Pellet Stove, Battery backup - suggestions?

[Joe B One925]

Hi All,

Now that we're getting closer to pellet stove season I was thinking of a battery backup up option in the event power goes out.

Does anyone have suggestions as to a good battery backup for pellet stoves? I currently don't have one, but thought it be worth grabbing before the weather heads south.

 

[briansol]

These have been covered a lot here...
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/which-ups-battery-back-up.130408/

 

[Joe B One925]

Ahh...sorry for not taking a deeper look into the subject, these forums are so vast! At any rate, I guess I was more curious on what folks use for their pellet stoves. I've contemplated the idea of buying a generator, but to only use once or twice or sometimes none at all is a tough one to swallow. I wasn't sure if there was a unit that could be indoors that would give juice for a number of hours like a generator does.

 

[TimfromMA]

I use a battery backup. Here's a thread where it's discussed:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/homemade-battery-backup.125698/

 

[Joe B One925]

Nice setup...what kind of generator do you have? I'm a bit nervous hooking up continuous batteries like you have.

 

[TimfromMA]

I have a Honeywell 6800 Watt

 

[stmar]

I went a little overboard:
Xantrex/Trace SW4024 24 volt 4000 Watt Inverter
12 X Solerex MSX-64 64 Watt PV Panels
Morningstart ProStar-30 Controller
4 X GPL-L16 Lifeline 400 amp hour AGM Battery Bank
Honda EU2000 Generator

 

[RhodyPelletRook]

I went a little overboard:
Xantrex/Trace SW4024 24 volt 4000 Watt Inverter
12 X Solerex MSX-64 64 Watt PV Panels
Morningstart ProStar-30 Controller
4 X GPL-L16 Lifeline 400 amp hour AGM Battery Bank
Honda EU2000 Generator

I have no idea what 80% of this means, but having been in the military and worked with engineers, I'll just reply with standard issue, "that sounds pretty badass"

 

[stmar]

Sorry, couldn't resist, lol. We have an alternative energy system, tied to the grid and when the grid goes down we don't even know it. I call it my UPS on steroids.
P.S. When our grid goes down sometimes it is days so we need the extra power.

 

[Jdmurphy]

I used a repurposed APC UPS. Swapped out the stock batteries for two Werker 55 amp hour AGMs. The setup is right below the stove in the basement, jumpered to the stove outlet. If the power goes out it's a fully auto switch over. The UPS keeps the batteries topped off, but I need to think through (purchase) a charger with enough amps that would replenish reasonably fast while on the generator. I really like the idea of silently being able to power the stove at night and run the generator during the day if needed.

I needed to add extra fans to the UPS because the inverter was never meant to run more than a few minutes while you shut down your PC.

 

[Joe B One925]

So it seems like if you want any prolonged power (3hrs +) then you think a generator is needed ????

 

[BrotherBart]

A hundred bucks for a deep cycle battery, fifty for a charger and trickle charger and a 750 watt inverter should keep the stove running for a good long time. For around $220 or so.

But a generator will do things like the fridge, some lights, computers and TV stuff for a couple hundred more.

 

[Jdmurphy]

No I don't. This setup, and I need to go back and check my calculations, should run for at least 15 hours. The stove doesn't draw much wattage while running. So I figure I can run the generator during the day to charge everything for the next period of time. In case of several days without grid power.

 

[Jdmurphy]

and yes BrotherBart, run the entire house during the day on the generator while recharging the stove batteries to run silent at night.

 

[BrotherBart]

and yes BrotherBart, run the entire house during the day on the generator while recharging the stove batteries to run silent at night.

I know. My generators are for daylight and the eight hundred amp hour AGM battery banks and two 1,000 watt inverters are for the whole joint overnight. But didn't bring that up because he does not even want to know what that setup cost me.

 

[Jdmurphy]

Agreed. I just didn't want to give the impression that I only use the generator to charge the batteries. Any recommendations for a charger? That's the last piece of the puzzle for me.

 

[Joe B One925]

Sounds like battery back up for > 3hrs is a bit pricey...i mean i can deal with other stuff not on, but no heat is where i draw the line lol...

 

[BrotherBart]

My $99 Harbor Freight 900 watt 2 cycle generator can run a pellet stove forever on not much gas. Ya might want to look into that. And figure out which window to run the extension cord through.

Ain't gonna get cheaper than that.

 

[Joe B One925]

Good call on that harbor freight...looks decent...especially for the price!

 

[yrock87]

http://www.amazon.com/WEN-56352-Powered-Portable-Generator/dp/B003N9AT5G i just picked up this 3000 watt genny from amazon for $360. it will run my boiler, fridge, half the lights in the house and there is enough left over to run the TV/cable box and your choice of microwave, coffee maker or toaster oven. also, it is one of the cheapest 220 models out there! not that i use it. the Harmonic distortion is around 10-15%. which is more than fine for most applications, i havent plugged it into my pellet stove yet because the circuitry of the stove is more complex (and i assume sensitive) than my boiler and the boiler gives me DHW.

I am trying to find a pure sine wave UPS to hook up for nights so that i can shut the generator down. the local selection is small and nothing with a battery will ship to here. sigh :-(

 

[stmar]

The main reason I went with a Honda EU2000 is because it is an "inverter generator", which means it produces high quality power suitable for high tech equipment such as the control boards in our stoves. Other reasons: quiet, fuel efficient and reliable was a key concern since I don't use it that much but want it ready to go when I do need it. I would rather spend $1000 and know it is going to work. My inverter produces "pure sine wave" power, also suitable for high tech stuff.
JD - What kind of switch do you have on your setup? I have a dual power setup for my well and have a need for a switch and can't find what I want.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

So it seems like if you want any prolonged power (3hrs +) then you think a generator is needed ????

My MVAE can run for days directly from a 100Ahr, 12V, deep discharge battery.

 

[Joe B One925]

STMAR that Honda generator looks fantastic! Now thats the size unit I'm looking for, too bad 1K is a tad out of my current price range. I like how long the fuel lasts for as well as the quiet running.

 

[stmar]

I bit the bullet and talked myself into it, local store had them on sale for only $900, lol. I looked at the cheaper models but I wanted mine for emergencies and occasional use and wanted it to work when I needed it. Honda makes some good things but you pay for them. The size is fantastic, less than 50# so you can carry it around and put it where you need. You may check Craigs List, sometimes you see used ones for sale but most of the time they want a high price even for used.

 

[lagger]

would it be practical as well as safe to purchase an inexpensive small generator, like the harbor freight one, and run a 12 v 1kw regulated power supply off of that into the inverter and run the stove off of that setup ?... seems to me this kind of setup with a 1kw 12v regulated supply, inverter and generator would be cheaper than some of the other options, a little more effort to set up initally compared to a dedicated battery back up perhaps.

harbor freight generator 99.00
harbor freight 750\1500w inverter 48.00
I see 12v 1kw regulated (switching) power supplies on line for 100.00 and up