with recent NE super storm it would be a good idea to build a backup power system custom build your own solar power backup system with these parts and it is expandable as money permits
with recent NE super storm it would be a good idea to build a backup power system custom build your own solar power backup system with these parts and it is expandable as money permits
i recommend 2-3 of these sets $189 ea. you want 120 watts
http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-panel-kit-45-watt-68751.html
2 of these batteries… 75.00 ea. you want about 70 ah @ 12v DC
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-35-amp-hour-universal-battery-68680.html
750 watt inverter $50.00 ea. 750-1000 continuous watts is a good power range for emergencies
http://www.harborfreight.com/750-watt-continuous-1500-watt-peak-power-inverter-66817.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-watt-continuous-2000-watt-peak-power-inverter-97047.html
for about 800-1000 dollars you can build a nice little backup station for yourself to keep laptops, small radios, and cell phones charged and/or keep LED lighting going for the night.
i would recommend a gas generator but the gas shortage in nj presently has shown this to not be a viable emergency option.
Gas generators don’t work in
Gas generators don’t work in urban areas, as they are extremely noisy and generate carbon monoxide and other fumes. They’re perfect for semi-rural and rural areas where you have some space (during a long power outage on Bowen island – almost a week – in a winter storm my gas generator was particularly welcome, just ran it when I needed to: to cool down the refrigerator/freezer, run the water heater, cook food or required running water, as we were on a well which required a pump).
And that gas issue? Just keep some gas on hand as well, and as it has a shelf life, use it in your vehicle or wherever when it gets near the end of usefullness and replace it.
Heavy Weights…
I have an Onan 120 vac, 5 kva generator. It will run on gasoline or natural gas.
It runs at 1800 rpm and not so loud.
It resides in the unattached garage but I have it wired into the house. It runs pretty much everything except the 220 vac appliances.
It’s definitely not a portable generator weighing in at around 250 lbs.
I love the idea of a part15
I love the idea of a part15 station with a back-up solar power,.. but $800 to $1000 to initialize it puts a damper on the idea for me.
Although a over-time construction does make it a little more inviting (and feasible). The thought has often crossed my mind, but never did any real research.
Small Potatoes – – – I don’t mean you guys
Compared to what you guys are talking
about, my experiment was small potatoes –
but about a year ago – I ran a Part 15
FM transmitter from the sun, with some
solar cells from Radio Shack. It was
fun. There were no storage batteries
involved.
Thanks, Robert, for the info on the
solar cells that are available out there.
Wow. I will probably try that someday.
Bruce, W 60 HZ – – 1020 AM CC
Another Project
I am going to found a group called The Society To Have Sunlight At Night.
That way we will be able to get solar power 24-hours a day.
Plan Before You Invest..
Buy quality stuff from the git-go so you can add to it later. If you buy the good stuff, you’ll have years to build a system before any worries of things going bad. Most quality panels have a 25 yr. warranty..
Those Harbor Freight panels are great for learning but they don’t last long. Mebby 5 yrs. or so. And they only give you a 90 day warranty! Actually you can buy quality panels for less money per watt right now if ya shop around..
Set a goal and work on it. Calculate your needs and build towards it. Figure your wiring and charge controller for the end result. This way you can always add panels and batteries in the future and not have the need to change everything out as you grow. (Don’t ask me how I know this..)
Those Part-15 transmitters don’t draw much current. It’s all of the studio stuff that will be the power hog..
I’ve been playin’ battery boy since ’89 so if ya need any help puttin’ something together, just let me know..
Flares
Today I viewed my southern roof exposure which is ideal for panels, except for the giant tree standing over my house and the adjoining yard which
A. Blocks sunlight, and
B. Casts off branches large and small during wind storms which would dent the heck out of the panels.
I approached the neighbors with the idea of jointly having the tree removed, and they said “No, we like it.” They think it’s their tree.
In the event of an insurance claim when the tree crushes my house it will be great to remind them, “It’s your tree, you said so.”
Back-Up Lunar Power
Ok, Kc6gpd re-sparked my interest in solar power, but I can’t afford that route right now, so putting solar power on hold for the moment, but still considering backup power…
In the case of a power outage, lets say I just use a couple 12 volt batteries (1 deep cell marine, and 1 standard auto battery), and get a power inverter for the station..
I added up the power requirements of my mixer and all the processing gear, it adds up to only 117watts — the Rangemaster would draw 0.1watts (right??)
The laptop with ZaraRadio draws 80watts, but has it’s own battery which is good for at least an hour..
If I were to also power my reel to reel, cassette deck, and cd, it would add another 33watts, but they are usually only for production, and not normally used on air; But if I were to power EVERYTHING up at the same time, I’m looking at a grand total of 150watts..
And lets say my laptop battery went dead – so let’s add another 80watts.. that brings it up to 230watts for ALL the equipment running including the laptop..
I haven’t factored in phantom power for the mics, or power consumption of the external sound card or the audio combiner, or a light.. but for the sake of argument, lets bring it up to 300watts in all..
So, with power inverter capable of at least 400watts connected to two 12 volt batteries; How long could I stay on the air?
Also, I read something about the lower priced power inverters produce “modified square waves” which causes static in radios, whereas the higher priced ones produce “pure sine waves” which don’t create this problem.
SO I suppose purchasing the latter would be the proper choice.
And just a curious thing about the whole matter..
Most processing gear, (and most electrical gadgets in general as well) actually operate via a DC current, but have built-in inverters to convert the incoming AC current to DC current..
Thus, what’s going on would be 12vdc to 120vac to 12vdc again.. What the heck? Kind of a circle ain’t it.
Anyway, concerning my purchasing an inverter for emergencies as described above, how long would the station be able to operate on battery(s) power, and what factors might I not be considering?
Thinking Lunar Power
I got to thinking about Rich Powers concept of lunar power. It’s a variation on backup power I had not before considered.
Well, I guess in a way it’s a version of UPS, “Uninteruptible Power Supply”, which comes in a single case and amounts to being batteries that store power while the AC is still turned on and then provide power when the AC fails.
But Rich Power’s idea has the appeal of being a backup power system composed of components, not being a packaged unit, which might have its advantages in economics or amount of Wattage.
But near the end of the discussion Rich Powers pointed out the fact that all equipment operates on DC power at its core, so I think….
For backup power design SKIP the AC stage and modify all equipment so it can switch away from the AC portion of the internal circuit and tap straight DC from the storage batteries. This eliminates the energy loss due to conversion inefficiency, and your major design issue becomes providing the specific voltage busses as required, i.e., 5Volts, 6Volts, 12Volts, 24Volts and so on. But this is a matter of inexpensive regulator chips to give exact Voltage values.
By choosing the correct battery types this system, which becomes charged from house AC power, could later be adapted to solar collectors.
Time to assign some prime basement or garage space to a battery farm.
Well I got a UPS, but it’s
Well I got a UPS, but it’s small and old and the charge doesn’t last very long.. Of course buying new batteries for it, or better yet, a new larger unit might be the thing to do.. But it seems to me that an inverter with car batteries would not only last longer during an outage, but also be more versatile, in that you could use it for remotes, and if the battery should go dead, another car battery is almost always readily available for use.
I also suspect it would be cheaper in the long run.
Just a Quickie..
Don’t mix “types” of batteries. They have different characteristics. Auto = Fast power discharge.. Deep Cycle = Slow power discharge. If ya plan to charge them together with solar, you’re gonna have issues there too..
Remember the conversion factor from a 12 volt battery through an inverter. (10 to 1) 120 watts @ 120 v.a.c. is one amp. The 12 volt demand from the battery will be 10 amps (Not including small inveter losses) to get the same result..
300 watts would be 30 amps/hour from a 12 volt battery. 30 aHr. per hour. A common marine deep cycle battery is ~60 aHr. Operate for 1 hr. and your battery is already 50% discharged. (25% past the “safe” margin) You should never discharge a deep cycle battery more than 25% of it’s total capacity if ya wanna get any life out of it..
For studio stuff, don’t consider anything but a pure sine wave inverter. Oversize your inverter at least double of your normal load. You’ll have some headroom for surges and it won’t run hot during prolonged usage.. (more efficiency)
I can figure a system but how long do ya plan to use the backup to run everything?
McGuiver…
My UPS battery died. The replacement was over $100.
For about $55 I bought two garden tractor batteries. I extended the battery connections outside the unit and connected the two batteries.
Works great. run time is way longer.
A battery box is probably called for but no problems so far.
No Worries..
I have 4 – 6 volt golf cart batteries near the foot of my bed and I ain’t dead yet. Had ‘um there for about 14 yrs. now. Put ‘um in a box and they’re more apt to blow up..
Ba Ba Boom?
Yes, a vented box. But a box would help to contain leakage.
The wife would be upset if battery acid got on the floor.
Meow..
A kitty litter box would work..
What They Admit
MRAM says, “The wife would be upset with battery acid on the floor”.
What that admits is that MRAM himself wouldn’t mind the battery acid: “Aw heck, batteries will be batteries”.
12vMan is amazing with his neat The GRID picture and the knowledge of experience that I really look forward to hearing more about.
All I know is that some batteries are big, some are medium sized, and they get progressively smaller from there on down.
BOOM!
That was just a paper bag.
Like Dynamite…
I had a surplus Lion battery pack. Worked great, until I left if on a home brew charger one night.
It was on the bench, upstairs in the garage. About 2:00 AM we all awoke when a loud explosion occurred. My son, whose window faced the garage, came running into our bedroom yelling, “Somebody blew up the garage! There’s smoke and I think it’s on fire!”
Well, it was mostly just noise thankfully. That little battery pack the size of a large bar of soap blew up. Fortunately there was minimal damage to the bench and PC on the bench, some minor scuffs.
However, if I had been sitting there at the time I’m certain I would have sustained some injury not to mention a change of underwear would have been required.
Like Dynamite…
YouTube is full of videos of exploding cell phones and laptops. Fun to look at if you haven’t had one explode. Otherwise, disturbing.
Li ion batteries require specialized charging circuits. If they charge too fast or overcharge … bang.
Power Yet To Come
Tesla Motors has announced a Power Division
http://www.infowars.com/tesla-launches-batteries-for-homes-businesses-and-utilities/