[Shotimes] Backup Power

Fri, 6 Jan 2006 06:44:54 -0800 (PST)

I live in Manchester, CT.  The last outage was when the main substation's line went down all by itself.

  Dave R

James White <greensho@crown.net> wrote:
  Where do you live that your electric reliability is so bad?

Here in N.W.Indiana, it has been 8 years since the power has gone 
out for more than 10 minutes.

Of course it helps when the electric company's power line supervisior 
lives about a block away....

But at $.13/kw-hr, maybe we get what we pay for?

regards, Jim White - still warm and toasty in Valparaiso, Indiana

At Thursday, 5 January 2006, David Rosicke wrote:

>I have been down this route. I used to have a UPS on every computer 
and 
>the A/V system Well, total power consumtion to maintain these UPS' 
was 
>almost 300 Watts! I'm currently wiring these same locations to 
ONE 2200Va 
>UPS with a small breaker panel. The 2200 uses only 80 watts to 
maintain 
>and can handle the entire load.
>
> I also tried to wire a UPS to maintain the boiler and Well pump. I 
>gave up when I saw the size, plus the battery replacment costs every 
three 
>years (It was a MinuteMan uinit - it would have been every two if 
I had 
>used APC). So, I have a 12KW Generac that I use, with a 500 Gallon 
propane 
>tank. With the surface area of the propane, I can run in -30 deg.
F weather 
>with no problems (though it doesn't usually get that cold), PLUS I can 
>run continuously for 12-14 days without a fillup. I don't worry about 
>running out of Gasoline or diesel, having to refill it every few hours,
>OR having the fuel go bad while in the tank. It comes with an automatic 

>transfer switch, and cost $3200 delivered. I poured the platforms and 
>wired it 90 feet away from the house myself, for an additional cost of 
>$600.
>
> We have had several outages, most around nine hours long. With the 
>combination I have, the UPS handles the annual voltage drop to 107 
volts 
>(112V to 107V over a 9 hour period on a 60 degree day), and the 
Generator 
>kicks in for the longer than one minute outages to keep the lights,
well,
>heat (or A/C) running. If I needed the UPS for an extended period of 
>time, it can run everything for about 35 minutes - 3 desktops, one 
proxy 
>server, one Novell server, one switch, one hub, and an access point,
along 
>with two A/V systems.
>
> Dave R.
>
> Message: 2
>Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 05:57:41 -0800 (PST)
>From: Bill Strobel 
>To: Times List SHO 
>Subject: [Shotimes] Backup Power
>
>If what you are protecting is important then the best back up power 
supply 
>would be a small gas powered generator with an electric start. You set 
>it up so that it automatically starts during a power interruption.
This 
>can be variably timed so that a minor power outage won't set it 
off but 
>anything over a minute or so will. The big thing to remember is 
regular 
>maintenance on the system. Once a month runs for 10-20 minutes check 
the 
>starting battery. If you do that then you'll have enough power for the 
>house besides your pumps. Honda or any good generator manufacturer can 
>set you up with what you need. 
>
>Bill Strobel
>Independent Towing
>Fayetteville NC
>
>---------------------------------
>Yahoo! Photos
>Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays,

>whatever.
>
>--__--__--
>
>Message: 3
>From: "Paul Nimz" 
>
>To: "`V6 SHOtimes" , "Bill Strobel"
>
>Subject: Re: [Shotimes] Backup Power
>Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 09:47:26 -0600
>
>My electric co-op will sell you a propane/natural gas powered auto 
start
>generator cheap and financed at very low interest if you sign up 
for the
>interruptible power plan. Electric rate is below .05 per KWH too.
>
>Or you could get an industrial battery back up for a couple grand 
and have at
>least 24 hours of power for a sump pump.
>
>Paul
>
>--__--__--
>
>Message: 4
>Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 12:04:44 -0500
>From: Mike Wojton 
>To: SHOtimes@autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: [Shotimes] Backup Power
>
>I know some will argue "What price do you put on your possessions?",
but my
>interest in this is to do it fairly inexpensively.
>A battery backup is less than $200. The water powered system is around
>$600. Generators? Know you're talking thousands.
>I don't have that kind of money to spare. Some of you might, but 
I expect
>most people don't.
>
>--
>Mike Wojton
>Dover, PA
>
>-'95 White MTX
>'96 Brake Upgrade
>Eibachs (front)
>Dynomax catback
>
>"Avoid the clap." - Jimmy Dugan
>
>Message: 5
>From: "Paul Nimz" 
>
>To: "`V6 SHOtimes" , 
>Subject: Re: [Shotimes] Backup Power
>Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 11:22:03 -0600
>
>I agree and that is why I don't have any. But I live in a good area 
as far as
>flooding goes. My worst power problem would come in the winter if 
it were out
>for an extended time and the temps very cold.
>
>Paul
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