon. It functions as an automatic switch to charge a battery from solar panels if battery charge is low, and powers the load from the battery is solar source is low. The nice feature is it will shut down using the battery if voltage gets too low so it does not get discharged beyond the point of no return so as not to damage the battery. So the whole time the load will be powered and the only time there is no power is if both sources are out. And note that the solar power source does not have to come from a solar panel. It can be a D.C. Power supply. So if power goes out, it automatically switches on to battery power. It also manages charging the battery so it stops charging the battery when it is fully charged.

 

[rogeragrimes]

Here's the 12V air bubbler I'm considering. I figure I'll run 3 for my 120-150 gal tank.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EYWNVQ/

 

[rogeragrimes]

I've not used a resistor before. Can you send me a link to an example resistor that would be good to wire inline? I'm not 100% which resistor to order for my application (i.e. from 12V battery to DC air bubblers which take very low current +/- .46 amps).

If you have to evacuate, then leaving a generator running is not a good idea. If you are around, then a generator is a great idea - just have plenty of gas.

If you think that you need to evacuate for a week or more, go to a battery supply place and buy a huge battery for like a Caterpillar or other piece of large equipment - make sure it is 12v instead of 6V or 24V. Those will last significantly longer than a UPS or the like - most are over 200 amp hours at 12v. This is the biggest battery that I can think of. Even the battery from your car is usually better than a UPS battery. Don't use an inverter and a AC pump, just hardwire a DC battery-based pump - you might need a resistor to drop them to 3v, but hardwire them to this instead of the the pair of D batteries. This should last weeks.

None of this might be possible until after all of this is over. Sorry.

 

[rogeragrimes]

Cool idea.

Another option that sort of combines some of the other options is to get a solar charger controller. They are quite inexpensive on eBay or Amazon. It functions as an automatic switch to charge a battery from solar panels if battery charge is low, and powers the load from the battery is solar source is low. The nice feature is it will shut down using the battery if voltage gets too low so it does not get discharged beyond the point of no return so as not to damage the battery. So the whole time the load will be powered and the only time there is no power is if both sources are out. And note that the solar power source does not have to come from a solar panel. It can be a D.C. Power supply. So if power goes out, it automatically switches on to battery power. It also manages charging the battery so it stops charging the battery when it is fully charged.

 

[rogeragrimes]

Great idea. I have one of these already for my boat.

bubblers on a car battery with a trickle charger on the battery. The battery should be fully charges when the power goes out and you have 3 days of bubbler. Also you can get ore than one battery linked together to give longer power.

 

[rogeragrimes]

Test Results: I bought a Marine Deep Cycle battery from Advance Auto Parts that had 1141 amps when measured at the register. I bought three DC 12V 1.5A bubblers (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EYWNVQ). And then I tested to see how long the battery would power all three bubblers? Answer, 5 days. A day 4 all three were going strong. At Day 5, they are barely putting out bubbles. I only put one wetstone on each bubbler even though they allow for two separate lines for two wetstones.

I plan to add a battery trickle charger to it so that the battery stays charged until the power goes out, instead of just running for 5 days whether the electrical power is good or not.