Going to HD cuz of power outages
- Thread starter malate
- Start date
malate
Member
Sorry I wasn't too specific. Wondered if anyone knew of anything smaller. Not gas powered as I live in a townhouse and noise might be bad. Would a power inverter work? E.g. Use a car battery, or charge from regular outlet (when power is on).
roostertech
New member
HD doesn't sell UPS? Anyhow you can get a 1500VA UPS for about $100. I would only run your pump from there to maximize run time.
I would guess in the auto battery charger / jump starter section they will sell a smaller battery power pack probably with a jump start for the car on it. That can run the pumps at least to keep things moving... maybe multiple 2-3 would be able to run skimmer and lights... not sure the wattage output.
Yes with this storm there will be lots of outages depending on where you live... usually high winds like this with already wet ground saturation cause trees to come down or break branches which break the power lines and poles.
Yes with this storm there will be lots of outages depending on where you live... usually high winds like this with already wet ground saturation cause trees to come down or break branches which break the power lines and poles.
malate
Member
d0ughb0y
Active member
over the years, I've only experienced two power outages that lasted almost a day here in Milpitas, both during winter, so keeping the tank temperature is the main concern, and I don't think any UPS will be capable of running a tank heater. I use a small generator, and it can barely handle the 300watt heater when it kicks in (the startup surge is high). Worse case as a last resort, if you cannot keep your tank warm, you may need to keep your car running and run cables to an inverter to power your tank heater.
The small generator is loud, but during winter, windows are closed so nobody would notice the generator sound.
For powerheads, if you use a 24v DC powerhead, you can get 2 12v SLA (sealed lead acid) batteries at frys. They go on sale from time to time. using 24v dc directly would be a lot more efficient than inverting dc to ac then plugging in the ac to dc adapter to power the dc powerhead. You can get trickle chargers for the SLA batteries to keep them ready.
The small generator is loud, but during winter, windows are closed so nobody would notice the generator sound.
For powerheads, if you use a 24v DC powerhead, you can get 2 12v SLA (sealed lead acid) batteries at frys. They go on sale from time to time. using 24v dc directly would be a lot more efficient than inverting dc to ac then plugging in the ac to dc adapter to power the dc powerhead. You can get trickle chargers for the SLA batteries to keep them ready.
