Backup Battery to the Rescue

[TimfromMA]

The other night, I woke up at 2AM to find the power was out and the stove was still going strong . After a quick measurement of the batteries, I estimated that I had at least 5 hours of run time left so I went back to bed. When I woke back up at 5 to get ready for work, power was back on.

It's really nice when things operate as they should.

 

[Bioburner]

Picture of plug of the short extension cord feeding stoves UPS after surge-outage because of neighbor hitting transformer. Glad it didn't get into stove.

 

[richkorn]

The other night, I woke up at 2AM to find the power was out and the stove was still going strong . After a quick measurement of the batteries, I estimated that I had at least 5 hours of run time left so I went back to bed. When I woke back up at 5 to get ready for work, power was back on.

It's really nice when things operate as they should.

What UPS and battery setup are you using?

 

[TimfromMA]

What UPS and battery setup are you using?

APC XS1500

(2) 90aH marine deep cycle batteries.

 

[TheRambler]

If the surge caused that then i feel sorry for the rest of the items in your house. It is very much worth putting in a tvss in home electrical panels at the main service entrance. Around $50 for a decent one. Can get the ones that wire directly onto the main lugs or a breaker style which is installed just like a 2 pole breaker for the most part. Worth every penny if it stops even 1 nasty surge. Hope all of your appliances etc faired well.

 

[Bioburner]

If the surge caused that then i feel sorry for the rest of the items in your house. It is very much worth putting in a tvss in home electrical panels at the main service entrance. Around $50 for a decent one. Can get the ones that wire directly onto the main lugs or a breaker style which is installed just like a 2 pole breaker for the most part. Worth every penny if it stops even 1 nasty surge. Hope all of your appliances etc faired well.

I am sure the only two things in the house not on a some kind of protection are the fridge and freezer. Will inquire about a whole house tvss this week. Forty foot plus digger connected to 400hp tractor probably didn't notice the removing of the ground transformer. The operator may have gotten a pretty good light show.

 

[briansol]

You'll spend more on a GOOD whole house unit than your insurance deductible....

just saying.

let them pay up for your new stuff

 

[Bioburner]

But how many times will they without jacking up your rates or dropping you? Like AHC some rates are going up 63% if you have a claim.

 

[briansol]

switch providers? who honestly has 'lost a fridge' to a spike? i can't name one person

 

[Bioburner]

They ask who was-is your current provider

switch providers? who honestly has 'lost a fridge' to a spike? i can't name one person

Well the ice and water dispenser quit

 

[roadking88]

APC XS1500

(2) 90aH marine deep cycle batteries.

holly crap that looks like $600.00 bucks worth of stuff......

 

[TimfromMA]

holly crap that looks like $600.00 bucks worth of stuff......

You're not far off.

 

[lagger]

APC XS1500

(2) 90aH marine deep cycle batteries.

how did you wire the deep cycles into the ups ? series or parellel what guage wire etc .. been thinking about this as an investment in comfort also

 

[TimfromMA]

The APC uses 24V so the batteries are wired in series.

Here's a few photos.

 

[TheRambler]

The only major difference between a $50 and a few hundred $ tvss is that the cheap one is good for one major surge and about 100ish small ones. The mire espensive ones are good for indefinitely in theory. They use a magnetic relay to interrupt a surge where as cheaper ones use a series of fuseable links which melts and open

 

[lagger]

The APC uses 24V so the batteries are wired in series.

Here's a few photos.

does the UPS charge the batteries well ? or do you need to recharge with a stand alone charger after use ?

 

[TimfromMA]

The APC will charge the batteries but it takes a LONG time. After an extended use, I disconnect the batteries and charge them with a deep cycle battery charger.

 

[TheRambler]

That slow charge prolongs the life of deep cycle batteries. Fast charging should be limited if you want your batteries to last as long as possible. The higher they heat up during charging the worse off they will be. You typically want the recharge current to be 20% or less of the battery capacity for maximum longevity. So if its a 100ah battery then 20A max recharge current. This is why the ups takes longer to charge them because it comes set to obey the 20% rule.

I work on UPSs and batteries for a living.

 

[TimfromMA]

That slow charge prolongs the life of deep cycle batteries. Fast charging should be limited if you want your batteries to last as long as possible. The higher they heat up during charging the worse off they will be. You typically want the recharge current to be 20% or less of the battery capacity for maximum longevity. So if its a 100ah battery then 20A max recharge current. This is why the ups takes longer to charge them because it comes set to obey the 20% rule.

I work on UPSs and batteries for a living.

I agree but if I have an extended power failure, I want the batteries returned to a full charge before bed the following night. The rationale is that before I go to bed, I can shut the generator down and sleep in peace while the stove still runs.

 

[Bioburner]

Maybe math and logic is off, to charge the two batteries with a separate charger with amp capacity of 10 and you discharged the batteries only 50 percent you should get everything topped off in 5 hours or so. Very reasonable.

 

[TimfromMA]

Maybe math and logic is off, to charge the two batteries with a separate charger with amp capacity of 10 and you discharged the batteries only 50 percent you should get everything topped off in 5 hours or so. Very reasonable.

Thats what I do.

 

[TheRambler]

a good rule of thumb is it takes 10x the length of a discharge to get back to about 90-95%, and the remainder takes a substantial amount longer depending on the original depth of discharge. Just because a battery stops taking current at a certain point doesnt mean it is fully recharged, though it is largely for the most part. This is for a typical deep cycle lead acid battery and not other types.