DIY battery back up?

[MeuserReef]

Still not done John. I need need help with the "12V, DPDT (Double Pole, Double Throw) relay" and wiring the whole thing together.

This is just not my expertize.

Ok... here goes. I threw together a wiring diagram that should work for what we are trying to do here. During "Normal" mode (when you electricity is on and things are normal) this relay will allow 110V from your wall to power the float charger and also keep the inverter off. When the power coming out of the wall turns off (during a power outage), the relay will switch the float charger off, and will turn the inverter on, therefore turning the "emergency" pump(s) on.

Now the only downside to this setup is the fact that the "emergency" pump will not operate so long as your home's power is ON. To have a pump that operates on both wall power and battery power is much more complicated (unless you are using DC pumps... like Tunze's... which = $$$)

You will notice that I have included a 20 Amp fuse on both wires running into the relay. These fuses should be rated so that they properly protect the relay. The contacts on the relay will have an amperage rating. The fuses should be sized as so that they blow before the amperage ratings of the relays contacts are met. (ie. if the relays contacts say 15A, use a 10A or 12A fuse. I simply used 20A as an example) Your wires should also be sized according to the fuses too. I will let Google help you out with wire/fuse/amperage rating charts



And again, just to cover myself in today's hyper-lawsuit era, please proceed with this at your own risk. I am not responsible if you hurt yourself or any of your property attempting to build a battery backup following this design. Im just trying to offer what I know as to how to accomplish a battery backup system

[myjohnson]

j, don't play with me. I'll do it......but for consideration I want-you know-what.....)

[J-WS6]

Cool. When you're done, be sure to make one for me and send it over my way.

[myjohnson]

Still not done John. I need need help with the "12V, DPDT (Double Pole, Double Throw) relay" and wiring the whole thing together.

This is just not my expertize.

[fshfrk]

This is a GREAT thread.

[Zulaab]

Regarding NG.... If we are talking about the Houston area, the only thing you have to worry about is earthquakes... and my question is.. when is the last time we had one of these around here ?

[MeuserReef]

For those of us that have Natural Gas coming into our homes... Ive "heard" that there is a kit available to convert a standard gasoline generator into a Natural Gas powered generator. I believe its just a carborator kit. That would = unlimted power during blackouts (unless the NG lines stop working... which is HIGHLY unlikely)

[MeuserReef]

LOL... Replay? Do I look like SportsCenter to you? j/k..

The Relay that you want to use can be found at Radio Shack for about $8. Its basically just a switch that will either switch ON or OFF based on external condition (in this case... we want a switch that will turn the inverter ON when the power coming out of the wall turns OFF.) You want a 12V, DPDT (Double Pole, Double Throw) relay. They are in the little slide out bins in the back of the RS store.

I need to scratch my head for a while to remember the exact wiring diagram, but will report back once I have done so. Its really not anything SUPER complicated, but you will be dealing with 120V, so please recognize where your knowledge/skills end and ask for assistance if you need it before tackling this project. Asking for help, in my experience, is just an honest way of saying "teach me". (disregard the last two sentences if your cool with working with 120V... sort of my "disclaimer" :) )

[myjohnson]

Well, it seems we're talking about two different circumstances: unattended power-fail, and attended power-failure.

exactly.....

[myjohnson]

I'll try only the 550 powerhead and see what kind of results I get next water change. Still, if you're going to be out of power for up to a week like some here were, you can't beat a gas powered generator - especially considering all the other things you'll need it for (fridge, ac, tv/radio, etc..)

I understand where you coming from with the generator.

But I was thinking I can hit two birds with one stone. I want something to keep my powerheads running during long term power outage, but I also want something to kick in when I'm not home.

[jeebus]

Well, it seems we're talking about two different circumstances: unattended power-fail, and attended power-failure.

[myjohnson]

To all the experts (minus the one real expert): Yeah yeah yeah...

thanks for calling me an expert...






i actually know nothing.

[myjohnson]

MJ, I appreciate the post.

I was just thinking about this today in regards to an upcoming vacation. Of course we don't have hurricanes here, but we do get tornadoes sometimes and we also get brownouts/blackouts every now and then.

no biggy bro. Vacation sucks too! Sometimes when the lights go out at my house and come back on. One whole side of the house doesn't come back on until I got out side and flip the breakers. When on vacation...no one is there to flip the breakers.

I think Luis went on vacation recently and this same thing happened to him and he ended up losing a lot of good stuff.

[jeebus]

To all the experts (minus the one real expert): Yeah yeah yeah...

Perhaps if you toyed with different equipment on one you could maximize the UPS's potential. Ultimately however you still won't get more than a few hours - and during a hurricane that's just not enough.

I'll try only the 550 powerhead and see what kind of results I get next water change. Still, if you're going to be out of power for up to a week like some here were, you can't beat a gas powered generator - especially considering all the other things you'll need it for (fridge, ac, tv/radio, etc..)

[myjohnson]

josh,

The inverter and the battery charger I got for $20 bucks.....you know I couldn't pass that up!

Regarding the battery, that's like a F-in car battery, lol. Ok, so I can get the battery no problem.

What in the world is a small replay? Can you give me a step by step process?

thanks.