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No Power - a test of my UPS system


Daniel
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@Daniel, I must admit, you always find new ways to motivate me, lol.  

Am beginning work on a little project.  Just some junk circuit cards laying around.  Putting together a DIY 12 vdc to 5 vdc converter with spare parts.  Think I have enough parts to do the project, but may need a few connectors, etc.  It's basically a 12 volt lead acid battery, used as a source, run through a DIY voltage converter, to ultimately power all my USB nano air pumps, in case of a power interruption.  

IMG_0896.JPG.39d245091cf49619ccacd8124889cf38.JPG

 

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@DaveSamsell It's great that you're handy that way.

I almost bought a combined power strip / UPS from the 'orange' home improvement store the other day. It was the cyperpower brand. It would be dedicated for one tank, but I only have two (at the moment).

If things look like they are getting bad, I'll fire up my 5kw gen for the house.

Edited by Dandy Pearl
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I will add something from my UPS experience. I tried to help out a local restaurant when they lost power from a storm. I went home and grabbed my UPS, about two blocks away. I turned it off.

When I tried to turn it back on under battery-power alone, it would not start. I had to walk through a downpour to the fire department, a block away, and they let me plug in to turn it on. Then I was able to deliver the unit back to the restaurant so they could close all their tickets.

TLDR: Never turn off your UPS with the power off.

Edited by Streetwise
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I had been thinking of using some form of UPS to keep heat and air going in my tanks.  Unfortunately due my main 75 gallon tank that is filtered by a canister and heated by an inside heater, I would need a fairly large UPS to power it for any amount of time. Friday before last we had a storm blow that took out power for about 5 hours.  I have a feeling that will be the norm when we lose power. Given the previous owner of the house installed a generator hook up, I am guessing power goes out with some sort of regular frequency. As we haven't lived here a full year yet, time will tell.

With that in mind, the wife and I have been discussing a 2 stage, three source power setup. The idea being we build something akin to the Tesla Powerwall in the pole barn (thats where the mains feed into the main breaker box). On top of the pole barn will be a solar panel array, as well as a wind turbine or two. That will be the "first stage" of power. When/if that isn't enough to meet power demands, we are thinking of getting a Generac that can run off our propane tank. That would be the second stage of power.

Being out in the country we definitely want to be a little more self sufficient. We are hoping this setup will help us get off the power grid, or at least help significantly reduce our power costs.

 

 

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22 minutes ago, McNubbin said:

Friday before last we had a storm blow that took out power for about 5 hours.  I have a feeling that will be the norm when we lose power. Given the previous owner of the house installed a generator hook up, I am guessing power goes out with some sort of regular frequency.

I can tell from my recent experience above that even 2 beefy UPS's really won't give you adequate coverage unless all you are running are USB Nano pumps. Maybe something like a Powerwall would run much longer. But ultimately as the homeowner before you installed, a generator is the most cost effective solution.

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20 minutes ago, Daniel said:

I can tell from my recent experience above that even 2 beefy UPS's really won't give you adequate coverage unless all you are running are USB Nano pumps. Maybe something like a Powerwall would run much longer. But ultimately as the homeowner before you installed, a generator is the most cost effective solution.

The powerwall would be there to store excess power and act as a capacitor. Solar and wind would be the main continuous power sources. Out here in farm land Michigan, there's generally some amount of wind. Typically, if it's not windy, its a sweltering hot sunny summer day. The generator would really be a worst case Ontario back up. Between wind, solar and creative use of energy mechanics I think we can achieve a net zero Consumers Power consumption. 

 

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