Generators should almost be looked at as a required piece of equipment in this hobby

civics14 said:
Yeah, we thought about a whole home generator as well. But, I couldn't justify spending $5K+ on something that I may or may not need.

Two Predators would be the way to go, you can cycle between each use to keep it running almost continuously. Costco had some Yamaha 2000w generators at one point at the $500 mark as well, that's when I picked one up.
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I picked up my generator on Amazon for $800 within 6 months of starting my system. It powers a good chunk of the house through a transfer switch. I'm probably $1200 all in, but I installed the switch myself. Getting ready to add a dual fuel conversion kit to it. Then I can grab a forklift propane cylinder from work if I know there's bad weather on the way.
 
When we travel our home is completely unattended and the tanks are on their own. I could have a neighbor go in and take care of a small emergency if I knew something was happening - but we don't do the house sitter / tank sitter thing.

One of our challenges is we generally spend a week at a time in a place where internet and phones are not really an option (I do this to hide from work so they can't bother me). We typically do this 2 and sometimes 3 times a year.

Because of that we decided back up power needed to be hands free and able to fire up on it's own with zero interaction from a person. It's also why I'm constantly seeking the most reliable and complete tank automation and monitoring. We made this decision when we saw what a 3 hour power outage did to our toad fish - I seriously thought he was done for. The next day the call was made and within a week we were on the schedule for installation. Installation took a while because the size generator we needed was back ordered due to a hurricane hitting Florida a month earlier.

Was it expensive? Oh yeah - we could have taken a really nice vacation.:eek: If I considered it part of our reefing equipment it is easily the most expensive individual thing we've bought.

Is our peace of mind when we are away worth skipping 1 vacation ? Completely! Our entire house - including AC units - was fully powered before I was able to walk out of our bedroom. Zero interaction from me and as long as the natural gas is flowing to our home we have electricity.

I would encourage everyone to at least look at multiple solutions and consider what fits in to your lifestyle & system. Do it now while it's fresh on your mind. Batteries and inverters, portable generator, whole home - whatever your best suited solution - sort it out and execute!

Winter is coming - our generator has seen more hours during winter than it has during spring, summer or fall - don't wait.
 
Fwiw,
I’m converting everything I can to DC, preferably 24 volt (pumps especially) for more ‘oomph’!

Why? Using DC is inherently simple to implement using batteries, and is inherently safer than 120 volts AC.

If you go the 120 volt route, using inverters on backup is less efficient due to voltage conversion losses, so won’t last as long on comparative batteries vs DC.

As Leo mentioned above, having a whole house generator with auto transfer switch may be the best hands free option. Just remember, you will need to change oil, eventually.

Another option would be solar with a massive battery bank. Though the investment required is a multiple of whole house generators. The upside is that there are Federal incentives in play, to help offset some of that investment & it is the ultimate in Green technology. Having your own fusion reactor, optically coupled from 93 million miles away ;)
 
ichthyoid said:
Fwiw,
I’m converting everything I can to DC, preferably 24 volt (pumps especially) for more ‘oomph’!

Why? Using DC is inherently simple to implement using batteries, and is inherently safer than 120 volts AC.

If you go the 120 volt route, using inverters on backup is less efficient due to voltage conversion losses, so won’t last as long on comparative batteries vs DC.

As Leo mentioned above, having a whole house generator with auto transfer switch may be the best hands free option. Just remember, you will need to change oil, eventually.

Another option would be solar with a massive battery bank. Though the investment required is a multiple of whole house generators. The upside is that there are Federal incentives in play, to help offset some of that investment & it is the ultimate in Green technology. Having your own fusion reactor, optically coupled from 93 million miles away ;)
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Do you know of a DC heater?
 
FWIW, I have a dual-fuel inverter generator, and it is awesome, I use with propane, which is great, smells less, not messy, fuel won't go bad, etc. Only problem: it is only 1100w, and my basement room return pump knocks it out. So instead I run powerheads and heater with it. I am going to upgrade to something in the 3400w range. Propane for the win. I just unplug my grill and plug in my generator.
 
No, but there should be.
A purely resistive 12 volt heater should approach 100% efficiency, except for losses in the supply wiring.
I’ve used them in manufacturing processes, back in my R&D days. Nothing that would work in a fish tank though.

I’ll see if I can Google one up? ;)
 
ichthyoid said:
No, but there should be.
A purely resistive 12 volt heater should approach 100% efficiency, except for losses in the supply wiring.
I’ve used them in manufacturing processes, back in my R&D days. Nothing that would work in a fish tank though.

I’ll see if I can Google one up? ;)
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This is the closest I could find for use in water. Got to be a way to do something similar for aquariums.

DC water heating 12 volt battery system stock tanks submersible heater horse stop Cold Weather stop Colicing dog Colic battery power.

DIY wind generators and solar panel grid tie systems kits off grid energy system
hydrogenappliances.com hydrogenappliances.com
 
Adam said:
I picked up my generator on Amazon for $800 within 6 months of starting my system. It powers a good chunk of the house through a transfer switch. I'm probably $1200 all in, but I installed the switch myself. Getting ready to add a dual fuel conversion kit to it. Then I can grab a forklift propane cylinder from work if I know there's bad weather on the way.
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I need to see this! I have been wanting to do something like this for my house.
 
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Nickel-Chrome alloy is what’s also used as toaster wire.

I’ve made low voltage heaters before using it & still have a couple rolls stored away.

As for a commercially available DC heater, it should ideally be in an inert case, something like 316 or 440 stainless ($$). I saw one in your post made of zinc, which won’t do.
 
I got a propane powered generator form Walmart-- Sportsman 3400W for $250 or so on a half off sale. It has saved the tank multiple times. One 20lb bottle lasts about 8 hours. It is much easier to store propane than gasoline if you don't have any other reason to have gasoline around. Plus now I always have a spare bottle for the grill. Ebay has them now for around $300.
 
When I first moved into my house there was so much new construction around I was experiencing 2-3 outages per month. Some lasting 3-6 hours. Finally bought a whole home generator and quit worrying about it. It self tests for 20 minutes once per week and get's yearly maintenance. Turned out to be very popular with the family too. I have had one now for 7 years. Best home improvement money I have ever spent.
 
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