Power Fail Alerts

[vanburen]

I am trying to figure out how to get a notice if my tank shuts off, either due to a power failure, or due to a pump failure. If the pump fails, presumably I could have a pressure switch trip an alarm. For the power failure, does the AQII realize this when the 120V power is off? I assume the battery keeps it alive. However, the alarm module would be dead, right?

My ideal outputs would be a) an audible alarm, and b)a page or email. Any ideas / products / setups welcomed. Thanks,

[Travis]

In the event of a power failure, I have my alarm command set up to send a page to my cell phone via my computer modem. Only problem is that if I lose power to my home I lose power to everything, including my computer so I would never get the page. Therefore, I have plans to purchase a battery back-up for my computer. At least it will keep my computer running when the power is lost so it can send me a page.

[revclyburn]

Buy a UPS for your tank too, they will keep the tank running for hours, depending on the UPS. You can buy them at Staples or a computer parts store, one of $99 would run at least 4 things for 5 hours, then shut down them 1 by one.

RevClyburn

[Travis]

That may work on small tanks that have equipment that consumes little power but it's a "no go" for me. The necesseties that need to keep running in the event of a power outage are the return pump and heater. My return pump is an Iwaki 100 RLT that draws over 4 amps and my heaters are 350 watters. Money can't buy a UPS large enough to run this equipment for more than a few minutes. That is why getting an alarm page in the event of a power failure is so important to me. That way I can get home or get someone to go to my house and start up the generator.

[dougc]

My AquaController pages me using a directly connected modem, so the only thing that needs battery backup is the modem itself. The modem needs only a small $50 UPS to function for an extended period of time.

I haven't done it yet, but I am planning to use a power-fail sensor (http://www.homecontrols.com/cgi-bin/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/2308/sesent/00) to monitor power on my second dedicated circuit. This would alert me to a GFCI fault or a breaker popping, which the AquaController would not otherwise detect. The power-fail sensor could be attached to the switched contact on the AquaController II. The sensor reacts only to outages lasting more than a minute, so false alarms should be rare.

All this, of course, does no good if there is nothing to do except wring ones hands in the event of a power failure. Also on my wish list is a generator for use during extended power failures.

[vanburen]

2 thoughts, which I'm wrestling with too:
1. In the event of the power failure, I am worried about survival, not happiness. Thus, I plan to power some in tank powerheads, rather than my large basement return pump. Also, I'm classifying power failures into 2 categories (still evolving) -short term 1hr-8hrs, and long term 8hrs+. For long term, a generator is the answer. For short term, some sort of ups could work. In a short term failure, tank temp really isn't much of an issue, since it will slowely drift. In long term, things are either dead, or I get a generator, in which case a heater is no big deal.
2. - if things fail, I still need to find out about it. Anyone know how to get an ACII to send a page and then magically get that page converted into either an email or a SMS text message (so my Verizon blackberry can get it?).

[vanburen]

One other thought. You could make a power fail sensor for a lot less than the $54 on the posted link. A simple relay, energized by the line power, with the 1,2 pins on the AC external switch wired to the NC (normally closed) contacts, would work for alot less. If power dropped out, then the contacts would close and trigger the alarm. Otherwise, the line power would hold the relay open - no alarm.

[dougc]

You probably could build a power-fail sensor for less than $54, but it would take more than a relay to do it. You will want some sort of delay to avoid setting off the alarm if the power goes off for a brief period of time. I know how to do that with DC, but am not sure how easy it is to do this with AC. Acheiving a one to six minute delay will require more sophisticated electronics than I care to delve into (or a very large capacitor).

Check out the fine print at the bottom of my AquaController page (http://mysite.verizon.net/resodynf/html/aquacontroller.html) . It describes how I send an SMS message to my cell phone using a modem connected to the AquaController serial port.

BTW, I picked up a small APC UPS at Office Max last weekend for $29. That's about the best price I've seen. It only needs to power the modem, which isn't much of a load.

[vanburen]

Doug, thanks, I searched for hours and could not find that pager-sms site. I owe you one.

What kind of modem do you use, the Neptune one or an something else?

[dougc]

My modem is an old US Robotics Sportster 33k. You can pick one up cheap on ebay. It probably doesn't matter exactly which speed you get. The important thing is that the US Robotic Sportster modems have external DIP switches, which seems to be essential to getting the modem to work with the AC II. I have tried using other types of modems, but there are a couple of things that can't be set on other modems using S-registers (AT command settings). Obviously, if you don't get your modem from Neptune, you won't get any support from them.

You may want to get the Neptune modem cable, since it is not something that you can walk into CompUSA and purchase. The cable has a 9-pin serial connector, while most modems have 25-pin connectors, so you will need a DB9-DB25 adaptor to connect the two.

[vanburen]

OK - I ordered the cable from Neptune. I'll see about the sportster. Thanks.

[vanburen]

Doug, back to the power fail sensor - if you used the cheap relay (no delay), but then used the hysteris feature of the ACII, could you set it so that the alarm would trip only after the switch was closed for x minutes?

[dougc]

I don't think so. You can keep a controlled device in an on or off state for a minimum period of time, but that wouldn't help here, since the alarm will normally be off for long periods of time anyway.

[vanburen]

Well, the cable is on its way, the modem has been purchased, the pager-email account opened - and I just ran the phone line to the fishroom. Almost there!

[vanburen]

Doug, got the cable and the modem. How do I set the delay like you mentioned on your website?

[vanburen]

Well, I finally managed to get everything working. Installed a basic 33.6K modem driver, then managed to get the commands blasted in. Pretty sweet. Anyone know what the last digits of the page represent?

[dougc]

I think it might be the switch contact (1=on,0=off) and the power fail state, but I have no evidence to back that up. The theory is easily tested, but I haven't done the necessary experiment.

I'm glad you got it all working. Sorry I didn't get to you in time, but I was away for the weekend. It's more satisfying to successfully figure it out yourself anyway, isn't it?

[vanburen]

Curt at Neptune provides:
The second to last digit indicates the switch status; 0 is open and 1 is closed.

The last digit indicates the battery/power fail status:

0 = battery OK, power OK

1 = battery low

2 = power fail

3 = battery low & power fail

[vanburen]

There is a feeling of accomplishment. I now know about a piece of equipment from the 1990s. It was like a history project. But I got it working. Two float switches monitoring the sump for pump and leak problems, and the pager system. I ordered my last parts for my ups, so I should be complete with the 2005 upgrade in about a week! And the tank is looking pretty good, although the acrylic needs a polish.

[dougc]

I can set the Way Back machine to 1981. The first "modem" I used was a 300 baud acoustic coupler. You stuck the handset of your phone (back when all handsets were the same shape) in a cradle and it used the microphone and speaker in the handset to transmit data. Heady stuff!

[vanburen]

I remember those. Back when "War Games" was a leading edge movie. Thanks for the help.