Emergency power

[K5USS]

The day before i recieved notice that I had gotten my ticket, December 30, 2002, we had a freak severe thunderstorm in the area that knocked out power to many homes in the area. I was monitoring all of this activity on my scanner in what was to become my "shack". When the power went out I was prepared. I had been an avid scanner listener for years and knew the value of a battery back-up system. I still got the reports from the spotters in the field.

Since then I have obtained 15 12vdc 38 amp hour gel cells from my place of employment and have them set-up to provide lighting in the shack and in the kitchen, and they provide emergency power to my radios in the shack. I have it set-up so that when the AC power is lost, my radios never miss a beat. With a diode in line as soon as the power supplies lose AC the batteries take over.

There have been many times that I have heard people say, during a weather net, that they had to switch to the HT due to a power outage.

My question is, how many others have emergency power for their shack or entire house? It does not cost a lot and, in my opinion, is a valuable asset.

Charlie
K5USS

[K7ADB]

I have a 180 amp-hour deep cycle battery and a 1000 watt generator to keep my equipment going during power outages. Thankfully, thunderstorms are a very rare event where I live so I don't worry much about the power going out. Well, except for the occasional rolling black outs we get.

- Seth

Diode in series with the line, conventional switch-over.
Challange. Who knows the hi-power diode with the lowest drop? ( No expensive Schottkys). The best I can do is a germanium power transistor with the collector tied to the base. Anyone know the drop or source for a copper-oxide?

Then there is the relay-- http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

TOM K8ERV

[WA2ZDY]

Somewhat related to this topic, but more just something for folks to think about and that they might find useful.

Maybe some of you don't care if your ham stuff will run on backup power. Some of you don't want to go to the expense and/or effort to have emergency power for the whole house. I understand. Here's what I realised back when we had a three day outage in December 1992.

Our house was freezing cold. We were in the midst of the Noreaster of 92 and as I said, power was out for three days. So having forced hot air heat that required electricity, we were cold in the house too - and that with a seven month old child in the house too. Freezing pipes were becoming a concern . . . you can all relate, I'm sure.

That first night I realised the gas lamp in the front yard was still lit. That was good, it made things a little brighter. Then it hit me, all I'd needed was enough electricity to turn the furnace motor and we'd have at least had heat since the natural gas supply was unaffected. Heat and one lamp, or maybe a TV to keep the teenager happy would have helped so much.

So even if you don't care about the radios, the whole house, etc, it might be worth the investment in a smaller generator for something like this. I'm speaking only of gas fired forced hot air, but think of your own situation and how you too might have a situation that could be more economical to cover than you first thought.

As it happens I ended up with a 5 kw generator. Ran the whole house except the central air. We had another two day outage the following summer, and sure the air conditioning would have been nice, but we had everything else, and wouldn't have had the air anyway, so it was still one in the plus column for us.

Good luck.

[WC4J]

MY HOME STATION HAS A 3000 WAtt generator and 20 65amp hour 12v batteries

my mobile station has a 2500 watt generator and 6 65amp hour batteries

both stations equiped with hf through uhf digital and voice

excesive huh???


the kicker http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif my van has a portable repeater on 440 with a 2m on the way

I need a hobby??

73 N8FK
Brian

[ae4fa]

Here in SC, we have lots of power outages. Rarely get real snow in the winter, but we do get ice. Through the rest of the year, thunderstorms roll through regularly. And then there's the occasional hurricane . . .

In my current residence, I use three large storage batteries for shack power. Not really a problem to keep them maintained. My switch-over is manual, but I can usually hit it before the display dims out.

I also have a variety of QRP rigs and the gel cells to run them for weeks, two mobile equipped vehicles - one with full HF through 70 centimeters.

The water heater is gas, as are the cook stove and heat. The heat works better with a fan, but doesn't require it. I have a 220 gallon tank at the wellhead, which is uphill from the house.

I am currently building my wife a new house. For it, I plan a similar scheme for the shack, with the addition of solar cells and a smart charge control circuit. I'll also run a second similar set-up for emergency 12v lighting in the house.

I will also use gas for all the aforementioned purposes. But it will require a forced air furnace, as it is much larger. But, I'm putting infrared type gas heaters in the basement for emergency back-up.

So that leaves me with two issues: refrigeration and running the well pump for the more extended outages. I think a relatively small generator would handle those.

On the other hand, I've been eyeing those nice new LP or natural gas emergency back-up systems with automatic switchover. They're pretty pricey . . .

If y'all have suggestions or ideas, I'd love to hear them.

[WA2ZDY]

Sounds like you're pretty prepared. Of course your heating needs are different in SC than we have here in NJ. We do get real winter at least a couple months every year. Some years (like this past) are "more" real than others.

Up here in Home Depot they have a 10kw automatic switchover system like you're considering. I want to say I think it was about $20,000. But I'm not sure. And yes, that's pricey, but it covers all your needs and if your situation and bank account allow, I'd go for it.

Sadly now I live in a condo and have NO backup at all, except the UPSes for the computers and some small lighting. (APC BackUps Pro 1100 - $542 on the APC website, $118.90 at Sam's Club this week! Yes, I bought one! It'll run a radio and flourescent light for hours, if not days.)

If I had someplace safe to store a generator and fuel, I'd have at least a 1kw just for the tv and a light, but. . . not happening here and I won't sacrifice safety.

[k3sam]

I found several locally as this was something on my list. #Everything that I found was un-regulated so for now I still have it on my list.

If someone finds a nice 3.5 - 5kw generator w/ regulation for around $1k, I would be interested.

Another concern was to be able to keep it in the house, so the exhaust would have to be vented outside.

A customer of mine (when in business) had a 427 ci Chevy motor in the basement that was used as the power-plant for their backup power, fully regulated, (almost) instant switch over, exhaust gong outside. #Talk about extreme !

I don't know how fast the house would go, so don't ask.

-Sam

[kf4lne]

I have ~200 AH of battery for lighting and communications and a 1 kW Honda generator with a 12VDC battery charger built into it. I also have a 3 kW generator for the fridge, microwave and additional lighting. My switch over meathod is very manual: power fails so I turn off the main breaker inside and the service disconnect outside, turn on the 40 amp range plug mounted outside the house, plug "special" generator pigtail into plug, start generator. the Honda 1 kW is for refreshing my charge on batteries during extended outages when the solar panel isnt getting enough light. I can still put out a stout signal on 2M simplex for days during an outage. Except during times of heavy operating my station and station lighting runs completly off grid anyway. All hams should have backup power anyway, afterall we are supposed to be able to fill in when normal comms fail and since normal comms tend to have emergency power systems we should have better backup power.

[kd7eze]

Just my 2¢ worth---
Since my whole house has been powered off of alternative energy for the past 15 or so years, it was only suitable to power my shack the same way. Solar panel arrays on solar trackers, wind generators for when the sun isn't shining, high-current AGM battery banks, and Trace power inverters. The initial cost IS expensive, so I just built my system slowly. The pump on the well is a Solarjack system, independent of the house system. And yes, my central air works just fine. I also have an old military 20kW standby generator, just in case. Now the only bills I receive are for my satellite TV, my wireless phone, and my T3 internet connection.
Can I run off emergency power if the grid goes out? Absolutely! I do it everyday, as I have NO grid connection. No, I'm not rich; just trying to provide a better way of life for my family. After all, the fewer bills you receive, the more cash you have for fun things http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

'73 de KD7EZE

[kd5kfl]

I have a motorhome. 4 KW generator, 45 gallons of gas, propane powered appliances, AC - one spare everything, and everything in there can run off more than one fuel source.