Power outages!

[Chief Tom]

I am thinking about buying a new generator because idiot New Jersey refuses to bury the power lines and I don't trust the infrastructure anymore and was wondering how other multi tank, living room tank people are handling it. Especially wondering about California with the "rolling blackouts".

 

[tlindsey]

I am thinking about buying a new generator because idiot New Jersey refuses to bury the power lines and I don't trust the infrastructure anymore and was wondering how other multi tank, living room tank people are handling it. Especially wondering about California with the "rolling blackouts".

I live in Ohio and has thought about a home generator due to brutal winters and severe thunderstorms. It would definitely be worth it if you got one imo. Also if you got the home generator it should bring your property value up.

 

[Chefken]

I am up in CT in the hills of the Berkshires.......I am frorm NJ and my folks are still there.....we get power outages much worse than NJ. I run a 8000 watt portable generator when we lose power. I was out for nearly 8 days and nights recently. i was running extension cords everywhere. Tanks dont use much power. I have a 120 and a 180 and even in winter I figure 1500 watts total. i usually flip the lights to light the rooms rater than run more cords. My issue has always been water and heat. Electric heaters use tons of power. Last week I finally manned up and had an electrician wire my Junction box for the generator. He installed a box out back to plug in.....I switch the box and every outlet in the house is live. Water and heat all work. I cannot run any 220 lines so no dryer or convection oven. Figure 3K -4K for a 7000-8000 watt generator and electrician to wire you up. I standby generator will be a bigger project. Out Here I would need a large propane tank plus the install and electrician. Figure 6-10K depending on your needs. No natural gas in most of CT......NJ has gas lines for most of state but not in rural areas.

 

[aroijuana]

try a home power inverter only other option really besides generator.

 

[deeda]

Do a search of whole house generator with my user name for a whole house generator if that's the way you are considering going. There are other members who posted on both portable and whole house or residential generators.

It's not cheap for a whole house generator but if you are prone to frequent outages and lots of aquariums, it's well worth the cost. Mine runs the whole house including propane furnace and private well pump.

 

[Chefken]

Do a search of whole house generator with my user name for a whole house generator if that's the way you are considering going. There are other members who posted on both portable and whole house or residential generators.

It's not cheap for a whole house generator but if you are prone to frequent outages and lots of aquariums, it's well worth the cost. Mine runs the whole house including propane furnace and private well pump.

My 8000 watt portable will cover what you state......all but the 220 lines and not everthing at once. 10-12K would it all. Not having water and heat suck!!

 

[Egon]

I live in an area with buried power lines and I still lose power once in a while so this is a good topic for everyone.
I have one large air pump for my fish room and it runs on battery back up. I actually think the fish will be fine for a day but never tried it lol. But for a couple hours this works great and I don’t think the battery will last a day. I also have a portable generator that will easily run everything. Just in case but I never had to pull it out to run the tanks. It’s a piece of mind thing for me, hopefully I never use it. My power company actually texts me about the power outage and gives an accurate time line surprisingly. It’s never been out more than 3 hours or so (knock on wood)

 

[Egon]

My point is typically a power outage here in the US is just a couple hours. Unless you live in a hurricane area. Even then if the whole house is off the foundation what is a generator going to do? So plan for a couple hours of power outages and don’t waste money on a huge generator. If you have a small generator for camping that will run a couple water pumps easy.

 

[HarleyK]

I hear you. I used to live in NJ. Here’s what gut me through several outages, of different durations

avoids damage, especially w/ generator during power outage: Line Conditioner

Howdy, My generator (--> HERE HERE

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

And

Eheims operating on Back-up Batteries

Howdy, The contents of canister filters go bad during prolonged power outages. A few hours later the power comes back on, and toxic decomposition products are washed into the tank...but not any longer! Here's how to bridge short power outages and delay the effects of longer outages...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Oughtsix]

Over stocked tanks will deplete oxygen faster and build up nitrogen compounds faster. I keep my tank stocking at reasonable levels and prefer planted tanks which provide oxygen during day light hours and consume nitrogen compounds.

Most heat is lost from an Aquarium through water evaporation. The more you can control evaporation the lower your heat loss rate will be.

My backup heater for my livingroom tank is a wood stove... the warmer the air the warmer the tank.

Every watt of electricity saved is a watt you won't have to generate yourself.