Ups battery backup

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corkman

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Dec 3, 2009
721
SE,Mass
what's everyone using,recommend,where did you buy. How much did you spend. I need 2. Post a pic if you can
 
I have an APC UPS on my Harman...mainly to take care of the brief outages and surges that could damage the controller, not so much to keep the stove running for an extended outage. We are lucky to have underground service where we are here in central Massachusetts, the last time we lost power for an extended period of time was during the NorthEast Blackout of 2003 and the previous big one of 1965. Local trees coming down in ice storms don't really affect us.

I am concerned about surges though, coming from an IT background. Green boards don't take kindly to power bumps.

Mine is an APC Back-UPS 600

http://tinyurl.com/gvnvzv5

If I remember correctly I picked it up on a good sale at Staples for well less than $50.00 about a year ago.
 
Harman recommends in their manual to use a APC750G (certifies that it will work in a manner that shuts the stove down nicely in case of power failure)., so that is what I use for both stoves. You can usually find them for right around $80 thru Amazon, New Egg and the like. If it isn't on sale, it will go on sale shortly so just wait a day or two.

[Hearth.com] Ups battery backup
 
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Cyberpower CP1500PFCLCD Pure Sinewave UPS. www.newegg.com $136.99 Will run my Harman P38+ for at least an hour..
 
Cyberpower CP1500PFCLCD Pure Sinewave UPS. www.newegg.com $136.99 Will run my Harman P38+ for at least an hour..

Does the stove shut itself down gracefully (exhaust fan runs after flame goes out)?

I only ask because it is great to have a stove run when there is no power - but not so helpful if you aren't home and it just runs another hour then abruptly stops when the battery runs dry. Some setups might be okay that way, others may emit a bunch of smoke in the room.
 
Does the stove shut itself down gracefully (exhaust fan runs after flame goes out)?
No it will not go into shut down mode..Harman P38's will not do that. It has the original 2010, 2 knob board. I have a new version board as backup..which if i remember correctly was told this will not do shut down mode either.. I also have a another system I'm working on. Xantrex Prowatt SW600 sine wave inverter, Xantrex automatic transfer switch, marine battery.. which would run it much longer.
 
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I have the APC on my P68. It works well and does run the stove with the power out for proper shut down too.

It has only happened once thus far but that was during a 3-4 hour power outage. It has started during little electrical outage blips that only last a brief period but once power is back up it continues running on its own like nothing happened. It takes awhile for the whole shut down cycle.
 
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That Surefire 512 is a sweet idea. Anyone know if there is another option that is a little cheaper with the same functionality?
 
If you already own an inverter you can buy an automated switch like one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00153EYTO/?tag=hearthamazon-20

The only thing this set up won't do is automatically recharge your battery.

Thanks JP, I checked it out and that one is meant for generator backup so it has a 30sec delay in switchover. That Surefire and the TrippLite models are near instant ( I think I saw 16 msec mentioned). Two Marine batteries should be enough to keep the stove going for hours....so its a really cool idea.
 
Thanks JP, I checked it out and that one is meant for generator backup so it has a 30sec delay in switchover. That Surefire and the TrippLite models are near instant ( I think I saw 16 msec mentioned). Two Marine batteries should be enough to keep the stove going for hours....so its a really cool idea.
Good point, but I think you'll find 30 seconds is short enough to get the stove going again. When the power goes out I still have to hook up the battery and inverter manually, and that takes about 1-2 minutes. My Harman keeps going fine after that.

Someday I'm going to buy that switch but I haven't got around to it yet.
 
This is my battery back-up.

[Hearth.com] Ups battery backup
 
You can get a UPS and plug it into your generator. That way your stove is protected from zaps and power loss until you can plug it in. As long as the plug has a ground, they will work. Those clamp on ones to car batteries have no ground and a UPS won't go to back to AC without a ground.
My car battery backup is still running after years. I change the car batteries every 6 years or so. I got a 1500W UPS without batteries and hooked it up with 12V - 800 AH batteries in a remote location (for air exchange) in a warm place. You can buy the newer sealed batteries at $$$. I have sealed wet cells. It covers the TV, stove, cable box. We get 2 - 6 (1/2 sec - 3 min) power outages a year. I have my setup on my web site. Both computers have separate UPS. So 5 min into a power outage we can still be on the computer checking on things. With the stove on, the power draw is only 1 light of 5.
http://butkus.org/ups/ups.htm
 
That very model got a one-day deal on amazon.ca yesterday. It was only $156 CAN w/ free shipping. I ordered one!
 
I picked the same one. USA 129.00 one day sale amazon yesterday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
That big one will keep the stove going for a couple of hours, would have to look at the amount of draw lights to figure out total time. That small one will get you through blips (20 min.) but either will protect the stove from zaps.
 
You would think someone would make a device that would plug into a UPS (with a USB) and be used to cut the power to the feed auger. Computers talk to the UPS via the USB it's attached to, and will shut your computer down when the UPS battery get low.
That would be a great add on to any stove, if you're that electrically inclined. The device could be powered by the USB connection.
Of course both my old UPSs have serial connectors.
 
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