generator in case of power outage

[lounge13]

Hello to all....I've experienced a few power outages last year. One lasted almost 2 days when a power line went down due to severe winds! I do live in the windy city and this may happen again. My tank has been up since december 2008...Is there a generator i can purchase at home d that could help me if this occurs this year? All info is greatly appreciated!

[mg426]

I am sure that they would have something that will work. I have a
coleman 5500 watt unit that is back fed into my electrical panel on a seperate 50 amp breaker. It runs my tank the fridge, freezer
lights and tv with no problem But it is LOUD !!!!!!!!!!

[Sisterlimonpot]

TV??? That’s just funny to read. Everything was a necessity until I read TV :D

[lounge13]

im lookn for something to kick on once power is lost so i dont lose anything. maybe something i can install under the tank and hide in stand

[Phyxius]

You said you want a generator? You wouldn't be able to put that under your stand if its indoors. Or do you want something just to temporarily run some pumps or poweheads to keep water moving till power is restored? People have used battery back ups to power some items this way...

I also have a 7500run/10,000peak watt generator with a feed panel on my house that kicks on in a power outage so I can power the tank, fridge.lights and other essential things.

[Sisterlimonpot]

yeah an ups would be your best bet but not for 2 day power outages.

[lounge13]

ok cool..........i guess i will keep checkin. i just thought there was something specific for aquariums. thx...

[mg426]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14692735#post14692735 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Phyxius
You said you want a generator? You wouldn't be able to put that under your stand if its indoors. Or do you want something just to temporarily run some pumps or poweheads to keep water moving till power is restored? People have used battery back ups to power some items this way...

I also have a 7500run/10,000peak watt generator with a feed panel on my house that kicks on in a power outage so I can power the tank, fridge.lights and other essential things.


Lucky you, I still have to pull start mine, flip a couple breakers around and then I am AOK. LOL

[Phyxius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14693267#post14693267 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mg426
Lucky you, I still have to pull start mine, flip a couple breakers around and then I am AOK. LOL

No not so lucky as I worded it wrong.....

It should have read the same as you...I have a generator that I HAVE TO KICK ON,,,,LOL I do have a electric start gas powered generator but I still have to hook the cable up to the feed box and flip the breaker over from main to generator feed. Its easy enough to do even the wife and kids know how to do it if I`m not around

I wish I had a automatic kick on but couldn't justify the 7400.00 to get one installed with a natural gas generator for the few times we lose power.

[Mike31154]

Windy city? Sounds to me like everyone in Chicago should have a wind generator in their yard or on the roof. Get off the Grid! Back to reality, yes, if you're looking for something under your stand as a backup, then a generator is not the mama. Some sort of battery backup is the ticket. You can use a UPS as mentioned earlier in this thread, but that won't last more than a few hours. There are a ton of alternative solutions out there, but if you want something that will go for a couple of days, a generator is about the only thing that will do. You might be able to get by with a couple of deep cycle batteries hooked up to an inverter to power the essential aquarium needs. The deep cycle batteries can be charged either with a battery charger or solar/wind power. HTH

[mg426]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14693378#post14693378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Phyxius
No not so lucky as I worded it wrong.....

It should have read the same as you...I have a generator that I HAVE TO KICK ON,,,,LOL I do have a electric start gas powered generator but I still have to hook the cable up to the feed box and flip the breaker over from main to generator feed. Its easy enough to do even the wife and kids know how to do it if I`m not around

I wish I had a automatic kick on but couldn't justify the 7400.00 to get one installed with a natural gas generator for the few times we lose power.


At least our tanks are protected !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PRDubois]

A good UPS would run your heater and powerheads for up to 3 hours.
If you get a generator it would run lights also for as long as you have gas. I would not run MH on a generator. It is not good for your MH lights

[mg426]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14693916#post14693916 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PRDubois
A good UPS would run your heater and powerheads for up to 3 hours.
If you get a generator it would run lights also for as long as you have gas. I would not run MH on a generator. It is not good for your MH lights

I honestly did not know that. I ran my system for three days once lights and all. What does it mess up??

[PRDubois]

Shortens life of bulb and balist

[Curve]

I had a generator installed at my house. It has an automatic switch over for when power goes off and it will run on natural gas or gasoline. It is actually large enough to power pretty much everything in the house including the ac and heat. I paid $6500 installed for it about 2 years ago and I haven't had any problems out of it. Oh yeah it is a 17kw generator and I bought it from northern tools. I paid a local guy to hook it up for me.

[spw4949]

I have a UPS just in case.....

[Sisterlimonpot]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14695010#post14695010 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Curve
I had a generator installed at my house. It has an automatic switch over for when power goes off and it will run on natural gas or gasoline. It is actually large enough to power pretty much everything in the house including the ac and heat. I paid $6500 installed for it about 2 years ago and I haven't had any problems out of it. Oh yeah it is a 17kw generator and I bought it from northern tools. I paid a local guy to hook it up for me.
That's a great investment for peace of mind. Looks like folks down south are in the market for some power outage if the tornados continue to pick up.

[Mike31154]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14694071#post14694071 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PRDubois
Shortens life of bulb and balist

How so? What's the technology behind your statement? A good quality generator will produce nice clean sine wave power at 115/120V 60Hz.

[mg426]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14696363#post14696363 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mike31154
How so? What's the technology behind your statement? A good quality generator will produce nice clean sine wave power at 115/120V 60Hz.

I am interested also, Not only do I run my MH lights off of mine but I also use the internet while being powered with a generator.

[FishNFun]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14696363#post14696363 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mike31154
How so? What's the technology behind your statement? A good quality generator will produce nice clean sine wave power at 115/120V 60Hz.

A good QUALITY generator is the key. Not every generator will produce true sine wave power. A good one would be something like a nice Honda generator. They cost more but you don't have to worry about damaging hardware.

[Mike31154]

Most generators will produce a true sine wave since it's a rotary generator and can't help but produce a true sine wave. The only issue may be if the engine driving the generator starts surging which will cause the frequency to vary from the ideal 60 Hz. For heaters etc. this is generally not an issue.

What you need to watch out for is modified sine wave inverters which convert battery power to AC power. These are also not a problem when running something with a heating element. However, motors, lighting ballasts and other sensitive electronics may not perform well and be damaged by modified sine wave inverters. True sine wave inverters are more readily available these days, but they are much more expensive.

[Curve]

Yeah the tornado yesterday hit 30 miles from my house and I lost power for about 3 seconds then the generator came on.