Barely dodged a power outage

[AbbeysDad]

I got a text message from the power company indicating that 313 residents on my road were without power and they were investigating. As it turns out, thankfully, I was not affected. However, it was 24 hours before the power was restored to those folks. Living in an all electric home gives me pause! I do have a kerosene heater backup and a couple of small battery operated air pumps...just not sure I want to put them to the test.

 

[StevenF]

You could go to a computer store. There are backup or uninterruptible power supplies for desktop computers. You air pump and heater could be connected to that. When the power is up they run on the grid AC. But during a blackout the device switches to battery power and a circuit converts the DC power from the bettery to AC for your heater, filter put, and air pump. Depending on the size of the backup and the power needs of your aquarium you should be able to go a day or maybe more on the backup power supply.

 

[Keswick]

Every fish keepers NIGHTMARE.....

While they are still quite expensive, whole house generators provide a lot of comfort in knowing you are covered.

Glad you weren't affected.

 

[AbbeysDad]

You could go to a computer store. There are backup or uninterruptible power supplies for desktop computers. You air pump and heater could be connected to that. When the power is up they run on the grid AC. But during a blackout the device switches to battery power and a circuit converts the DC power from the bettery to AC for your heater, filter put, and air pump. Depending on the size of the backup and the power needs of your aquarium you should be able to go a day or maybe more on the backup power supply.

Yes, I have the power strip for my heater(s) plugged into a UPC but even after I replaced the aging battery in the unit, it only provides a couple of hours of power along with a rather annoying beep....beep,,,beep. Plenty of time to shut down a PC, but not for extended power usage.
I have my 12v boat batteries in the basement for winter so I may get an inverter to power heaters/air pump for extended periods.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Every fish keepers NIGHTMARE.....

While they are still quite expensive, whole house generators provide a lot of comfort in knowing you are covered.

Glad you weren't affected.

Yes they are very expensive. Actually about 3 years ago I bought the large kerosene heater thinking it could keep us warm during an extended outage...as of this writing, I haven't used it once! ... so I'd hate to spend thousands (I don't have laying around) on a whole house generator that may or may not get used.

Edit: Maybe instead of an inverter, a small generator would make sense...need to ponder.