Jebao from a deep cycle batter

[danh]

After losing power for over 2 days during the winter, I still haven't actually pulled the trigger on any solution. My power is out right now and has been for the past 10 hours. Everything seems fine now, as the temp isn't like it was in December. I've agitated the water several times.

I've got several deep cycle batteries for my boat in the garage. Is it as easy as cutting a Jebao power cord before the power block (getting rid of the block) and hooking it up to a 12v battery??? If so, I can probably run my return pump and power heads for a long time... I just need a couple of extra chords to swap out when the power goes out.

 

[bcavalli]

Im no expert by any means.  But, I believe you need an inverter to convert 12v to 120.  Thats what a car inverter does when you plug it into the cigarette lighter and run a power cord from it.

 

[danh]

Where is that inverter at?



I've got a small compressor that you plug in to your cigarette lighter to pump up tires and such. The lighter plug broke... so I cut it off and I hook it straight up to a battery. My old boat trailer has a dry rotted tire I've got to re-fill every time I take it out so I do that often.



I need an electrical engineer I guess...

 

[bcavalli]

Sorry Im not more help.  Im no expert at electrical.  Maybe someone with more experience can chime in.  But, you should be able to pick an inverter up locally.

 

[dball711]

I could be wrong but I think its as simple as providing a 12-24V power source for the pump.  I have these backing up my Gyres, last up to 36 hours.

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[danh]

So the cap goes between the battery and the controller?

 

[bcavalli]

The Icecap is a battery backup for the Jaebo powerhead or return pump.  Its the same process as using a UPS battery backup.  If the unit senses a loss of power it kicks on and runs until the battery is dead or power is restored.   I keep 2 UPS battery backup units.  I have a powerhead in each tank plugged into it and the backup powerr supply to the Apex.  I also have a smaller UPS hooked up to my internet router so I will receive a notification if there is a power failure and Im not home.

 

[dball711]

Yes Brett, that's exactly how it works.  Both battery and pump have their own power source, the icecap is hooked up inline to the pumps 12-24v power source and automatically switches to battery when the power fails.  The point of mentioning the Ice Cap battery was to confirm it's 12-24v hook up to the pump.

 

[danh]

I got it.



Power was still out when I left work yesterday so I arranged to borrow a generator from a friend for the tank and my deep freezer. He showed me the temperamental throttle and how to settle it down. Second pull at home and the chord broke. Tried to fix the chord and couldn't. Rigged up a hole saw with a long drill bit perpedicular through it to turn the engine over. That worked but still  had to do it several times... and the hole saw with the cranking bit was coming off of the bit in the drill.... and getting stuck in the crank after it started running... dangerous stuff.... Abandoned that idea and finally got it kick started with a socket and a ratchet... It was like a really hard kick start.... Baby sat it with the freezer on it for like 5 minutes, got the extension chord ready for the tank... after 10 minutes of the generator running I was ready to plug the tank in... and boom... the power came back on... smh

Looks like everything survived.

 

[bcavalli]

Wow what an ordeal for you to have to deal with.  Geeze.  I have a back up generator just in case we have an extended power outage.  Fortunately, I have only needed to use it once.  You may want to consider picking up,a cheap one from Harbor Freight.  Ive seen them as low as $250 for a 3000 watt.  If nothing else you can power your fridge or freezer and a few pieces of equipment for your tank.

 

[danh]

I spoke to my electrical engineer. As long as the pump is 12-24v and my batteries are 12v, then it is as easy as cutting out the brick and hooking the wires up to the battery. I should put a fuse in there just in case. Anyone know the max amps each piece of a jebao can handle, meaning the motor, controller and wires? Then I'd get a fuse rated just below the lowest handling piece.

I've been in this house for 3 years now and I've had a total of almost 3 days of power outage. I definitely need a generator. I think the deep freezer, fridge and other odds and ends, maybe even a heater or two in the tank will need over 3000 watts. Generally freezers use 1500 watts to start the condenser. So if the fridge and freezer both kicked on at the same time they'd both peak and hit 3000 watts. 4000 will handle all of that. I think the work around for the pumps is a good one. My trolling motor batteries will power these little bitty pumps for days. It's manual, not an auto cut over... but at least it's a plan.

 

[bcavalli]

Sounds like plan.  I can run our fridge and my main Apex brain and 2 return pumps and 2 heaters.  I think I mentioned I have two UPC's for my powerheads which gives me about 12 hrs.  Its well worth the investment.

Sounds like you have a good plan for now.  If you want to go all out in the future Costco has a loaded 1000 watt electric starter for $600 or $700 when its on sale.