Posted by hallerb@aol.com on January 16, 2009, 11:18 am
> > ...
> > The power packs I've looked at mostly had a 17 Ah gel cell battery and a
> > small inverter. �I just don't think there is enough power there to really
> > bother with. �What do you want to run and for how long? �How much of a
> > factor is weight, price, and portability? �...
> > Personally I think I'd go with the small generator and forget the inverter
> > and batteries unless you are in a situation were you cannot run the
> > generator (campground perhaps). �They don't use very much gasoline and will
> > probably run for hours on a single tank. �Something like a Honda eu1000 is
> > so quiet you could probably get away with running it after hours but they
> > are a bit expensive.
> I got through the December outage with a new 400VA Newpoint UPS, a ~10
> year old Century gel-cell inverter pack and occasionally a generator.
> After trying several combinations I plugged my powered reclining chair
> (inherited, I'm not too lazy to pull a lever) and the lamp beside it
> into the UPS, and ran the PC or TV off the inverter pack to get
> weather reports. Radio was useless for local weather. Several times a
> day I operated the generator for an hour or two for the news and to
> recharge batteries. The generator leaks oil so I don't leave it on too
> long. Like almost everything else I bought it cheap, second hand,
> assuming I could fix or live with whatever was wrong with it.
> The inverters at the point of use let me take up the extension cords
> otherwise running around the floor and up the stairs. They are a
> tripping hazard in a dark house.
> The little solar lantern Harbor Freight sells was very helpful. Their
> search function misfired, its stock number is 95706-3UTH. The
> batteries are AA NiCads which can be removed to charge. It's about as
> bright as a candle, not really enough to read by but fine for walking
> around and it doesn't hurt my night vision. I attached a clip hook to
> the handle with a foot of cord so it's easier to hang from a shower
> rod, kitchen cabinet handle etc.
> I also have their solar shed light which I modified by moving the
> batteries from the solar cell to the lamp unit to make it portable.
> Jim Wilkins
I have given SERIOUS THOUGHT to installing a few outlets one on each
floor just to be fed by a inverter although a DPDT switch would make
it power line capable too.
Year extension cords on steps isnt good.
But with little pre planning a inverter can be very useful.
A good friend has some 12 volt lights thruout his homes with a battery
bank for emergencies.
when the power fails he likes turning on all his lights.
Posted by vaughn on January 16, 2009, 12:07 pm
>A good friend has some 12 volt lights thruout his homes with a battery bank
>for emergencies...
If my house were built differently, this is exactly what I would do, and
not just for emergencies. 12 volt lighting can be fairly efficient, and I
have had a 12 volt PV system for years that does little except keep my
generator battery up and run some outside lights at night.
I would also like a few 12 volt outlest sprinkled around so that we could
run a few 12 volt gizmos during a power failure.
Vaughn
Posted by Bruce in alaska on January 16, 2009, 2:23 pm
>
> >A good friend has some 12 volt lights thruout his homes with a battery bank
> >for emergencies...
>
> If my house were built differently, this is exactly what I would do, and
> not just for emergencies. 12 volt lighting can be fairly efficient, and I
> have had a 12 volt PV system for years that does little except keep my
> generator battery up and run some outside lights at night.
>
> I would also like a few 12 volt outlest sprinkled around so that we could
> run a few 12 volt gizmos during a power failure.
>
> Vaughn
Up here in the alaskan bush, a lot of the cabins are wired with dual
Power Systems. 120 Vac and 12 Vdc. Usually they use standard 120 Vac
duplex outlets for AC and Cigarette Lighter Outlets mounted on Standard
Outlet Cover Plates for 12 Vdc. One close (Close = 10 Sq Miles) neighbor
has such a Power System. The AC System comes from his Powerhouse with
a 3Kw 1200 Rpm diesel, a 4.5Kw 1800 Rpm Gasoline, and 6.5Kw 1800 Rpm
Gasoline, Gensets, that feed the entire compound. Then in each of the
two cabins he has a pair of L16HD's with both 240 Watts of Solar, and a
60 Amp, 3 State Charger that Charges when the AC System is running.
With our long summer days, the solar keeps most of the 12 Vdc loads
under control with the Genset making up the difference, on Laundry Days,
or when they are freezing fish.
--
Bruce in alaska
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> > The power packs I've looked at mostly had a 17 Ah gel cell battery and a
> > small inverter. �I just don't think there is enough power there to really
> > bother with. �What do you want to run and for how long? �How much of a
> > factor is weight, price, and portability? �...
> > Personally I think I'd go with the small generator and forget the inverter
> > and batteries unless you are in a situation were you cannot run the
> > generator (campground perhaps). �They don't use very much gasoline and will
> > probably run for hours on a single tank. �Something like a Honda eu1000 is
> > so quiet you could probably get away with running it after hours but they
> > are a bit expensive.
> I got through the December outage with a new 400VA Newpoint UPS, a ~10
> year old Century gel-cell inverter pack and occasionally a generator.
> After trying several combinations I plugged my powered reclining chair
> (inherited, I'm not too lazy to pull a lever) and the lamp beside it
> into the UPS, and ran the PC or TV off the inverter pack to get
> weather reports. Radio was useless for local weather. Several times a
> day I operated the generator for an hour or two for the news and to
> recharge batteries. The generator leaks oil so I don't leave it on too
> long. Like almost everything else I bought it cheap, second hand,
> assuming I could fix or live with whatever was wrong with it.
> The inverters at the point of use let me take up the extension cords
> otherwise running around the floor and up the stairs. They are a
> tripping hazard in a dark house.
> The little solar lantern Harbor Freight sells was very helpful. Their
> search function misfired, its stock number is 95706-3UTH. The
> batteries are AA NiCads which can be removed to charge. It's about as
> bright as a candle, not really enough to read by but fine for walking
> around and it doesn't hurt my night vision. I attached a clip hook to
> the handle with a foot of cord so it's easier to hang from a shower
> rod, kitchen cabinet handle etc.
> I also have their solar shed light which I modified by moving the
> batteries from the solar cell to the lamp unit to make it portable.
> Jim Wilkins