Is it a good idea to simulate a power outage?

[am3gross]

Here is the deal, I am in the military and I am set to deploy in a few months. I am trying to go thru scenarios so I will be able to answer questions later down the road. I was not going to go the route to buying all the APEX gear, but with me leaving I am trying to make it as easy as possible for the wifey.

With that being said, I am thinking about doing a power outage scenario. Here are my questions.

What can I expect here? I know all the stuff that I am running should be just an off and on type thing, no crazy configurations just yet. Will there be something special I need to do to the apex or will it just reset itself and go?

What is the best way to simulate this? Just thro the breaker?

I have 3 different breakers that the apex system is plugged into, (lights in the canopy is 1, Heaters are 2, and the rest is the 3rd). Do i need to thro all the breakers or can I just do the breaker the apex is on?

Thanks everyone for the previous help and the continued support!!!

Mike

 

[rwreef]

I would test all breaker on/off scenarios. Don't do a soft reset ...simulate actual power outages with breakers.
1 off, 2on, 3 on
1 on, 2off, 3 on
1 in, 2 on, 3 off
All off and all on test.
Wait about 5 or 10 mins for each test before turning power on/off

Apex while supposed to make things "easier" actually adds many software and hardware interactions to test.

Once done, take notes on what will happen and how to improve.

 

[Reefer1978]

Hey Mike. EB832 retains programming for all outlets, so even if the brain doesn't power up right away, programming will start up. You don't need to user the breaker to simulate a power outage. You can just unplug the EB832 from the outlet, assuming all your equipment will be plugged into it.

 

[John08007]

Sounds like a great plan, maybe get a ups battery backup-onea used for computers. Attach a small power head to it and put it in your tank, incase of an outage it would keep water circulating.


Thank you for your service

 

[HuduVudu]

What can I expect here?

Nothing. You should very much do this. You just don't know what is going to happen.

What is the best way to simulate this? Just thro the breaker?

Throw the breaker on the house. If you want more granular detail then do it for each thing, but then you need to throw the whole house.

This is great idea and more people should do it more often. Nothing quite like everything going down to find things you missed. One thing for me that I missed in my evaluation is that the AC will not be on (summer) and therefore my tank temp though fine in the AC with the low humidity of the house will not be fine when those conditions are not present, like in a power outage.

Do it for a couple of hours and you will quickly find all kinds of stuff. Better to plan to fail than fail to plan.

 

[Patientman]

I turn off the (independent) breaker every so often (every 4-6 weeks) to check things … especially to make certain the back flow valve from tank to sump isn't "gunked" up making sure it works to prevent a sump overflow! Also it shows that everything comes back "up" the way it should.

 

[am3gross]

Absolutely outstanding advice here, I will start with the unplugging of the power bars, 1 at a time. Then I will work on the whole house thing, probably a bad idea to do it with the boy using the internet for school and kinda needing the power..

again, thanks everyone for the quick responses, I will chime back in to give my notes.

 

[am3gross]

Also, I have thought about the battery backup, that may be coming sooner then later.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Read my tutorial on Apex Power Monitoring for details on how to configure the Apex along with a UPS battery backup so you can selectively run critical devices during a power outage, preserving the battery life to support water movement.

Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 4: Power Monitoring

Part 4 of our series on programming your Neptune Apex: Power Monitoring

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Bepis]

What pumps are you running. Many companies make battery backups. I think Neptune systems does as well

 

[SuncrestReef]

What pumps are you running. Many companies make battery backups. I think Neptune systems does as well

FYI - Neptune does not make or sell any battery backups. But yes, other brands are available.

 

[Reefer1978]

Unless you have a whole house standby generator, and want to test how long the switchover takes, I really don't see the point on messing with the whole house. Unless it's time to reset the clock on Oven/Microwave.

 

[am3gross]

I have MP60s, which they do make back ups for.

1st test was the canopy, all lights and fans went off, as expected, came back online no issues. watching Apex Local, AMPs went to 0 and then back up as it should.

1st test has been a success. Stand by for test #2 which will be the EB832 power down

 

[User1]

One thing to be aware of when simulating power failures is the sump and overall capacity to handle overflow from tank. Simply put you have a return line or two at a set water level. Power goes out, return pumps are off, water starts to drain until it is lower than the return line. Your sump needs to be able to handle that extra water without over flowing.

Check valves are a crutch and not a sure fire way to prevent this. Neither is drilling a break in an elbow to siphon air to break the flow. Snails and algae can block this. So the simulation of a power failure as simple as flipping the breaker or turning off each outlet via the controller or surge protector will test this simple feature and tell you what you need to do to adjust and make it save.

Next up I would place in a box a air pump, line, air stone, and instructions in a safe spot that everyone knows. In the case of a failure you don't need the skimmer, lights, etc. You need to protect the life in the tank and that comes from the air pump. There are batter backup units, affordable, and will last hours. You need one and the instructions that everyone knows.'

So now you have the sump taken care of. You have air taken care of. The rest goes in your love me box that your family knows about. This is a base set of instructions on how to feed, how to turn things on, off, and how to swap out spare parts. It also lists URLs if you use a web portal, user name, password, etc. Also include URL of vendor if you need to create a support ticket.

Keep this in an area your wiser and better half knows about. And children if you have them and they are of an age to help. Being previously in the Mil with a high temp unit I was gone every other month and this is what I did. Best of luck and above all stay safe.

 

[am3gross]

Unless you have a whole house standby generator, and want to test how long the switchover takes, I really don't see the point on messing with the whole house. Unless it's time to reset the clock on Oven/Microwave.

I usually reset the house and let the wifey do the resetting of the clocks, I would rather "hear" it from her for 5 minutes then to spend the 20 it will take to reset everything.

 

[am3gross]

ok, test 2 did not go as planned, skimmer overflowed when it came back on. here is my config for that, what did i do wrong?

Fallback ON
Set ON
If Power Apex Off 020 Then ON

should it have stayed off for 20 minutes?

 

[Malcontent]

Worked great at Chernobyl...

 

[ca1ore]

ok, test 2 did not go as planned, skimmer overflowed when it came back on. here is my config for that, what did i do wrong?

Fallback ON
Set ON
If Power Apex Off 020 Then ON

should it have stayed off for 20 minutes?

Believe it should be ....

Fallback ON
Set ON
IF Power Apex OFF 020 Then OFF

Personally, I prefer ....

IF Power EB832 OFF 020 Then OFF

 

[am3gross]

I changed my code for my skimmer, that does look better then the other. Also I see my mistake. I will get this, I promise!!

 

[am3gross]

Test number 3 will be coming after 330 when the boy does not need the interewbs any more