Type of battery for backup

[nrcrash]

I am installing a xantrex 600 inverter with a xantrex truecharge2 battery charger for backup power for my vigas 40 incase of a power outage. I just was unsure of which type (AMG, flooded, gel, ect.) of battery/batteries I would want have hooked up. Any ideas?

 

[avc8130]

Do you know how much power your Vigas 40 needs?

ac

 

[nrcrash]

Do you know how much power your Vigas 40 needs?

ac

I think I am going to need about 250 watts

 

[BoilerMan]

Not enough info. You need 250W for how long? Do you want to run anything else with this system, lights etc? I've installed Xantrex systems (great products). When you say 600 series do you mean the stand alone or wall mount? 12V or 24V I've used anything from colf cart batteries (cheap don't last as long, if used on a regular basis) to Trojan $$$$ batteries. These are all flooded type.

Some things to consider........ Also a simple UPS can work if all you want is to run a circulator and boiler fan.

TS

 

[nrcrash]

Not enough info. You need 250W for how long? Do you want to run anything else with this system, lights etc? I've installed Xantrex systems (great products). When you say 600 series do you mean the stand alone or wall mount? 12V or 24V I've used anything from colf cart batteries (cheap don't last as long, if used on a regular basis) to Trojan $$$$ batteries. These are all flooded type.

Some things to consider........ Also a simple UPS can work if all you want is to run a circulator and boiler fan.


TS

It would only be powering my boiler and one circulator. I would think that 2-3 hours would be enough time to act as a dump time.

12volt batteries

The inverter is a xantrex pro watt 600 http://www.xantrex.com/power-products/power-inverters/prowatt-sw.aspx

 

[timbrjackrussel]

It would only be powering my boiler and one circulator. I would think that 2-3 hours would be enough time to act as a dump time.

12volt batteries

The inverter is a xantrex pro watt 600 http://www.xantrex.com/power-products/power-inverters/prowatt-sw.aspx

I have a Pro Watt 2000 that is on a bank of floor scrubber batteries. They are 6 volt so you need at least 2 of them. Check with industrial battery suppliers and battery recyclers for used ones. Look for commmercial floor cleaning companies as some replace there batteries ever few years no matter what.
http://www.trojanbattery.com/Products/J305E6V.aspx
I will tell you how I make a switch over for the AC later.

 

[Bad Wolf]

nrcrash, thats the sytem I have, the xantrex pro watt 600. I've got it hooked up to two deep discharge batteries from walmart. (230 amp/hr total) I use them for my Engle 12 v refridgerator when camping. I find that they will run my Tarm and some circ pumps for 6-8 hours,depending on how many are running. You can throw a kill-a-watt meter on to find out your max draw and your draw over time.
I got a relay from Xantrex for the prowatt that will automatically switch over to the inverter when the power goes out. The only problem is that when on, the inverter does draw some power and over the course of a couple of weeks will deplete the batteries, and it has to be on for the relay to work.
I just leave it off and a float charger on the batteries until it looks like there might be a storm.
My thought is that this will keep the boiler running until morning so I don't have to get out of bed.

 

[nrcrash]

nrcrash, thats the sytem I have, the xantrex pro watt 600. I've got it hooked up to two deep discharge batteries from walmart. (230 amp/hr total) I use them for my Engle 12 v refridgerator when camping. I find that they will run my Tarm and some circ pumps for 6-8 hours,depending on how many are running. You can throw a kill-a-watt meter on to find out your max draw and your draw over time.
I got a relay from Xantrex for the prowatt that will automatically switch over to the inverter when the power goes out. The only problem is that when on, the inverter does draw some power and over the course of a couple of weeks will deplete the batteries, and it has to be on for the relay to work.
I just leave it off and a float charger on the batteries until it looks like there might be a storm.
My thought is that this will keep the boiler running until morning so I don't have to get out of bed.

Do you have a charger constantly on the batteries?

I think I have the relay from Xantrex. I would had planned connecting a Xantrex Truecharger2 to the batteries so that they would have a constant charge. Do you think this would be a problem?

 

[Bad Wolf]

I leave the charger hooked up and set to "maintainance" or the lowest setting and the inverter off. (Schumacher XCS15 15/10/2-Amp Marine Battery Charger from walmart). It only comes on once every couple of days

The Truecharger2 looks nice but $189 is more than I paid for the inverter.

With the inverter on it draws .6 amps no load and the charger never shut off as long as the inverter was on, I think as long as it sees a drain it keeps trying to get to 100%.
I couldn't see spending 3-4 bucks a month just to keep it ready to roll.
If I think the power may go out, I just push the "on" switch.

 

[Robby]

I am now replacing my (backup) battery bank. Had decided on Trojan L16's, but phoned their tech number to ask some questions. The fellow had a very interesting point. Because they are strictly "backup" and rarely are used he suggested I should use the shortest (as in height) to avoid stratification of the water/acid. I guess with very infrequent usage the acid will seperate out. He suggested the T105 and as many as I calculated need. I ordered10. Because extremely low usage I should get about 8 years, maybe a bit more. Also suggested I manually "use" them about every 6 months, maybe down to 90%.

 

[nrcrash]

I am now replacing my (backup) battery bank. Had decided on Trojan L16's, but phoned their tech number to ask some questions. The fellow had a very interesting point. Because they are strictly "backup" and rarely are used he suggested I should use the shortest (as in height) to avoid stratification of the water/acid. I guess with very infrequent usage the acid will seperate out. He suggested the T105 and as many as I calculated need. I ordered10. Because extremely low usage I should get about 8 years, maybe a bit more. Also suggested I manually "use" them about every 6 months, maybe down to 90%.

10 of them?!? Are you using them to power additional items at your house besides the boiler and circulator?

 

[Robby]

10 of them?!? Are you using them to power additional items at your house besides the boiler and circulator?

Yes. The entire heating system, zone valves, transformers, fan coil unit, pumps etc are backed up. Also a 60 tube solar hot water for summer. I want the system to be able to last for 48 hours if we are away. If water temp drops below 140F condensing gas boiler is switched on. The batteries are now attached to 2800 watt modified inverter/charger but am just now trying to decide on which make to buy to change to pure sine wave. The Vigas requires pure sine which I have jury rigged up for now. If anyone has knowledge on Tripp Lite inverters I sure would like input!

 

[julien]

For any reason if one of your two batteries in series fails you lose the backup.

If one of the two 12 volt batteries connected in parallel fails the second battery keep backup functional.
So a parallel circuit is safer than the series circuit.