Back up power?

[jbest1]

This is my first season(1/2 a season) with a pellet stove and we are loving it. We are not prone to power outages in my area of western NY, but it does happen now and then. Have thought about a small portable generator, but have read that it could harm the control board on the stove.

What would I need to get or install to protect my electronics on the stove. What is better a battery back up or generator?
Thanks for the help.

 

[chken]

Most stoves will say they need a "pure sine wave". Depending upon how often and how long your outages tend to be will determine whether you choose a UPS, so that the stove can turn off without smoke coming in, or whether you want to get a pure sine wave inverter, so you can run your stove during outages. Depends upon your situation and needs whether one or the other works for you.

 

[TonyVideo]

The Honda EU series generators world perfectly. They have different sizes depending on what you want to run when power goes out. I have a EU2000 with an external marine tank and can run 36 hours on 7 gallons of gas. It has a pure sine wave inverter safe for electronics.

 

[TimfromMA]

I use a 1500W APC with a pair of 90AH marine batteries wired in which is good for about 8 hours. I have a 7kW Honeywell generator for longer outages.

 

[gfreek]

I have the Champion Inverter Generator.. My power went off and on 5 times this past Saturday due to high winds I believe..my area has been prone to outages and power surges..

 

[jbest1]

Thanks for the responses. I think I am leaning more towards a generator. Only looking to run the pellet stove, fridge, and a couple lights during a power outage. My other heat is electric baseboard. So I definitely need the pellet stove. We do not have enough power outages to go with a battery backup. It would sit to long in between uses.

 

[TimfromMA]

Even a small battery backup can keep your stove running long enough for you to fire up the generator.

My stove's vent has no vertical rise so even a very short power failure is enough for my house to fill with smoke should the power go out while the stove is running.

 

[jbest1]

Even a small battery backup can keep your stove running long enough for you to fire up the generator.

Good point thanks. I have all summer to figure this out(if it gets here), so I have plenty of time for research. Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[_CY_]

The Honda EU series generators world perfectly. They have different sizes depending on what you want to run when power goes out. I have a EU2000 with an external marine tank and can run 36 hours on 7 gallons of gas. It has a pure sine wave inverter safe for electronics.

another vote for Honda EU2000i .. one of the most versatile of all gensets .. runs a long time on little fuel .. suports a LOT of appliances

 

[m159267]

My Honda EU2000i is connected to my electrical panel via a transfer switch. I have 4 circuits wired to the switch... An outlet that powers the pellet stove (& future EPA fireplace fan - same line), my refrigerator, outlets in the dining room and outlets in my study (that powers my DSL modem). Although I have yet to lose power during the heating season I did lose power last summer for several hours and we had lights, internet, and a cold fridge - my P38 would have been no problem.

 

[mik_kane]

I have a generator already is there anything that I can use for a "pure sine wave inverter"?

 

[SwineFlue]

I have a generator already is there anything that I can use for a "pure sine wave inverter"?

An inverter is a device that converts DC power (from battery or solar cells) into AC power (like your power outlets).
An inverter-generator contains a DC generator with a built-in inverter to create AC power.
Other generators use an AC generator for AC power... it naturally creates a sine wave.

I don't know which kind of generator you have, but an inverter isn't really something you can add to it.

 

[peirhead]

There are many UPS devices which deliver sine wave quality power which can be used between a conventional generator and your stove........most server grade UPS are like this....many good used ones can be found on Craigs List / Kijiji...if the batteries are bad (the usual problem) replacements can be had in the $50 range...my APC SmartUPS 1500 is an excellent example of one of these.

 

[mik_kane]

There are many UPS devices which deliver sine wave quality power which can be used between a conventional generator and your stove........most server grade UPS are like this....many good used ones can be found on Craigs List / Kijiji...if the batteries are bad (the usual problem) replacements can be had in the $50 range...my APC SmartUPS 1500 is an excellent example of one of these.

So I can use a backup UPS between the generator and the stove and I will not have a problem?

 

[TonyVideo]

You will not have a problem. The generator will recharge the battery as well as run the stove connected to the UPS. Handy when you have to stop the generator to refuel.

 

[mik_kane]

You will not have a problem. The generator will recharge the battery as well as run the stove connected to the UPS. Handy when you have to stop the generator to refuel.

Thanks I was not looking forward to buying another generator for $1000

 

[TimfromMA]

I like having sufficient battery power so my pellet stove can run all night without needing the generator. Even 20' from the house, the thing is still noisy.

Even though the APC will charge the batteries, I use the marine charger so that batteries are at full capacity by the following night.

 

[bonesy]

Not all Backup UPS's provide pure sine wave, check with the manufacturer first.

 

[mik_kane]

Not all Backup UPS's provide pure sine wave, check with the manufacturer first.

Can you recommend a few that do have pure sine wave?

 

[bonesy]

APC's Smart UPS models provide pure sine wave power when running on the battery backup and when running normally.

 

[mik_kane]

APC's Smart UPS models provide pure sine wave power when running on the battery backup and when running normally.

Thank you

 

[_CY_]

There are many UPS devices which deliver sine wave quality power which can be used between a conventional generator and your stove........most server grade UPS are like this....many good used ones can be found on Craigs List / Kijiji...if the batteries are bad (the usual problem) replacements can be had in the $50 range...my APC SmartUPS 1500 is an excellent example of one of these.

yes you can do that .. but internal 12v PB battery (12kg PB) will not run for long. about 7 minutes at full rated load of 980watts .. runtimes goes up as load goes down. about 25 minutes at 500 watts .. etc

here's a link to chart for APC SmartUPS 1500
(broken link removed)

battery powered backups are resource intensive .. lead acid batteries have a relatively short life.

this is why Honda EU2000i was suggested earlier .. runs whisper quiet .. you can have a conversation next to EU2000i running at full tilt.

 

[johnny1720]

Welcome fellow Western New Yorker. I purchased one of the generac 2000 watt inverters. I did a bunch of research and it appears that one guy had a bad experience with this unit. He posted the sad story on ever single website he could sometimes under different names. He wrote terrible things about the company and about the vendor he purchased it from. I sorted through all of the negative posts and found out that he was not using it properly and Generac actually sent him a replacement unit.

I paid $550 bucks and ever since I got it the power has not even flickered.

I have a few of the honda 2000's at work and they are nice, but in my opinion they are not worth the extra $400.

 

[chken]

yes you can do that .. but internal 12v PB battery (12kg PB) will not run for long. about 7 minutes at full rated load of 980watts .. runtimes goes up as load goes down. about 25 minutes at 500 watts .. etc

here's a link to chart for APC SmartUPS 1500
(broken link removed)

battery powered backups are resource intensive .. lead acid batteries have a relatively short life.

this is why Honda EU2000i was suggested earlier .. runs whisper quiet .. you can have a conversation next to EU2000i running at full tilt.

So, just a hair under 3hrs under a typical 100 watt load from a stove. So, if you have lots of short outages, this might be useful. In my neck of the woods, this might cover about 80-90% of the outages I see. However, there are those 10 to 20% of pesky outages which are most likely due to high winds, or ice storms which cause widespread outages and can last several days. That's when a generator inverter comes in handy. I'm going to try a pure sine inverter, no generator and hook it up to my hybrid car. It'll be quieter, and run longer, and I'm only worried about running the stove.

 

[_CY_]

Welcome fellow Western New Yorker. I purchased one of the generac 2000 watt inverters. I did a bunch of research and it appears that one guy had a bad experience with this unit. He posted the sad story on ever single website he could sometimes under different names. He wrote terrible things about the company and about the vendor he purchased it from. I sorted through all of the negative posts and found out that he was not using it properly and Generac actually sent him a replacement unit.

I paid $550 bucks and ever since I got it the power has not even flickered.

I have a few of the honda 2000's at work and they are nice, but in my opinion they are not worth the extra $400.

every Generac genset I've ever seen in action has been way .. way too loud. to be fair have not seen a generac 2000 in action. is it quiet enough to have a normal conversation next to genset running?

if you are patient .. Honda EU2000i comes up on Craigslist .. luck of the draw, they disappear quick.. found one Honda EU2000i on CL for $550 in like new condition. scored a second EU2000i for $450 with fair amount of hours. then found a EU2000i parallel kit to hook together.