Is it possible to modify a pump to be powered by a small battery?

evmibo · Sep 5, 2017

With Irma coming I was wondering if I could modify some cobalt / maxi jets and connect one wire to the positive end and the other wire to the negative end of a small battery.

I have some battery powered air pumps but lack water movement.

Any help appreciated. There's a good chance I evacuate and I'm pretty sad about leaving my house and my aquarium. I'm fearing the worst.

chipmunkofdoom2 · Sep 5, 2017

No, this will not work for pumps like the MJ 400/800/1200s. These pumps run using alternating current, or AC, the power that comes out of your wall. The power that a battery supplies is direct current, or DC. You can convert the DC to AC, but you need a special AC/DC inverter to do it.

Some DC pumps have a battery backup input, which you could do what you're describing. You could hook the positive and negative up to a plug, plug it into the controller, and the pumps will fail over to the battery on power loss. But, these pumps are built to run off a DC power source, unlike the MJ pumps, which are designed to run off AC.

mcarroll · Sep 5, 2017

Just getting a computer UPS is fine for short term outages BTW.

For bigger applications or longer protection, get an inverter/charger and a SEALED deep-cycle battery (or marine battery).

Ranjib · Sep 5, 2017

Any DC return pump will work with batteries. You have to setup the batteries in a way to supply the expected voltage (a converter can be used for this). Any AC equipment can only be powered by a battery if it can supply sufficient voltage to run a inverter (i.e. DC to AC converter). Most UPS or computer supply will do this. They combine battery+ inverter . If you have battery, all you need is an appropriate inverter. Since all these things require specific measurement, its easy to discuss if you can specify the number of equipment (like 50w heater or mj1200 pump), AC voltage (110v or 220v ) , battery strength etc.