Automatic Power outage backup for wood boiler

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mouchey

Member
Hearth Supporter
May 13, 2008
16
Chester, Vermont
Can anyone recommend a true sine wave inverter with battery set up that will automatically turn on in a power outage to keep circulators going for my EKO 25 wood boiler. Don't want to overheat the boiler if there is an unexpected power outage and I am not home.
Thanks,
MJ Miles
 
make sure you can buy it from some who will stand behind it. the dirt bag i got mine from wouldnt honor the warranty.
 
For one thing, most UPS's are rated in VA, not watts. Thankfully, Volt/Amps is easier to figure. You need to make sure its big enough. Also, some cheap battery backed supplies are not able to cope with motor loads.....

You could use a standard good quality inverter, like Cobra, Vector, etc and run deep-cycle batteries. The easiest way I can see is charger-batteries-inverter. Leave the inverter on all the time. Then have a relay that has wall power and inverter power attached to it. That way, when the wall power is on, the inverter is running, but has no load and is only wasting a watt or two. Then, when power goes out, the relay de-engergizes and switches over to the already-running inverter.
 
deerefanatic said:
For one thing, most UPS's are rated in VA, not watts. Thankfully, Volt/Amps is easier to figure. You need to make sure its big enough. Also, some cheap battery backed supplies are not able to cope with motor loads.....

You could use a standard good quality inverter, like Cobra, Vector, etc and run deep-cycle batteries. The easiest way I can see is charger-batteries-inverter. Leave the inverter on all the time. Then have a relay that has wall power and inverter power attached to it. That way, when the wall power is on, the inverter is running, but has no load and is only wasting a watt or two. Then, when power goes out, the relay de-engergizes and switches over to the already-running inverter.

or do what Hot Rod suggested for me- set up some deep cycle batteries and a Laing high efficiency DC circ fed directly from the batteries, with a "drop out" relay on the AC mains that energizes the DC circ only when the AC power fails. The Laing circ cost me more than an ordinary circ, but less than a regular circ + a decent UPS or inverter, and simpler means less to go wrong (I hope :) )
 
pybyr said:
deerefanatic said:
For one thing, most UPS's are rated in VA, not watts. Thankfully, Volt/Amps is easier to figure. You need to make sure its big enough. Also, some cheap battery backed supplies are not able to cope with motor loads.....

You could use a standard good quality inverter, like Cobra, Vector, etc and run deep-cycle batteries. The easiest way I can see is charger-batteries-inverter. Leave the inverter on all the time. Then have a relay that has wall power and inverter power attached to it. That way, when the wall power is on, the inverter is running, but has no load and is only wasting a watt or two. Then, when power goes out, the relay de-engergizes and switches over to the already-running inverter.

or do what Hot Rod suggested for me- set up some deep cycle batteries and a Laing high efficiency DC circ fed directly from the batteries, with a "drop out" relay on the AC mains that energizes the DC circ only when the AC power fails. The Laing circ cost me more than an ordinary circ, but less than a regular circ + a decent UPS or inverter, and simpler means less to go wrong (I hope :) )

Yah, but the inverter/battery setup would run your entire system in a power outage if you sized it correctly..... So then your house would be still warm. :)
 
Be very careful with those portable inverters, They are not made to connect to your electrical system or used as a backup unless they are a true sign wave. The cheaper ones use a square sign wave, 75 volts to ground on the hot and neural on the inverter, the true RMS voltage between legs is 110. If you connect them to your electrical system they will short out. They work well for cord and plug connected applications.
 
deerefanatic said:
For one thing, most UPS's are rated in VA, not watts. Thankfully, Volt/Amps is easier to figure. You need to make sure its big enough. Also, some cheap battery backed supplies are not able to cope with motor loads.....

You could use a standard good quality inverter, like Cobra, Vector, etc and run deep-cycle batteries. The easiest way I can see is charger-batteries-inverter. Leave the inverter on all the time. Then have a relay that has wall power and inverter power attached to it. That way, when the wall power is on, the inverter is running, but has no load and is only wasting a watt or two. Then, when power goes out, the relay de-engergizes and switches over to the already-running inverter.
Can you send me a diagram of this never done anything like it before want to make sure I wire it correctly.
Thanks,
MJ
 
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