Getting ready for the blizzard??? UPS and Generator questions

Why don't you test them BEFORE the snow flies and find out?

cristiansmom said:

well, I am going to test the battery backup but just because it works, doesn't mean it's good for the pellet stove.. The generator I can't do, my hubby has to do it and he's not home until later tonight (in the middle of the storm)

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So plug the stove into the back up and the backup into the wall. When the backup is charged leave the stove plugged into it and unplug it. You'll find out fast. Genny should be fine size wise. Don't know if it'll provide a clean sine wave or if your stove needs it. My Harman does fine running off genny.

700 va is 700 watts max. Sounds light. Do you know how much power the stove needs? How did you size the UPS?

cristiansmom said:

it was the biggest one they had in stock at best buy. I just want it to shut the stove down so the house doesn't fill with smoke. I tried to find the information on watts on my manual for the afton bay but it's not in there.

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So test it now. No pressure.

cristiansmom said:

I bought an APC ups battery backup. It is a 700va. Is that enough to just shut the stove down in case we lose power so that the house doesn't fill with smoke? We have had it happen before. (I need to get a rise on our venting as we do not have one, it just goes out 3 feet from the house.) Also, we have a generator Powermate Portable 3250 watt just in case we lose power for a longer period of time. Will these be good enough for my St Croix afton bay???

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I had a power blip on Saturday and my St. Croix belched a little smoke as it stumbled, then it picked back up and I was able to do a controlled shut down from there. I do have a different UPS than you, so you may not have that issue. Just letting you know what could happen.

450-500 watts start. 200-250 watts steady..
http://www.autorain.com/uploaded_docs/aftonbay=brochure.pdf

The wattage should be on the stove, near where the power cord enters. By law, the wattage has to be on the appliance.

My Afton Bay puts very little smoke in the house on a power failure. Our vent just goes straight out. We get a slight odor of smoke, not enough to see or trip any alarms.

The higher wattage figure is only on startup, when the ignitor is running.

Yes, the battery back up needs to charge. The instructions should tell you for how long before putting a load on it.

A 700VA UPS is typically about 400 to 450 watts, which should just barely be enough for your stove, when using the ignitor. Regular running is typically around 100 watts. You usually can find larger UPSes in-stock at Staples. 1500VA is typically the largest consumer in-stock model. If the stove runs, there should be enough power to run it for 20 to 30 mins to shut it down.

It's a modified sine wave so it should work, but there are no guarantees.

The bigger question is the generator. Those tend to put out very dirty power, unless it's an inverter generator.

Oh, UPSes come semi-charged, but you should charge it at least 8 hrs before expecting it to run anything.

The issue isn't just about how much power the UPS or generator have, but whether the stove can run on it. The power is not necessarily clean enough to run. There are inverter type generators that put out better power, and then there are pure sine UPSes and inverter generators that put out a nice sine wave like your power company, and can even clean up dirty power.

Be sure to plug the stove in the outlets labeled battery backup+surge protection. It will beep when using battery power.. Green light on when powered on..

And leave it plugged in 34/7, 365 You can run the stove through it.

The larger UPS's are great power conditioners. Very much needed when the power lines start getting wind blown and snow laden.

cristiansmom said:

what size would everyone recommend for power outages like this.. I will order a bigger one but need to know what I should get. My generator should be fine as it's a 3250 watt one so if we lose for long period that is good right? uggg, Living in New England I should know these things.. My hubby is not good with the pellet stove. I grew up with wood stoves so never worried about power outages.. lol...

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A thousand to fifteen hundred should work fine. My advice though would be, once the present situation passes, to contact the manufacturer for their recommendations.