Power Off!!

Hi all,
Last week I had 9 hours of power off. On the way home from work I picked up a generator. Then I had to get it fired up in the dark and get enough heavy duty extension cords to power my pumps, skimmer, and heaters. No lights. Then I had to power the pump and filter in mt QT tank (watchman goby). My wife wanted to know if she could use some power, so I let her charge her cell phone! What do other people do when the juice goes out?

 

i would do the same thing as you but my power has not went out for more than a hour at any one time (knock on wood?). how big is your generator? you should be able to run far more than just your tank unless its a small gen?

 

Its 3200 watts. Pump 350w, skimmer 275w, heaters 500w QT prob 150w total. The room started getting a little cold so I put on a space heater. The tank heaters won't hold the temp steady if the room gets below 67 degrees. Oh yeah, my wife's cell phone 0.5 watts. Our weather has been stinky this winter. More ice coming.- paul

 

You can have the generator hard wired to your house to run certain items – call an electrician and look into it (that is if your power is prone to going out).

I have my generator set to run the tank at full capacity, my kitchen and furnace. The load you can wire depends on the generator.

 

I have a 3500w Champion generator on wheels. I keep it gassed up with StaBil in the gas so it does not go bad and store a couple of extension cords and outlet strips right on top of the generator.
We have summer monsoon storms that can knock power out for days so its nice to have a back up.
For short term outages I have a few of the battery air pumps that come on when they sense a power outage, they help circulate some water in a pinch.

 

Any suggestions on overloaded circuit? I throw my breaker if i'm running my MH, T5's, pumps, koralias, heaters, etc... and then cut on my hairdryer. Every time this happens only when I cut on my dryer. I have 20 Amp breakers but everything in my tank room is also connected to my bathroom. I really don't like being on the edge of tripping the breakers. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

Got room for an additional breaker? call an electrician and have it done properly.

 

deffinately get another circuit. I am an electrician and I see so many people trying to run too much stuff on a circuit. This is not a good thing especially for your tank. Depending on where your tank is located it shouldnt be too big of a deal to run a seperate circuit (or 2) it doesnt cost very much to run another one with the first one. Make sure you get them GFCI protected.

As far as the generator wiring, yes you can have it "hard wired" into your current electrical system. Running cords can be a hassle especially with no lights or just a flashlight.
There are NEC (national electrical code) references and definate do's and don'ts associated with this. Please dont plug your generator directly into your dryer or range outlet. This could cause a dangerous "backfeed" to the power company. The correct way to do this would be to install a special switch/ mechanism that disconnects the power company when the generator is running. and vice versa.

 

I ran a seperate dedicated 20A GFI circuit just for the reef tank. I also share a 15A GFI circuit with the kitchen and run a few pumps and a heater off that line so if one or the other goes out I still have half my water movement and heating in operation.

Did you home come with 20A circuits? Wish mine did as a few are right on the edge at 15A.

 

Got tired of the cords and storing gas so I went to this propane powered

Plus you have to be home to get the generator started. :-/ Too much money in the tank to worry about that stuff.