UPS or generator?

[Tedinski]

I've been considering buying a UPS or generator for power during electrical outages.

The CAB50 pulls about 5 amps on startup (just a couple minutes) and then 3 amps on "high". I run my unit on "low"... but there's no data in the manual on how much current the unit will draw at low or medium!

Does anyone have experience sizing a UPS for the CAB50? I've done some initial calculations, and for a decent runtime (12 hours... typical power outage) I'm looking at MAJOR battery cost, plus a few hundred for a TrippLite inverter/charger.

Alternately, there's a nice little 8-amp Generac inverter generator for about 440 bucks.

What would folks recommend?

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I have a cyber power pure sine wave UPS that gets about 45 min with stove in high. About 180 watts.

I also have a chinese inverter generator for prolonged outages.

Only downside is the power needs to go out while I am home to have time to get the genny going.

This set up is easy

 

[richkorn]

Have a Honda eu2000i that will run that baby all day 12 hours on 1 gal gas. And it's really quiet!

 

[Tedinski]

Thanks for the quick feedback!

180 watts isn't even close to the 3 amps that my stove lists for "high"... perhaps the CAB50 is an energy pig? How much did your 180-watt UPS go for?
OK.. I've looked closer & done some more research. It looks like for about 600 bucks I could set up an inverter-charger with auto switchover, and a battery big enough to run my stove on HIGH for 5 hours. That's a lot of moolah! Advantage: instant switchover. Also, the stove cycles, and would normally be on LOW. with 50% cycling, and running an unknown (but lower!) amperage, I should be able to get perhaps 10 hours of hassle free runtime in a power outage.

An Inverter-Generator could run indefinitely, but there's certainly labor involved. Also: if the power goes out, there's no auto-switchover. The stove would have to restart from scratch after I started up the generator. I imagine that would make quite the smokey house! I have a short horizontal run for my flue. No vertical section, so no natural draft.

Decisions, decisions....

 

[BrotherBart]

That 3 amps has to be with the ignitor working.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

My UPS is a cyberpower1350pfclcd...about 150 bucks.

I would bet that on high you would be using that much wattage.....seems high to me

 

[Woody1911a1]

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W . for a ups or gen you really need pure sine wave . an inverter gen is and for a ups this one is highly rated .

the generac inverters are not highly rated and have had many problems/complaints . if a $1k honda or yamaha isn't in the budget i'd buy a champion like this one (broken link removed to http://supergenproducts.com/shop/refurbished-2000w-inverter-red/) i did . i also have their 4k open frame and couldn't be happier .

 

[Tedinski]

That 3 amps has to be with the ignitor working.

It says 5 amps during ignition, 3 amps running on "high". This seems high to me, also. 3 amps to run 2 blowers? that's pretty much the only things REALLY using energy.

I wish I knew the amp draw on low. Perhaps I'll get one of those plug-in things that splits your cord, so you can put an amp clamp on & check it!
or perhaps the wiring inside is separated, and therefore easily chcked with an amp clamp?

 

[BrotherBart]

Just buy a Kill-A-Watt. Great device.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/202196386#.UmhsAHBEGSo

 

[Woody1911a1]

Just buy a Kill-A-Watt. Great device.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/202196386#.UmhsAHBEGSo

ditto on that especially if you buy a genny , you'll want to know how much more you can run off it .

 

[Tedinski]

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W . for a ups or gen you really need pure sine wave . an inverter gen is and for a ups this one is highly rated .

the generac inverters are not highly rated and have had many problems/complaints . if a $1k honda or yamaha isn't in the budget i'd buy a champion like this one (broken link removed to http://supergenproducts.com/shop/refurbished-2000w-inverter-red/) i did . i also have their 4k open frame and couldn't be happier .

That UPS is certainly affordable, but wouldn't run for very long. I live in the middle of nowhere, and when the power goes out it's out for HOURS.

What a great little generator that appears to be! I like refurb stuff... it's often tested to higher standards than the new units.

I hate the noise of a generator but it's still tempting. No end to the power! Just fuel up now and again.

hmmm.....

 

[Tedinski]

Just buy a Kill-A-Watt. Great device.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/202196386#.UmhsAHBEGSo

What a neat little device! Probably more accurate than my clamp-on ammeter (it's meant for very LARGE amperage loads, up to 2000 amps!).

I'll pick one up tomorrow after work!

 

[Woody1911a1]

That UPS is certainly affordable, but wouldn't run for very long. I live in the middle of nowhere, and when the power goes out it's out for HOURS.

What a great little generator that appears to be! I like refurb stuff... it's often tested to higher standards than the new units.

I hate the noise of a generator but it's still tempting. No end to the power! Just fuel up now and again.

hmmm.....

like most inverters it is QUIET . with your doors and windows closed you won't even hear it . also it will run your stove and frig and a few light bulbs . turn off you frig and turn on your plasma tv . love mine . also it has 12v output . oh and free shipping

 

[Tedinski]

like most inverters it is QUIET . with your doors and windows closed you won't even hear it . also it will run your stove and frig and a few light bulbs . turn off you frig and turn on your plasma tv . love mine . also it has 12v output . oh and free shipping

I'm liking this idea more and more!
AND, for the price difference, I could pick up the TrippLite Inverter/Charger I was looking at... and then in a few months pick up a mid-range battery (enough to run for a couple hours instead of 10 hours). A couple hours runtime is more than enough for me to pull out the generator & get everything hooked up.

Hadn't even thought about the fridge. Good point.

Now to further complicate things! TrippLite has inverter/chargers, and it has "true sine wave" inverter/chargers. The REGULAR inverter/charger is supposedly clean enough to run computers & electronics. (TrippLite makes great stuff). Any opinions on whether "true sine wave" is necessary, considering TrippLite's claim about their standard unit? The price difference is drastic.

 

[Tdamico]

I'll jump in on this one with another question. I am sorry if I sound like an idiot-I'm female and new to pellet heating. (And hubby is far from mechanically able!!) We have a great generac generator that has saved us multiple times in the last 2 years. My stove is currently on it's own surge protector. So, when we lose power can I just plug the surge protector and stove right into the generator or is it much more complicated than that?

 

[Tedinski]

I'll jump in on this one with another question. I am sorry if I sound like an idiot-I'm female and new to pellet heating. (And hubby is far from mechanically able!!) We have a great generac generator that has saved us multiple times in the last 2 years. My stove is currently on it's own surge protector. So, when we lose power can I just plug the surge protector and stove right into the generator or is it much more complicated than that?

I'm glad you brought that up. I always thought Generac was a good-quality brand. My company installs BIG Generac back-up generators for pumping/coolant systems.
Is the small line not up to their normal standards? Someone mentioned earlier that theyre not so good.....

 

[rayttt]

if your on a budget
the 1000VA would probably work also..just wont have a lot more of extra for lights etc..but would do the stove
http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W

select 1000VA

 

[Tdamico]

I'm glad you brought that up. I always thought Generac was a good-quality brand. My company installs BIG Generac back-up generators for pumping/coolant systems.
Is the small line not up to their normal standards? Someone mentioned earlier that theyre not so good.....

Well, it's my first experience with a generator. I don't remember if it's a 6500 or 7500. Ours ran for 3 days straight in the blizzard. I don't mind doing most 'manly duties' but I don't like messing with electricity. We had no problems at all. We only ran our fridge, tv, some lights, coffee maker. Obviously, we had plenty of extra wattage available. Hopefully we won't have to run the stove off of it, but I'm sure we will . Hopefully we will get it wired to the house and run well pump off of it too.

 

[Tedinski]

if your on a budget
the 1000VA would probably work also..just wont have a lot more of extra for lights etc..but would do the stove
http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W

select 1000VA

Thanks for the recommendation! A couple of people have put links in to UPS systems... perhaps I'm not doing my math right, but these systems look like they'll run my stove for minutes, instead of hours. With a 9 Ah 12 volt battery, converting to 120 volt 3 amp AC, I get a runtime of about 15 minutes? Am I doing that right?

 

[Tedinski]

Well, it's my first experience with a generator. I don't remember if it's a 6500 or 7500. Ours ran for 3 days straight in the blizzard. I don't mind doing most 'manly duties' but I don't like messing with electricity. We had no problems at all. We only ran our fridge, tv, some lights, coffee maker. Obviously, we had plenty of extra wattage available. Hopefully we won't have to run the stove off of it, but I'm sure we will . Hopefully we will get it wired to the house and run well pump off of it too.

Running water is a good thing!

 

[rayttt]

Honestly I didnt even look at the battery run time. I have a generator ...so if power is not back on within 15 to 20 minutes...im out there hooking it up.

ill look and see...it should show in specs

 

[BrotherBart]

I have always questioned those UPS run down numbers. Granted I had three 1500 VA battery sets connected to the UPS controller in the basement data center when I was still running my business out of the house but two times I ran two large power hungry HP Netservers, the desktop machine, the communications rack and CRT monitor for seven hours during outages with the thing before it started yelling at me to start the generator.

 

[Tedinski]

I have always questioned those UPS run down numbers. Granted I had three 1500 VA battery sets connected to the UPS controller in the basement data center when I was still running my business out of the house but two times I ran two large power hungry HP Netservers, the desktop machine, the communications rack and CRT monitor for seven hours during outages with the thing before it started yelling at me to start the generator.

You can have a 1500VA UPS with a 10 amp-hour battery, or you can have a 1500VA UPS with a 250 amp-hour battery. Volt-amps is the power they can deliver... but it's battery size that determines total runtime!

 

[Bioburner]

I have an UPS on just about everything instead of surge suppresors. Found out why our power was so bad week and half ago and got the power company to trim the @&$! Trees. No power issues since. If power is out for to long the propain stove will fire. Have a thirty year old Honda gen to run fridge and freezers if need be.

 

[BrotherBart]

You can have a 1500VA UPS with a 10 amp-hour battery, or you can have a 1500VA UPS with a 250 amp-hour battery. Volt-amps is the power they can deliver... but it's battery size that determines total runtime!

These packs were filled with a bunch of little gel cells, like six or so. Don't remember the aH numbers on them.

I don't do electricity. I am a wood kinda guy.