Battery backup

shoelaceike · Dec 15, 2015

wcharon said:
It will not turn on automatically if the electricity in the house goes out.

Very true. Ecotechs is by far the best if you have an ecotech power head

WindeyD · Dec 15, 2015

I drive a Nissan LEAF (electric car) and run a 50ft extension cord from the car to my tank to power the skimmer and powerheads; a fully charged battery could keep the tank going for days; the same could be done with a gas powered car.

shoelaceike · Dec 15, 2015

WindeyD said:
I drive a Nissan LEAF (electric car) and run a 50ft extension cord from the car to my tank to power the skimmer and powerheads; a fully charged battery could keep the tank going for days; the same could be done with a gas powered car.

You would need to get an inverter

twilliard · Dec 15, 2015

To power your whole tank with a battery is just as much as a generator
Check this out, crazy expensive!
http://www.theinverterstore.com/5000-watt-power-inverter.html
And the battery
http://www.amazon.com/XS-Power-D7500-Battery-Amps/dp/B00B7WSQO2

All the wattage you need

shoelaceike · Dec 15, 2015

twilliard said:
To power your whole tank with a battery is just as much as a generator
Check this out, crazy expensive!
http://www.theinverterstore.com/5000-watt-power-inverter.html
And the battery
http://www.amazon.com/XS-Power-D7500-Battery-Amps/dp/B00B7WSQO2

All the wattage you need

How do you charge the battery?

twilliard · Dec 15, 2015

A normal car battery charger, AGM setting is needed.

DiverGirl82 · Dec 15, 2015

twilliard said:
To power your whole tank with a battery is just as much as a generator
Check this out, crazy expensive!
http://www.theinverterstore.com/5000-watt-power-inverter.html
And the battery
http://www.amazon.com/XS-Power-D7500-Battery-Amps/dp/B00B7WSQO2

All the wattage you need

Yep, that's definitely a budget buster.

DiverGirl82 · Dec 15, 2015

I'm curious if anyone has tried the icecap battery backup for power heads? On Marine Depot it says it gets up to 35 hours. I'm not finding any reviews on it though.

shoelaceike · Dec 15, 2015

35 hours for a 1 watt air pump lol....it will work but it doesn't have a very big battery....it also won't slow the speed automatically..... Its the same exact bb as the Jabeo only with an icecap sticker slapped on it. It will run an XF-150 at 50% for maybe 3 hours......no idea where they get 35 hours

DiverGirl82 · Dec 15, 2015

I'm torn. I really like the idea of the Schumacher because it'll run a long time and I'd like to have it even just to keep in my car in case I'm ever out and about and my car won't start. You can even air your tires with it. But I also like the idea of something that will kick in automatically in case I'm not at home when the power goes out. What do y'all think about a combo of the two? The icecap or the jebao to kick in automatically if I'm not home and if the outage isn't very long. But then the Schumacher as backup for the backup if the outage ends up lasting a bit longer. I can't buy them both right now but I could get one now and the other after another paycheck or two.

Jlobes · Dec 15, 2015

im in the market for a BBU as well, living in FAR NorCal and having crazy winter storms..the power usually goes out at least once/twice a year. Never for very long, but long enough. A generator is on the list, but a bit pricey and requires me to be home when the power goes out. Im thinking since I have MP40s, I will just end up buying the EM BBU. If the power goes out, the BBU kicks right on, reduces the speed/power usage and the tank keeps on going for hours+. Having a generator or something else, that can power more of the tank would be great for extended power outages, but if its only 3-8 hours the BBU would be perfect. Because as we all know, due to murphy law... the power never goes out when youre home. )

Brinkfish312 · Dec 15, 2015

Following along. I'm also looking for a backup for my Jebao WP 40's. We'll be out of town for a couple weeks and I want something incase power goes out while we're gone. I was looking at the Ice cap too; I chatted with someone at BRS about compatability with the powerhead, but they couldn't confirm that it was

Brinkfish312 · Dec 15, 2015

shoelaceike · Dec 15, 2015

The jabeo or icecap will work with any pump.....what pumps are you powering?

DiverGirl82 · Dec 15, 2015

shoelaceike said:
The jabeo or icecap will work with any pump.....what pumps are you powering?

I have 2 Jebao rw4s. Sounds like for best battery life I would only run one.

shoelaceike · Dec 15, 2015

DiverGirl82 said:
I have 2 Jebao rw4s. Sounds like for best battery life I would only run one.

I would go with the jabeo for $99.....it should last one pump about 15 hours at 50%.

An additional option for longer run time would be getting an inverter and hooking it up to your car battery......as long as the battery is able to stay recharged with the car on, it should last a very long time.....with this option you can run heaters too

twilliard · Dec 15, 2015

shoelaceike said:
I would go with the jabeo for $99.....it should last one pump about 15 hours at 50%.

An additional option for longer run time would be getting an inverter and hooking it up to your car battery......as long as the battery is able to stay recharged with the car on, it should last a very long time.....with this option you can run heaters too

You have to be careful using an inverted with a car idling. The alternator may get overworked easily with a large inverter based on idle rpm.

shoelaceike · Dec 15, 2015

twilliard said:
You have to be careful using an inverted with a car idling. The alternator may get overworked easily with a large inverter based on idle rpm.

Thanks....how much is overworked? Would 350 watts cause any issues?

twilliard · Dec 15, 2015

At 350 watts no issue as the alternator will just cycle based on battery voltage

Sorry I used to own a car audio business and this is the same as running an amplifier.