Backup plans for heating if I loose Power??

[travis_]

All my tanks are housed in my unheated, un-insulated basement. Basically it is the same temperature as ambient, maybe a little warmer. There are many open vents all the way around the house to the outside. I have not had any issues with tank temperature, but I have 4 heaters in my 3 tanks, probably about 1000 watts combined heating power. This is more than I need, but I prefer to have more than I need to be safe.

But my latest concern is with the potential of power outages. We had a brown-out this week and talking with neighbors, a few power outages a year are common. With possible 40 degree temperature differential (80 F tank versus 40 F basement) my tanks would cool pretty fast.

Anyone have any ideas of what I could do in the event of a long power outage? Could I get an inverter and run a heater using a 12 volt battery? Any way to have this automatically turn on in the event of a power outage? Or do I need a generator? And my question also applies about getting a generator to automatically come one without feeding power back into the grid and causing issues.

thanks

 

[Scooterman]

Think about this!

Three tanks! How much money do you have invested in them?
Now compare a total loss to the purchase price of a generator, regardless if your have a unit that can power the whole house with an auto switch or just a small 5.5KW unit & one thing to consider is fuel to operate a unit, you will need enough for days If snowed in without power.

An inverter will use up a battery too fast to last longer than several hours, also you need power to circulate everything, batteries die, won't last you days just hours. If you didn't have heat to consider & just circulation, then that would be a different case!

 

[MC Lighting]

ok first of all lets start with the heating issue. I would consider having either a propane or kerosene heater (designed for indoor use) to super heat the basement area to keep the differential temp low and not have to put as much energy into heating the water.

As for inverters I have about 5 of them what you need to keep in mind is that for every 100 watts of 110vac household power you need roughly 10 amps of 12vdc battery power so even 500 watts of heater you are looking at roughly 50 amps draw on the battery with a set of 6v gold cart batteries the best you are looking at is 200 amp hours so 200 / 50 = 4 hours of run time to complete battery drain more realistically 3 hours to prevent destroying the batteries from over discharge.

A generator is the best option in order to make it automatic you need a generator that has electric start with electronically controlled choke etc. A cheap home stnadby unit is the easiest bet but are around $1500 to $3000. The transfer of power is easy you can buy a 30 amp rated ATS pretty cheap for using a small generator.

The way I deal with it (and yes is way overkill) is I have a 4kw Inverter that is always online it takes a 30 amp circuit in from the main panel and outputs to a sub panel that feeds the tank and also a manual transfer switch so I can run kitchen, heating, lighting etc around the house as I choose. The inverter has the capability of starting a generator if I had a house it would be wired to do so. With 4 4D alternative energy AGM batteries I can run my tanks under normal conditions up to 8 hours that is the main pump, skimmers, closed loop and a 300w heater. The nice part about running through this style of inverter is I can run anything I desire even from my 1000 watt generator as the inverter "makes up" the power needed to start motors and larger items that the small generator cannot do on its own. This is a very expensive way to do it and I know that most cannot but it give you some ideas what it takes to have high power that is backed up.

So just some things to ponder but honestly if it were me I would consider insulating and heating the basement even if only to 65 degrees would allow you the flexibility with the power as stated earlier you still need some sort of backup power for powerheads and pumps .

Here is my setup...

 

[kimo4848]

I use a 2000w honda, I bought for the boat and in winter I bring it home incase I need it. I did have to use it for about 8hrs, ran my entire set up except the chiller. When you have alot of money invested you need a back up.

That is a real nice set up you have MC Lighting : ).

 

[MC Lighting]

Thank you yes a 2k is plenty for a reef setup, as long as your not planning on the chiller or a ton of lighting all at once its more than adequate. The Honda EU series 1k, 2k and 3k are by far the best out there and are extrmly fuel efficient especially at low loads due to the variable throttle control. I use my 1k earlier morning and later evening once the quiet hours have passes since it is so quiet in comparison to the monster 5k and 6.5k that I have for the "real charging"

 

[NaH2O]

After all of the suggestions above, I've also known people to wrap blankets around their tank as extra insulation during power outages. I don't know how long that would work in a 40 degree basement, but if your basement is going to be insulated and heated, it might help short term. I think the best suggestion would be to get yourself a generator for peace of mind.

 

[travis_]

After all of the suggestions above, I've also known people to wrap blankets around their tank as extra insulation during power outages. I don't know how long that would work in a 40 degree basement, but if your basement is going to be insulated and heated, it might help short term. I think the best suggestion would be to get yourself a generator for peace of mind.

Yes, thanks everyone for their comments. I agree that with the investment I have even already, a generator is good insurance.

But in the meantime, if my power were to go out before I can get one, do you think you could direct a propane torch directly on the surface of the water to heat it up?

 

[danno14]

#1-Generator
#2-Rigid foam insulation fut to fit as many sides as you can (including the bottom). Wrap this with moving blankets ($10 ea).
#3- See #1 above

edit-
The torch would use far more fuel than you can imagine, and still not prvide the circulation to move the warmed water around. Find out who of your friends have access to a generator and start buying rounds.

 

[MC Lighting]

two words.... Craig's List You can buy any number of generators for dirt cheap with low hours instead of buying more fish or something you just got to have for the tank go buy the generator instead.

 

[krisfal]

I have 2 generators, a Homelite 4k that I run part of the house and the tank during the day and a smaller (800w i think) Honda that I use at night for tank only, as it is much quieter (not concerned with neighbors as they are a 1/4 mile away, and have their own generator running, but I need to be able to sleep) I live on a circuit with only 5 homes so when there are big power outages in the area we become real low priority. Since I have lived here I have dealt with several long power outages, with the longest being 12 days. I am hoping to have a whole house, auto start generator soon.

I think your back-up plan really depends on where you live. It seems even in the worst of storms the areas right in the major cities tend to get the power back quickly, while those of us that live rural get the longer time periods. Also when you are real close to your neighbors you have to worry about the noise factor. I remember during one of the more recent power outages, someone here on RF had a neighbor turn off his/her generator when they went out for a while. Also if you are in an apartment you have to consider where you can even set one up.

As far as picking a generator I would advise sticking with known name brands. My brother in law picked up some cheap, brand new generators a few years ago that were an off name brand. He bought 4 of them and they all quit working within a few hours of use. They have been to the repair shop and a couple were repairable, but to get a generator and have it fail when you most need it would not be a good thing. The Honda I have is quite old and very reliable, my dad inherited it from his dad, and we got it passed to us about 5 years ago. We use it for camping in the summer and running the tank at night during power outages (which occur quite often for us). It is probably at least 20 years old and still starts with one or two pulls of the cord.

 

[mnewby]

i spent a week oncew with out power and relied on wood heat stove to heat and cook for the whole house my 55 gallon tank survived well on just room temp course we never let the room fall below 75 degrees either