Nice Apex Power Backup Opportunity

[bvoss]

Just wanted to point out that Ebay seems to be flooded with these used backups. They are incredibly cheap and are almost custom made for the Apex. You don't even have to change the plug.

Belkin Battery Backup Unit BU3DC000-12V Power Supply

 

[IAReefer]

Nice find! I bought two of them!

 

[bvoss]

You got me thinking....

The battery is 7 amp/hour. That is a quarter the size of a Vortech backup, but I bet it would still run an MP40 for a few hours. For about $20.

I may need to order a couple more.

 

[apjohnson]

This was posted back in September too.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1907964

Note that they are quite large, but for what they do, they are a good value. Remember that this won't do anything for alerting you if you're alerting over your home network over the Internet as in the case of a power outage, your router, modem and probably the cable/phone providers equipment in the area that would take the alert to the Internet would also be down. It would still keep stats on temp, pH, switch status, etc.

In any case, thanks for reminding people about these as like I said, they do seem to be a good value.

--AJ

 

[aleonn]

Looks like a good value, thanks for the heads up. A lot cheaper than getting an IceCap battery backup for my MP40s!

 

[iriejp1]

This was posted back in September too.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1907964
Remember that this won't do anything for alerting you if you're alerting over your home network over the Internet as in the case of a power outage, your router, modem and probably the cable/phone providers equipment in the area that would take the alert to the Internet would also be down. It would still keep stats on temp, pH, switch status, etc.

Ya know...thats a good point! So simple yet I also forgot about that. I kept thinking I needed to get my controller on some sort of battery backup so it would have enough juice to alert me via email. But hell...if the power is out..so is the internet connection. How's it gonna alert you?? Duh! Lol.

Thanks for reminding me. :beer:

 

[Oblivionis]

These things usually have a certin life expectancy and since they are used you don't really know how much of that is left but for $12 it's worth a try.

 

[CJO]

FYI, there's a newer version, the BU3DC001 that is also on ebay for comparable prices. I ordered two that should be here today. I probably won't have a chance to play with them until this weekend.

CJ

 

[bvoss]

I just hooked one up to an MP40W. I ran a test on it and was going strong at 4 hours.

I also have another one connected to my Apex. The power went out and it worked fine.

New batteries are available for $20 to $25. I finally found something cheap that works on my tank!

 

[CJO]

I just hooked one up to an MP40W. I ran a test on it and was going strong at 4 hours.

Does it need any sort of adapter? I assume that it runs at half speed?

Thanks,
CJ

 

[bvoss]

I just used an extra cable I ordered from Vortech. I cut the old connector off and soldered the new one on. I still have an official Ice Cap backup hooked up to one of my 3 MP40s for a longer-term outage. But if I can back up my other two for 20-$30 a piece, and it lasts over 4 hours, then what the heck. They do run at 50%.

I think these power supplies would probably run the Apex for at least a day, even with an old battery.

 

[CJO]

Thanks- was just trying to find out if I had to order cables for Vortech or not.

CJ

 

[Oblivionis]

New batteries are available for $20 to $25. I finally found something cheap that works on my tank!

The batteries on those are swappable?

 

[Jackie Blue]

Yup you can swap the battery out for a new one.

 

[Oblivionis]

Cool.

So these are pretty much plug-and-play? The polarity of the plug is correct?

 

[bvoss]

Totally plug and play for the Apex. Plug and polarity are just right.

 

[jrpark22000]

Thank you all, Just got 4 of the rev b series shipped for under $30.

 

[hilde123]

Maybe Im missing something but, what is the point of having just the APEX on a battery backup that lasts 24 hrs. If the power is out your equipment wont be running and if you dont have your network equipment (WGA, router, cable modem) on battery backup your not going to be able to access the apex. I think using a 120V (computer type) UPS for all network equip and APEX does give a benefit in that you can still access view the tank data remotely even though your power is out. If you are using a 120V UPS why not just plug the standard power adapter in (it draws little power and want reduce the run time of the UPS battery).

 

[jrpark22000]

I agree it's over kill if you are only feeding an Apex. I'll be feeding everything in my cabinet; Apex, PX100, AC3 and ethernet switch. Then a seperate one for the mp40. Then drop another on my u-verse router. This way, I'll now know when power goes out and have mp40 backup for under $30. It's a nice peice of mind until I get a proper DC UPS built.

Why use DC and not 120VAC? You get a lose in power during the AC to DC conversion, and cheap rectifiers can lose 30%. A DC output UPS simply gives you'll have more running time, assuming you keep your cable runs short and over size your wire.

 

[bvoss]

Your right about the rest of the equipment needing to be connected. I run my Apex on the 12v backup and then have my router and cable modem plugged into a normal 110V UPS that drives them for at least 6 hours. Even a small UPS goes a long time if you don't try to drive a computer with them.

That setup gives me plenty of time to watch my system go cold.