Battery back up...will it work...

[ZAB]

During last hurricane here florida.needed power for aquarium...my eco tech back up battery was dead. ..drastic times call for drastic measures. I took apart metal case off the ectech..and hooked up the convection
To a marine deep cycle battery..it ran my vortechs and the vectors pump..
The question is do you think that the charger that came with the eco tech battery will keep the marine deep cycle Battery charged..I do not have anyway of testing battery

 

[steev]

Not sure if the charger is going to do that battery any justice. You can pick up a cheap battery tester and charger from Harbor Freight.. 12v-alternatorbattery-tester-69018.html ,12-volt-deluxe-battery-maintainer-and-float-charger-62813.html.
I'm new here..would love to see some DIY battery back up systems. Power went out again here in NY and tank was down for 5 hours. Good Luck!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Exercise extreme caution using that battery in a closed space. It appears to be a flooded lead acid battery, and does not appear to be sealed. As regular lead acid batteries charge, hydrogen gas is a product of the charging process. Hydrogen is extremely flammable and explosive. Built-up hydrogen gas can explode with a single spark. If you're going to be using the battery inside, look for a sealed, non-spillable/spill-proof, or maintenance free battery. These do not release gas when charging or discharging.

In terms of charging, it will likely work. You don't need to worry about voiding the warranty, and presumably, the charging circuitry inside the Ecotech battery backup is designed for lead acid batteries. Personally though, I would just buy a smart charger of some type. They're fairly cheap and at least have the benefit of being a little less messy and more portable.

 

[ZAB]

Do I need a deep cycle marine battery ...or would sealed car battery work the
The best.

 

[amazongb]

Do I need a deep cycle marine battery ...or would sealed car battery work the
The best.

In the RV world, we use 6 volt batteries connected in series for max run time, but you could use deep cycle which should last longer than car batteries.

 

[ZAB]

I was without power for about 2 weeks. Looking for long run time ...if power goes out that long again..generator is good as long as you can get gas..I was able to charge battery from car..I was looking into solar pannel..tunze makes a connector that can be hooked to battery and solar panels and then turns power heads on when there is a interruption in the power supply..

 

[Mike Reef Addict]

Do I need a deep cycle marine battery ...or would sealed car battery work the
The best.

Golf cart battries are expensive but make good power banks.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I was without power for about 2 weeks. Looking for long run time ...if power goes out that long again..generator is good as long as you can get gas..I was able to charge battery from car..I was looking into solar pannel..tunze makes a connector that can be hooked to battery and solar panels and then turns power heads on when there is a interruption in the power supply..

In general, you probably won't find many "car" batteries that are sealed. The kinds of batteries that cars use don't really need to be sealed, and having a battery you can maintain (read: mess with the electrolyte inside) is actually beneficial. If you find a sealed battery, it will likely be for some sort of power application like a golf cart, electronics, etc.

My personal favorite choice for backups is using your car as the power source and getting an inverter. Basically, hook the inverter up to your car's battery terminals, turn on your car, and plug stuff into the inverter. This has all the benefits of having a generator (albeit with less capacity) without the drawbacks of having to maintain the generator. You have to maintain your car, but you do that anyway so you can drive it. As long as you have gas, you can have AC power. Charging the battery with your car works, but especially on AGM and other deep cycle batteries, charging so quickly can shorten the lifespan of the cells.