STORMS: Do you have a generator for your reef tank?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

With so many major winter storms popping up lately there has been a lot of discussion on preparing for power outages and having power back up plans! So let's talk about generators today and see who's ready and what generator your using!

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations?

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?

 

[dragon99]

Currently having rolling blackouts. Wish I had installed that whole home generator a few years back now.

Just a battery backup on the Vortech in the main tank to keep things moving.

 

[HD_Reefer]

EcoTech battery for the Vortechs, CyberPower battery for pump & heater and portable generator just in case those don’t hold up. Save my apples last night and again this morning!

 

[rogersb]

Champion, I think its 4000 watts. I dont start it in the off season but when fall/ winter rolls around I make sure it's working. I've only needed it a few times but when I did I was glad to have it. Even without a fish tank it's nice to have.

 

[rtbell1771]

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations?
Yes


2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?
Powerhorse (Northern Tool brand), 9KW

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?
Yes.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Yes, portable rollup unit. 30amp 125/250 volt inlet, to a small 8 circuit panel for critical loads. Manual transfer. If we are away 2 of my neighbours are trained in how to roll it out, connect and throw the switch for me.
Excercise the Generator every 2 months, and run it under load for a few hours every 4 months.
Mine is a 7900 W Firman Gas powered. Nice little unit imo....

 

[cmmatxh]

picked up a harbor freight generator yesterday, and have a icecap battery on order

 

[Waboss]

I have WEN 4000W generator (had a Westinghouse 9500, but wanted to get a "sine wave" one for the electronics)

 

[ca1ore]

I had various portable units for years. With the first one bought in 1998, I failed to note it required occasional exercising and that leaving old gas in the tank is not a good idea. Second one was fine, but a little underpowered. Third was a Rigid 8500 unit. Really nice unit. Only trouble was that the process of attaching it to the manual transfer switch was a bit complicated and a problem if I was away. About three years ago I bit the proverbial ballet and got an automated, whole house 20KW unit. Exercises automatically every two weeks. Portable is now backup to the backup. Gets run every month or so.

 

[Mical]

Bought a Generac 16k whole house with 200 amp auto transfer switch. It cost a fraction of what I have invested.

 

[sp1187]

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations?
yes.

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?
20k Generac full house

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?
fires up automatically every Wednesday at noon for 15 minutes.
serviced yearly.

 

[RMS18]

Yes I have a generator for the tank 4000 wats. It will run all 3 tanks, two fridges, and some lights if we need or cell phones etc. I'd love to get a home generator but not sure how worth it for the cost it would be. Not moving anytime soon so it would be 10+ years old by the time we move. I may buy a larger generator to power more items in the house and use the current one for the tanks exclusively. Let's see what this year's tax refund is like!

 

[Arabyps]

Two Tesla Powerwalls and solar panels to recharge. When power goes out we don't even know it.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I'm prepared...a Generac 22 kW whole-house generator fueled by natural gas, with an automatic transfer switch. Power cuts over to generator automatically during an outage even if I'm not home, and sends me a text alert for notification.

The generator has its own automatic self-test every two weeks. It starts itself up, runs for about 10 minutes, and sends me a text notification of success or any problems. I have routine maintenance performed annually.

I also have my Apex on a small UPS to handle the brief blip in power before the generator kicks on. It's usually within 20-30 seconds.


Here’s the automatic transfer switch:



We have about an inch of ice in NW Oregon right now, with lots of power outages reported.

Saturday:

Sunday:

 

[piranhaman00]

I have an inverter....

 

[takitaj]

Just upgraded to a Powerhorse 7500i electric start roll around. It's fully contained and super quiet (74 db). Roll it out the garage back door and plugs into the side of the house. Then goes into a 10 circuit manual transfer switch. It runs the entire house except the ovens & AC condensers. Love this thing! Some day we'll upgrade to a built in.

I'll run it every couple of months of consecutive non use and do regular maintenance (oil change, etc) once a year regardless of use. The secret is using Stable in the fuel to keep it fresh and keep the damage from alcohol fuels down.

 

[Adamantium]

Yup, 5500W portable Generac unit. I have a manual transfer switch, so it powers the whole house, which is phenomenal. It’s saved me so many times now, and only cost about $600.

I do an oil change every 100 hours, run the carb dry when shutting it down, and use fuel stabilizer in it when it sits. I have 20 gallons of fuel on hand at all times, which gives me about 3 days of constant run time.

 

[Adamantium]

Just upgraded to a Powerhorse 7500i electric start roll around. It's fully contained and super quiet (74 db). Roll it out the garage back door and plugs into the side of the house. Then goes into a 10 circuit manual transfer switch. It runs the entire house except the ovens & AC condensers. Love this thing! Some day we'll upgrade to a built in.

I'll run it every couple of months of consecutive non use and do regular maintenance (oil change, etc) once a year regardless of use. The secret is using Stable in the fuel to keep it fresh and keep the damage from alcohol fuels down.

Wow, 7500 watts isn’t enough to power your AC condensers? I do one zone at a time, but it works with my 5500W. Do you have large condensers?

 

[Hydrored]

Having rolling blackouts here in Texas, I do have a whole home natural gas generator but they are now telling us they will be doing the same for natural gas for 45 mins at a time. Hopefully, they are not stupid enough to shut both gas and electricity off at the same time.

Power was off for 2 hours last night, that initial up front investment sucks, wife was not happy with the cost but is now thankful we have it

 

[ccole]

I didn’t have one until Saturday when we received a bunch of frozen rain and ice in Oregon. I rushed out and managed to get one of the last ones from Harbor Freight (3500 watts). It’s a good thing we did, since we’ve already been out for over 48 hours with no end in sight.