Load shedding ons beneficially bacteria

Thanks @JCL, will shop around for prices and get a ups for my pc setup and will temporarily use it for my tank setup when needed. Seems that a inverter is definitely the way to go will shop around and see if can get a deal. Currently I have no backup power at all so will have to get this sorted out. Pity the batteries are so expensive :amazed:. Would've though the inverter would've been the more expensive item imo.

Will also have to get a (smart) battery charger :tongue:

 

A 50Ahr battery is quite a big battery.
A lot of UPS setups come with 12V 7Ahr batteries, sometimes they have several of those.
These batteries you can get for around R250- a pop. But then 6 or 7 of those will be even more expensive than a single 50Ahr.
Personally I invested in 3 inverters and 3 deep cycle batteries (102 A hr @R 1600- each). Had to go for several systems as I got tanks in multiple rooms (around 30+, lost count, serious case of MTS -Lol).
Don't run my heaters trough the system though, going to insulate the rooms by cladding all windows and sliding doors with 30mm polystyrene.

I have seen people posting here that they had been told their system would last for several hours (one guy believed his tank could run for 8-10hrs, including his fridge, but that in reality it only lasted for a few minutes).
It is quite easy to calculate actually, but that would be the topic for another thread I guess.
If you want, you can pm me your consumption figures for the equipment you intend to run and I'll give you some idea on what size system to get and how long you will be able to run it for during power cuts).

 

Double post, sorry.

 

I agree with @JCL , but depending on your needs a small PC UPS might do the trick. The key is to know what you want to run and then take it from there.

In my case I only run the airpumps and the 600VA UPS (And yes it does indeed have a small 12V 7Ahr 'Alarm system' battery) is sufficient to run them for the 4 hours... (I do not run my heaters or power filters from it...)

Unfortunately the prices on most backup system has doubled because of the load shedding. Ellies has a nice plug and play system that you can buy (Builders stocks them, but if you go to Ellies directly you get them much cheaper)
Power Inverter / UPS Moveable Trolley System 1200W / 2000VA 24VDC To 220VAC

 

I forgot to mention Ellies also sells an inverter - but what is nice about there's is that it has a built in charger and automatic switch over from mains to battery.
Power Inverter / UPS 600W / 1000VA 12VDC To 220VAC

 

Awesome, thank you guys. Will look around this weekend as well and see if I cant rather pickup a nice power inverter setup

 

This is the guy that is advertising on Gumtree (He also gives you a good idea of how to calculate what inverter setup to get) UPS Electric, backup electrical systems South Africa

 

Thanks will give him a call and see what happens

I also saw the following on Takealot, would this run my canister + pump for atleast 3hours?
http://www.takealot.com/rct-650va-line-interactive-ups/PLID32714409 or http://www.takealot.com/rct-850va-line-interactive-ups/PLID32714233

Unsure if I should push my luck and also run the 300 Watt heater on this. The prices on these are quite reasonable for a temporary solution and would then save up for a proper inverter setup after this.

 

Even though the heater does not stay on continuously, when it comes on it will draw 300W - thus your inverter must be able to handle all the load or you could damage it. (Some inverters have overload protection). Maybe buy a lower wattage heater and set it for a couple of degrees lower (Still in the safe zone for the fish you keep). This way the water can drop a couple of degrees before you require the heater to switch on and it will be less of a load on the system. Maybe @JCL can help you with the heater question though...

 

Also, bare in mind a PC UPS is designed to give you power for a short period (So you can properly shutdown the PC/ Save data). I would not use it with a aquarium heater as it will drain the battery in minutes...

From the info supplied by Takealot you can't really see the battery capacity/specs. But I would think it will only run a 300w system for 5-30 minutes...

Take @JCL up and PM him the details of what you want to run... (The inverter must be rated to handle the wattage you want to draw - normally the wattage must not exceed 75% of the rating of the inverter. The battery will determine how long you can run the system...)

Edit: Just remeber my UPS only runs 3 x 5w air-pumps (for air driven filters - keeps filters going and adds oxygen to tanks) for 4 hours (With an anoying beep every couple of minutes) - I had it laying around though (My battery needs replacement so I might get more up time if I replace it)...

 

Thank allot @Caz I did contact the person from the link you send me and he also assisted me, but for now its a bit beyond my budget will save up for the next 2 - 3 month and buy one of his inverter setups.

Thinking of only using the ups for the 2-3 month period and after that I will use it elsewhere. Will also ask @JCL and see if I cant get some more info on the UPS`s from takealot.

 

The pricing is ridiculous at the moment... At the very least try and get some filters on backup power. There is always other solutions to get the heat up in the tanks (if you are at home that is).

 

True mainly for now want my filters to run I can manage the temp for now. . .

Thanks again helped me allot!

 

@Ortaega -I had a look at the takealot links.

Will try to give some generally useful info regarding the whole topic and will add some calculations as well.

-Definition and usage of a UPS.
As the name already says it, an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) does exactly that, provides power without interruption. Think of a computer which will go down when the power goes off. So a UPS will supply Eskom power to the computer and when it detects that the power is down it will switch to internally generated power and supply this to the computer. This happens so fast that the PC doesn't even notice it and keeps on running. Batteries are usually built into the unit, either 1 or several. Either way, they are usually not that big as the typical UPS is really only meant to be used for a short time, like 15-60 minutes.
Read the reviews on takealot and you'll see that the people shut down their system in a controlled manner, this is what UPS' are there for.
As always, there are exceptions to the rule. Some systems are designed for longer durations and at least in theory on all UPS units the duration can be extended by adding more batteries to the existing ones. One issue could be the question whether the units are actually designed to run for several hours if the manufacturer only kits them out for a few minutes, the other one could be whether the built in battery charger is going to be able to handle/recharge the additional battery capacity (suppliers like to come up with any excuse to get out of warranty claims).
One should remember that a UPS includes circuitry to monitor the input voltage and to switch over to alternative power very quickly.
This feature costs money and is not really important for us who want to run our tanks, ....we do not need switch over times in the ms region.
Also UPS typically have small batteries.

The takealot units appear to have one 12V 7Ahr battery built in. These are alarm system batteries and cost around R235- Rand (I know, I bought one for my alarm system 2 weeks ago). They are normal batteries, not deep cycle batteries (as far as I know there are no such small deep cycle batteries on the market).They will work in conjuction with a UPS and inverter but aren't going to last like deep cycle batteries.
Car batteries can also be used but again, they are designed to crank out a huge current to get the engine started and then the alternator recharges them. They are not meant to be discharged for a long period (anyone who left the lights or car radio on will know that).

The 2 takealot units mentioned in the earlier post are rated 650VA(360W) and 800VA(480W), this is the power the electronics can deliver, however the single 12V 7Ahr battery only provides 12V x7A hr =84VAhr. This is the maximum capacity the battery has if it is in good condition and can be discharged completely.
Now if you were going to supply your computer and peripheral the full 650VA your battery would be lasting approx. 8 minutes.
If your computer and monitor use less power the battery will last a bit longer.
Hence my point that UPS systems are designed for a different purpose.

But if you, like @Caz, already have a UPS lying around you might as well use it. Just get yourself some decent batteries, if the UPS was lying around for a while chances are that the battery/batteries are toast anyway.

Before moving off topic I have to mention that the 2 takealot UPS do generate a modified sinewave on battery power.
The purist will prefer a pure sinewave output but those units are a lot more expensive and most modified sinewave units will be suitable with all but the most sensitive of our equipment.
I state most, as I also bought a very cheap and very nasty inverter in a Chinese shop, just to mess around with. Has only got 230VA but works well, drives over 200W Odyssea lights but isn't able to run a tiny 6W power head or hob. This is not related to the power requirement or battery capacity, it has to do with the modified (chopped) sinewave it generates which isn't able to generate a proper rotating magnetic field in an induction motor which is what a power head and/or hob actually is (same for canister filter)

Coming back to Ortaega's question whether he could try to connect his 300W heater to the 650VA UPS. Yes it will work, the electronics of the UPS will be able to cope (just, as it has a 360W limit and your filter is 27W, I guess your pump around 6W and then the 300W heater). But with the heater on, the battery (12V 7Ahr) will be flat after less than 15 minutes. Hence I recommended a 50Ahr battery in my earlier post.
If you leave the heater off, you can run the air pump and filter for about 2 hrs.

Hope some of you made it this far without falling asleep -LOL

 

Thanks @JCL,

Really Really Really appreciate the time and effort and your assistance!

Didn't make me fall asleep, actually learned allot :tongue:today!

Temporarily I will then try out the ups for my Filter and air pump and will then rather go the smarter route in saving up and getting a proper inverter and deep cycle battery setup. I most probably would have to get a proper one as the MTS sickness is real and I do not see a cure for it at this moment :tongue:.

Thinking of getting the 800VA for now as there is just a slight price difference. Will definitely ask your opinion/advice should I ever get stuck with making a decision in the future when it is Electrical!!!:biggrin: