Battery Backup

[McGene]

Not sure this is the best forum for this post/question....
Was wondering if anyone is using a the Goal Zero Yeti 150 for backup power. It runs about $200.

• 168Wh lead acid battery portable power station can power up to 5 devices at once (14Ah @12V)
• Continuous 80W, 160W surge modified-sine wave inverter, 2.1A USB ports, 120W 12V ports

 

[Brew12]

Not sure this is the best forum for this post/question....
Was wondering if anyone is using a the Goal Zero Yeti 150 for backup power. It runs about $200.

• 168Wh lead acid battery portable power station can power up to 5 devices at once (14Ah @12V)
• Continuous 80W, 160W surge modified-sine wave inverter, 2.1A USB ports, 120W 12V ports

It might work for a few hours on a nano tank, but it is too small for most aquariums.
It would power a small 60W return pump for less than 3 hours.

 

[McGene]

Thanks for the note Brew12. My tank is a JBJ 45 -- but, if this would only power a small return pump for such a short time, I'd better look for something else.

 

[McGene]

Since I live in FL and hurricane season is upon us -- I'm giving more thought to adding a battery backup for my tank. Basically, I want to keep the return pumps operating -- not worried about the lights, or even my RKL controller (used primarily to monitor pH, temp, etc.) Since my system is an AIO, my sump is actually part of the main tank -- so keeping the return pumps operating keeps the sump working too. At this time I do not have a separate skimmer.
Would this be adequate/overkill?
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD 1500 VA / 900 W PFC Sinewave UPS System with 10 Outlets, AVR, and LCD

 

[Brew12]

Since I live in FL and hurricane season is upon us -- I'm giving more thought to adding a battery backup for my tank. Basically, I want to keep the return pumps operating -- not worried about the lights, or even my RKL controller (used primarily to monitor pH, temp, etc.) Since my system is an AIO, my sump is actually part of the main tank -- so keeping the return pumps operating keeps the sump working too. At this time I do not have a separate skimmer.
Would this be adequate/overkill?
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD 1500 VA / 900 W PFC Sinewave UPS System with 10 Outlets, AVR, and LCD

Well, the battery is rated for 1500 VA. I'm not sure how much current your system draws or watts it is rated for which would be useful. What we do know is 120V on the AC side. We can take the 1500VA divided by the 120V and leaves us with 12.5A. If your system pulls 1 amp, the battery will last 12.5 hours. If it pulls 3 amps, you will get a little over 4 hours. I suspect this is close to reality.

 

[McGene]

Thanks, Brew12 -- this is very helpful. I'm generally confused by amps/watts and longevity with backup devices. Your comment was very helpful. If I can only determine watts per pump -- what is the calculation using this backup? Actually, I'll Google this and save you the aggravation

 

[Brew12]

Thanks, Brew12 -- this is very helpful. I'm generally confused by amps/watts and longevity with backup devices. Your comment was very helpful. If I can only determine watts per pump -- what is the calculation using this backup? Actually, I'll Google this and save you the aggravation

No aggravation at all, I love this stuff!

Watt = Volts x Amps (well, for DC anyway, we won't worry about power factor for this)

1500VA is the equivalent of 1500 watts.

If a pump uses 1 amp, it will use 120 watts (W=120x1)

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

@Brew12 is spot on. I am personally not a huge fan of UPSs for reef aquarium backups. UPSs work, but they're pretty expensive for the capacity you get. For $70, you could get a battery with three times the capacity of the UPS. Add a $15 charger and a $30 inverter and you've duplicated a UPS for about half the price with about 3x the capacity.

The only downside of a DIY is that it won't automatically fail over to battery power on a power failure. You can DIY a transfer switch or buy one though.

 

[McGene]

Cool....I did a quick search and found that watts/volts = amps (correct?). So, my two small return pumps are rated at 16 watts each (no amperage was provided. If my math is correct that means each pump is rated at .145 amps. Together they don't even equal 1 amp!!! With that said, and 1 amp is equal to 12.5 hours -- this unit should hold up for quite some time!

 

[Brew12]

Cool....I did a quick search and found that watts/volts = amps (correct?). So, my two small return pumps are rated at 16 watts each (no amperage was provided. If my math is correct that means each pump is rated at .145 amps. Together they don't even equal 1 amp!!! With that said, and 1 amp is equal to 12.5 hours -- this unit should hold up for quite some time!

Yup, if all you have is the 2 16w pumps they should run for a long time.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Cool....I did a quick search and found that watts/volts = amps (correct?). So, my two small return pumps are rated at 16 watts each (no amperage was provided. If my math is correct that means each pump is rated at .145 amps. Together they don't even equal 1 amp!!! With that said, and 1 amp is equal to 12.5 hours -- this unit should hold up for quite some time!

You should run a test of the unit if you choose to get it. The trouble with UPSs is they use inverters, which tend to be the most efficient when you use them close to their maximum rating. If you only draw a few watts of power from the UPS, your efficiency might be pretty awful. I have a 1,100W inverter and when powering a 6W load, the actual current draw from the batteries was over 2x the AC power output. The overall efficiency was below 50%. UPSes were not designed to run small loads for long periods of time, they were designed to run large loads for short periods of time (basically, power your computer until you could shut it down).

 

[McGene]

Indeed. This unit sells for $119 via Woot.com. I know chipmunkofdoom2 suggested that I build my own - but, sadly, I'm not very good at electrical DIY.
Thank you both for your support and recommendations.

 

[McGene]

So, Chipmunkofdoom2, perhaps I should load it up a bit with other inputs to help with efficiency. I was only going to use the 2 pumps to ensure longer run time. I could plug in other devices -- but that would certainly shorten the backup period. I've ordered a powerhead to move the water a bit more now that I've added a few small corals. My tank is only 45g and this time around I promised myself not to overload the bio!!!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

So, Chipmunkofdoom2, perhaps I should load it up a bit with other inputs to help with efficiency. I was only going to use the 2 pumps to ensure longer run time. I could plug in other devices -- but that would certainly shorten the backup period. I've ordered a powerhead to move the water a bit more now that I've added a few small corals. My tank is only 45g and this time around I promised myself not to overload the bio!!!

I would personally not go this route. As you mentioned, you're going to be using more power, so it's going to be difficult to realize savings because of that.