Power Outage Hardware
Contents:
- GFI circuit with a backup system
by mark-at-kirk.retix.com (Mark Hoy) (11 Feb 92)
- (M)(R) Back up power for reef tank? (7 articles)
by mark-at-kirk.retix.com (Mark Hoy)
Date: 11 Feb 92
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
Your life is generally worth more than any fishtank. The problem is
that once the GFI trips you loose power and if not attended to, the
aquarium will go into decline.
Here are some simple circuits for a GFI system that could slow down
the decline and perhaps save your live stock.
If you have a sump, use a 12V DC pump. Power the pump from a
120AC->12DC powersupply with a relay in between. The relay is
energized by the line voltage (120V AC) and when this fails (ie the
GFI trips) it will switch over to the 12V sealed lead acid battery
that has been trickle charging waiting for this event ]-). This will
keep water circulating in the system and provide a longer lived
system. Air pumps could also be rigged into this system. I don't know
of any 'high power' 12 DC air pumps, (someone had posted on some parts
from a car that could be used for this).
Rechargeable Nicads could power one of the portable air pumps for
lift tubes, (sorry you are not going to run your skimmers with this
]-).
Any good ideas on how to keep the system heated? (A plexyglass tank in
a warm room would be a good start).
--
_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ mark-hoy-at-retix.com
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ Mark Hoy x417
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
_/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ 310 828-3400 800 255-2333
by scottn-at-fluffrag.Eng.Sun.COM (Scott Nye)
Date: 14 Feb 92 09:07:09 GMT
In article <MARK.92Feb11103304-at-kirk.retix.com> mark-at-kirk.retix.com (Mark Hoy) writes:
>
>Rechargeable Nicads could power one of the portable air pumps for
>lift tubes, (sorry you are not going to run your skimmers with this
>]-).
You'd be better off using gel cells, they have a higher energy
density, and (much) lower cost.
Make sure you get the deep cycle version. A marine duty battery is
just as good, unless it is a location where it will be tipped over.
Scott Nye
scott.nye-at-sun.com
by enenkel-at-cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel)
Date: 11 Feb 92 22:34:29 GMT
(Mark Hoy) writes:
>Air pumps could also be rigged into this system. I don't know
>of any 'high power' 12 DC air pumps
Eugene Danner makes a good one. Supreme Challenger 12 V piston
air pump gives good pressure and .07 cfm (about 1/3 of a Dynamaster
II). Robert Enenkel
by kncarp-at-nicsn1.monsanto.com (Kevin N. Carpenter)
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 03:36:08 GMT
:
: I was recently asked what I would do with my 45 gallon reef tank in
: the event of a power outage. I thought a bit and really couldn't come
: up with a good answer. All I could think of was the battery powered
: air pumps I seen forsale. Anyone with a reef tank have any experience
: with this? Are a couple of battery powered air pumps enough for a
: unpredicted power outage? Obviously bubbles breaking the surface are
: better then nothing at all, but are they enough?
:
: I only have a 45 I wonder what Steve would do with his mega reef. . . .
:
I don't know about Steve, but I have one surface agitation powerhead on
my PC's UPS. The UPS is primarily there to allow me to gracefully shutdown
the PC. Once the computer draw is turned off, the UPS will run the power
head for a day or two (power heads typically only draw 5-10 watts). In a sense,
this makes for a rather reliable "battery powered" device.
--
Kevin Carpenter Internet: kncarp-at-nicsn1.monsanto.com
Monsanto Company Fidonet: 1:100/215.0 (home)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
Opinions expressed are those of the author, not the company he works for.
by ynecelc-at-sx.mont.nec.com (Ellison Chan)
Date: 30 Dec 92 18:34:40 GMT
In article <1992Dec27.033608.10591-at-tin.monsanto.com> kncarp-at-nicsn1.monsanto.com (Kevin N. Carpenter) writes:
>:
>: I was recently asked what I would do with my 45 gallon reef tank in
>: the event of a power outage. I thought a bit and really couldn't come
>: up with a good answer. All I could think of was the battery powered
>: air pumps I seen forsale. Anyone with a reef tank have any experience
>: with this? Are a couple of battery powered air pumps enough for a
>: unpredicted power outage? Obviously bubbles breaking the surface are
>: better then nothing at all, but are they enough?
>:
>: I only have a 45 I wonder what Steve would do with his mega reef. . . .
>:
Well here's a suggestion which might work:
- Buy a 12 DC to 120 VAC voltage converter from Radio Shack.
These are the power blocks which plug into your lighter socket
and convert car voltages for household appliances.
This setup will allow you to plug in regular appliances.
(including aquarium pumps and accessories)
- Of course, you can't bring you car into the house, so you will
need to have a car battery at you disposal.
If you keep a full charge on the backup battery, I think you
can last out almost any power outage.
--
Ellison Chan, Comp. Sys. Analyst 2350 Place TransCanadienne
HNSX Supercomputers Inc., NEC Corp. Dorval, Quebec, Canada H9P 2X5
E-mail: ellison-at-SX.Mont.NEC.COM (514)684-7705, FAX (514)684-8619
by patbob-at-sequent.com (Patrick White)
Date: 30 Dec 92 19:36:04 GMT
In article <1992Dec30.183440.25656-at-sx.mont.nec.com> ynecelc-at-sx.mont.nec.com (Ellison Chan) writes:
>Well here's a suggestion which might work:
>- Buy a 12 DC to 120 VAC voltage converter from Radio Shack.
>- Of course, you can't bring you car into the house, so you will
> need to have a car battery at you disposal.
I'd actually recommend a sealed battery (eg. a sealed led acid one or a
gel cell) rather than a car battery.. unless you like the acid fumes. These
are what are used in home-scale UPS's. By sealed I don't mean *anything* sold
for auto use, including the maintence free ones (which really aren't.. car
batteries just last about 5 years if you never add water to them).
I don't know where to get them new.. I run across them in surplus
places.
--
Pat White (patbob-at-sequent.com, work: (503) 578-3463)
by jimh-at-ultra.com (Jim Hurley)
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 21:59:25 GMT
In <1992Dec30.183440.25656-at-sx.mont.nec.com> ynecelc-at-sx.mont.nec.com (Ellison Chan) writes:
[...]
-->- Of course, you can't bring you car into the house, so you will
--> need to have a car battery at you disposal.
[...]
Two 6 volt lantern batteries in series would be more convenient
and would probably last quite a while.
--
Jim Hurley --> jimh-at-ultra.com ...!ames!ultra!jimh (408) 922-0100
Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Daggett Drive / San Jose CA 95134
by jimh-at-ultra.com (Jim Hurley)
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 22:07:41 GMT
In <1992Dec30.215925.8005-at-ultra.com> jimh-at-ultra.com (Jim Hurley) writes:
-->In <1992Dec30.183440.25656-at-sx.mont.nec.com> ynecelc-at-sx.mont.nec.com (Ellison Chan) writes:
-->[...]
-->-->- Of course, you can't bring you car into the house, so you will
-->--> need to have a car battery at you disposal.
-->[...]
-->Two 6 volt lantern batteries in series would be more convenient
-->and would probably last quite a while.
-->--
-->Jim Hurley --> jimh-at-ultra.com ...!ames!ultra!jimh (408) 922-0100
-->Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Daggett Drive / San Jose CA 95134
OOPS!! - Reflecting for a moment, they might not last all that long,
since the current ratio is 10 to 1. Even a small pump of a few
watts might drain these batteries rather quickly...
--
Jim Hurley --> jimh-at-ultra.com ...!ames!ultra!jimh (408) 922-0100
Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Daggett Drive / San Jose CA 95134
by hbishop-at-ttsi.lonestar.org (Huett Bishop)
Date: 31 Dec 92 15:05:45 GMT
In article <1992Dec30.193604.28228-at-sequent.com> patbob-at-sequent.com (Patrick White) writes:
>In article <1992Dec30.183440.25656-at-sx.mont.nec.com> ynecelc-at-sx.mont.nec.com (Ellison Chan) writes:
>>Well here's a suggestion which might work:
>>- Buy a 12 DC to 120 VAC voltage converter from Radio Shack.
>
>>- Of course, you can't bring you car into the house, so you will
>> need to have a car battery at you disposal.
>
> I'd actually recommend a sealed battery (eg. a sealed led acid one or a
>gel cell) rather than a car battery.. unless you like the acid fumes. These
>are what are used in home-scale UPS's. By sealed I don't mean *anything* sold
>for auto use, including the maintence free ones (which really aren't.. car
>batteries just last about 5 years if you never add water to them).
> I don't know where to get them new.. I run across them in surplus
>places.
>
>--
>Pat White (patbob-at-sequent.com, work: (503) 578-3463)
Try Best Power Technology. You can reach them at 1-800-356-5794. They make
UPS's and Gel cell battieries.
+--------------------------------------+
|Huett Bishop |
| Tandem Telecommuncations Systems Inc.|
|Dallas, TX |
| |
|Go Cowboys!! |
| |
|email: hbishop-at-ttsi.lonestar.org |
+--------------------------------------+
by kncarp-at-nicsn1.monsanto.com (Kevin N. Carpenter)
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1993 20:48:33 GMT
tom-at-dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (Tom McCain) writes:
:
: a motor? How do you tell the difference? Not being a PC user, can a
: UPS as Kevin suggested be used as a seperate power supply? Or does it
: require a PC?
:
A UPS typically doesn't care whats plugged into it, so long as you don't
exceed its rated current. Remember that AC motors pull something like 2X
their rated current briefly when starting. I used a 100W light bulb to do
my initial testing...
--
Kevin Carpenter Internet: kncarp-at-nicsn1.monsanto.com
Monsanto Company Fidonet: 1:100/215.0 (home)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
Opinions expressed are those of the author, not the company he works for.
The Krib
Tank Hardware
The Krib