Electricity

[JayLB]

I don't use the full draw so I get at least a few hours if not longer. With your draw you may want something more like what I use on my main computer which is something like 1200 watt. With the 1200 watt UPS I have my main display, computer, Internet modem, router and phone connected to the battery.

A lot of this is about balance. With two tanks with each having a 100 watt heater what I linked would be too small. Since you seem to have longer outages I would say at least a 1200 watt.

The longest outage I've experienced has been something like 8 hours and the 1200 watt UPS did the job. The thing is that I have several computers. When I get an outage I shut down my main system and display leaving the UPS just doing my phone, modem and router. I have no idea as to actually how long the UPS would power these but imagine it would be a couple of days. Since I also have a MacBook Air that holds ~10 hours of battery life, An Asus laptop that is good for 6-7 hours and a Microsoft Surface that is good for ~5 hours I could go for close to a full day with still being on-line as long as the cable was still working. With the demands of an aquarium the run time would probably be over a day with a 1200 watt unit even with you doing two tanks if the unit has a high amp potential. I KNOW I'm going to say this wrong but the watts are how much the unit can put out at one time. Amps are related to how long the unit can supply this power.

I have no idea about anything. Just need to find something for when that power goes. Don’t want the fish at risk.

Do you know which would be best?

 

[jaylach]

I have no idea about anything. Just need to find something for when that power goes. Don’t want the fish at risk.

Do you know which would be best?

Considering that you would not have the tank lights connected to the battery as they are not essential Your consumption would need to be known. Would need to know how much your tanks actually draw as to wattage and amperage between heaters and filtration. Would also need to know how long, as a maximum, you would want the battery to power the tank.

There are just no absolutes as to the battery needed as to the battery that you need. I know a little about electricity but don't have the math knowledge to give absolute answers.

 

[JayLB]

Considering that you would not have the tank lights connected to the battery as they are not essential Your consumption would need to be known. Would need to know how much your tanks actually draw as to wattage and amperage between heaters and filtration. Would also need to know how long, as a maximum, you would want the battery to power the tank.

There are just no absolutes as to the battery needed as to the battery that you need. I know a little about electricity but don't have the math knowledge to give absolute answers.

How can I find out that info?

 

[jaylach]

How can I find out that info?

You would need to do on-line searches on your equipment and look at the specifications.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Are you married?

Divorced.

He was a drunken thug so removed him from my life in 1987....he removed himself from life after trying to kill the next wife, he is still enjoying jail time.

Not that being married has anything to do with whether or not a person can budget properly.

 

[kiko]

I have 2 20g running a 100w heater each. With an air pump each. I wouldn’t worry so much about my. So I would think 300w plus. And sometimes the outage is a few hours to all day/night.

so let's say you need to power 2 air pumps at 20w each constant power
and 2 100w heaters at half time as they turn on/off which would be 100w constant usage with a total of 140w for everything
assuming you want to power your 2 tanks with a constant power usage of 140w for 12h you need at least 1680w
now as ups's are measured in volt-amps/DC as opposed to AC/watt capacity you need to convert this back to VA for when you go look at UPS batteries...
watts are 60% of VA so you just convert back by doing 1680*100/60=2800VA
and a battery like this will run you in the thousands ^^
I suggest you take a look at a post I made about power storage/solar etc....
you can find it at: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/just-thinking-about-it.483949/post-4217030
where the small solar system would be cheaper on your pocket than a 3000VA UPS battery

 

[jaylach]

so let's say you need to power 2 air pumps at 20w each constant power
and 2 100w heaters at half time as they turn on/off which would be 100w constant usage with a total of 140w for everything
assuming you want to power your 2 tanks with a constant power usage of 140w for 12h you need at least 1680w
now as ups's are measured in volt-amps/DC as opposed to AC/watt capacity you need to convert this back to VA for when you go look at UPS batteries...
watts are 60% of VA so you just convert back by doing 1680*100/60=2800VA
and a battery like this will run you in the thousands ^^
I suggest you take a look at a post I made about power storage/solar etc....
you can find it at: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/just-thinking-about-it.483949/post-4217030
where the small solar system would be cheaper on your pocket than a 3000VA UPS battery

Just took a peek on New Egg and they seem to have a UPS over 1500VA. A 1500VA goes for $200.00-$250.00.

 

[kiko]

Just took a peek on New Egg and they seem to have a UPS over 1500VA. A 1500VA goes for $200.00-$250.00.

they get more and more expensive the higher capacity you want
because you can't connect them in series as it'll diminish their shelf life
you can however grab 2 1500's and connect them to each tank and get the same end result...
another thing you can do is look for a battery that supports being connected to other batteries like modules
these usually will have a better power controller/inverter and you can just attach a new one when you want more capacity...
make sure the specs lists them as being in parallel because in series...crappy batteries will drag the good ones down

 

[GaryE]

Not that being married has anything to do with whether or not a person can budget properly.

I dunno. Women I've known with useless, drunken or druggie husbands have found them very expensive and hard to work around.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I dunno. Women I've known with useless, drunken or druggie husbands have found them very expensive and hard to work around.

My ex used to demand "labelled" foods...Heinz, Fray Bentos etc

I never buy labelled food and always get the supermarket own brand which costs significantly less.

Oddly enough, he never once noticed any difference (though I did make sure that no wrappers or tins etc were ever in the rubbish bin in the kitchen when doing the roasts etc each day)

What he did not know, didn't hurt him.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Just had an email from my electricity supplier to let me know that any change in prices will not affect me since I have a fixed tariff until November 30, 2023.

Currently I pay £1350 per year for my electricity (roughly £28 per week).....which includes 2 loads in the tumble dryer, 2 loads in the washing machine, 2 loads in the dishwasher every week. Along with the usual TV, aquariums, electric shower, microwave, air fryer, toaster, coffee machine, lighting, pooter, chest freezer, fridge/freezer etc.

So all in all....not too bad really. Quite pleased that I changed from EON to British Gas for my electricity in November 2021 cos EON were actually significantly more expensive. I have a smart meter on the electricity so can watch my usage easily and adapt when needed. My next bill is due in November and I have enough deposited onto the website account to handle that and the March 2023 bill easily.

I have one convection heater on wheels that if needed I use, however it has spent the last year or two stored under the bed and unused (but its there, ready to be dragged out just incase). If the temps dip, I go raid my jumper drawers and if really chilly I go slither under my arctic rated duvet. Even with snow outside I won't use heating unless I really really have to....that arctic rated duvet does the job perfectly well and at no extra cost