Battery Back-up Question

[crizpynutz]

So I've perused some old threads related to battery back-ups, but some are pretty outdated. Do any of the experts here have ideas or suggestions on the best options for a battery backup for pellet stoves? I have a Hampton GC60 and want to get a battery back-up for it, but unsure what I should be looking for.

The owner's manual doesn't provide much if any guidance or help on this either.

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[Fairwind]

First find out how much power the stove draws when in operation..As a guess, most pull 200-300 Watts...Next, how long do you wish to maintain the stove on battery power? Minutes? Hours? Days? If you want your stove not to shut down if the power fails, you will need a UPS, an uninterruptible power supply that can provide lets say 500 Watts..If the power source is a 12 volt battery, it will have to provide 40-45 amps to provide 500 Watts at 110 VAC....So a 100 amp-hour deep cycle group 27 "marine" battery will provide battery back-up power for approximately 2 hours... if you need more time, you buy more batteries....

 

[Johnny_Fiv3]

UPS in my sig works well. Gives you about an hour to get the generator up and running.

 

[crizpynutz]

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/731097/Hampton-Bay-Gc60.html?page=7#manual

So based on the manual I see 110-120v at around 200 watts operating power (at peak 504 watts max power w/ignitor on; quick start 400w igniter)

This should fit your post above. A "Marine" battery then is the best backup option. Is this "always" hooked up to the stove in the event of a power outage? So if power goes out, the stove doesn't just shut off?

 

[crizpynutz]

UPS in my sig works well. Gives you about an hour to get the generator up and running.

Is that really $1,200? I don't think I have that kind of cash right now for a backup.

 

[Johnny_Fiv3]

I didn't really feel like building a backup myself and found this one on sale for $350 at a local place back in 2014. Look around, they can be had for a lot cheaper than MSRP, especially at the end of the model year (just like cars).

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/cyberpower-pfc-sinewave-ups-1500va-900w-pfc-139-95.150059/

$140 pure sinewave UPS, connect a 12V automotive or marine deep-cycle battery to it, in place of the internal 12V gel-cell battery.

The only downside of this is that it will take a long time for the internal battery charger (inside this UPS) to charge-up a large external battery, when the utility power comes back on.

 

[crizpynutz]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/cyberpower-pfc-sinewave-ups-1500va-900w-pfc-139-95.150059/

$149 pure sinewave UPS, connect a 12V automotive or marine deep-cycle battery to it.

Sweet tyvm. I hope this is my last question, is the pellet stove always connected through this, or when power goes out do you unplug from the wall and plug into the UPS?

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

The stove is always plugged into the UPS, it will switch-over automaticly when the utility power drops out.

 

[Fairwind]

The UPS, about the size of a shoe-box, plugs into the wall. The stove plugs into it. Normally, the 110 volt power feeds straight through the inverter while it maintains the battery connected to it. If the power fails, the supply instantly switches over to the inverter / battery . When normal power is restored, it turns off and charges the battery back up....How long the UPS can power the load (stove) depends on the capacity of the battery....

Look on Craigslist for a UPS..They are frequently used on critical computer systems and they get discarded when the battery goes dead. You can remove the dead gel-cell battery and wire in a larger 100 amp / hour marine battery. Yes, when power is restored it will take a couple of days for the built-in charger to charge the big battery...

 

[TimfromMA]

I don't know if this is one of the threads you read already but here's one all about mine.

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

 

[crizpynutz]

Thank you all, this was extremely helpful!!

 

[Cory S]

 

[Treacherous]

View attachment 168314

Beat me to it I cut my EU2000i's over to tri-fuel this summer so I can use propane as well.

On the UPS side these look interesting...although pricey for the larger models.

http://www.goalzero.com/power-packs

 

[Wilbur Feral]

Please make sure the UPS is rated for continuous duty if you require hours of battery backup, AND that it can take potentially "dirty" power from your generator. We use a UPS designed for servers in third world countries, and replaced the dead batteries with four 110 amp hour 12volt marine batteries wired in series to produce 48volts, which many of these units require. We can power two stoves and some other essentials overnight with this, and then use four 12volt chargers to recharge the batteries during the day, when the generator is running. Have made it through several days with no power with this system, and hardly know the power is out.

But BE CAREFUL I am very experienced with electrical wiring, and DC power still scares the $&/) out of me! Don't do this unless you are VERY comfortable and skilled with DC wiring and systems.

 

[Fairwind]

So have these UPS moved away from Lead-Acid batteries and onto something far more capable like Lithium-Polyester which are light-weight and have tremendous storage capacity...?? I just can't see getting much back-up time for $139.00 with free shipping and including a lead-acid battery with any meaningful capacity.. Volts X Amps = Watts. Fill in the blanks...

 

[Wilbur Feral]

The blank is that buying an off the shelf UPS for a couple hundred dollars is going to give you enough time to shut down your stove, period. You will NOT get significant time as a backup power supply. I MODIFIED an old, extremely high quality UPS whose batteries had died, to run on a battery bank I put together using very large marine batteries. I cannot advise this for the vast majority of people because it is far too dangerous if you are not familiar with electrical wiring, and DC in particular.

Bottom line for most people should be to buy the type of UPS you describe to allow for a period of shutting down the stove, then rely on a generator. Many stoves may not like generator power, but I doubt that's true for most. Best to test all this BEFORE a power outage, though, to avoid a nasty surprise at a very inconvenient time.

 

[TimfromMA]

I bought my APC at Best Buy and my batteries at a local marine supply store.