Power outage for over 12 hours in Blizzard

Alex T. · 02/11/2010, 12:01 PM

Power came back on 4:30 this morning. Lost it 2:15 yesterday afternoon in Southern New Jersey's second blizzard in one week.

I have the battery back up for 1 vortech but the flow it provides is less than 50% of output max. House plummeted to 62 degrees over night so here's what I did:

1. I set up my new 2300 watt generator and ran both 250 watt heaters on at full tilt.
2. Didn't want to keep halides on indefinitely to shock corals and fish from a possible 24 hour photoperiod.
3. Because I custom made the stand, I broke the entire wall behind the sumps under the stand into the garage when I set up the system. There's an insulated box/room that I built on the other side of the wall which is my garage. This houses the skimmer, calcium reactor, return pump, and halide and T5 ballasts which add heat to the system. There's a vent I open and close based on time of year and how much heat I want to store up in the box. A door can flip in the summer and bring the halide ballasts out of the box in the summer which takes ballast heat outside into the garage. In the winter it helps heat the tank at night when the halides aren't on. I ran the ballasts with no bulbs for the extra heat they can provide.
4. Because tank temperature was plummeting fast, I wrapped the tank in down sleeping bags but could not keep temperature from falling. When the tank hit 70 degrees.... I had another idea. Don't try this at home kids!!!

I shoveled my way to my van (I'm in construction) and pulled out my high btu torpedo propane heater. Now if you've never used one before, they can generate an enormous amount of heat in a small area very fast.

After shoveling my way to the grill on the back deck, I hijacked the full propane tank and set it up in the garage. Since I didn't want the heater set up in my home office where the tank is, I had to come up with something else that would allow me to keep the heater and propane tank in the garage, supply enough heat to the system, and keep the insulated box I built intact because opening it in freezing temps to blow heat in would have been counter productive. After measuring the diameter of the heater's exit port, I found my way to my crawl space opening and dug my way in through freezing rain and snow. With flashlight in hand, I disconnected my drier vent and it was a perfect fit to the end of the torpedo heater. I connected it, and used my jigsaw (attached to the generator of course) to cut the perfect sized hole into the insulated box. With a little temporary rigging I was able to get a snug fit and directed the drier vent hosing to the top of the sump.

I closed my office door, and within 45 minutes the room was at 74 degrees and tank temp was climbing steadily. I was dozing in my office chair (wife and kids were at my mom's house) when the power kicked back on around 4:30 this morning. I checked tank temperature and it was 77 degrees. The system worked so well that I'm going to figure out how to make it look more presentable.

Long story short...everyone's fine. Came out of this one unscathed.

Lesson learned. Don't wait until your power goes out to have a plan. Even if you have a small and mediocre system. Forget the money for a minute. Think of how much time you have invested in your tank. What you've gone through to provide a stable, mature environment for your animals. To me, it's worth it. When my wife called me on my cell to tell me I was crazy, I equated it to locking a dog in a closet, turning off the heat and slowly pulling oxygen out. To me, that sounds like a fair analogy.

Luckily, I had these things on hand. It's the one part of my system that I never gave much thought until I had to. I think if one seeks longtime success in this hobby, you need to consider "what if's". To me, the scariest thing happened...a silent tank.

hul kogan · 02/11/2010, 01:00 PM

Wow, glad to hear that you were able to get through the outage. Great emergency ingenuity!

I really need to look into a generator, especially when I get my 180 up and running. Where are the best places to purchase these?

Chupakabra-King · 02/11/2010, 01:09 PM

I have a 4500 watt generator. I never thought about how cold the house would get and that the heater would not be able to keep up with the cooler temps . I wonder if wrapping the tank in an electric blanket would give a good result? Has anyone tried that before?

ChadTheSpike · 02/11/2010, 01:10 PM

hah!
Yet another example of the amazing resourcefulness of reefers!
Thank you for sharing that great story!

reefbro · 02/11/2010, 01:11 PM

Good job man. We have a wood burning stove and i have to keep a fan on all night just to keep the tank cool.

jmski333 · 02/11/2010, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chupakabra-King

I wonder if wrapping the tank in an electric blanket would give a good result? Has anyone tried that before?

just dont get it wet! haha

Alex T. · 02/11/2010, 02:38 PM

Hul Kogan,

Home Depot has good generators but Ifound them a bit pricey. Picked this one (2300 watts) up at Pep Boys for $299. In the scheme of things, it was worth every penny. I couldn't believe how fast water temperature was falling.

02/11/2010, 12:01 PM	#1
Alex T. Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,803	Power outage for over 12 hours in Blizzard Power came back on 4:30 this morning. Lost it 2:15 yesterday afternoon in Southern New Jersey's second blizzard in one week. I have the battery back up for 1 vortech but the flow it provides is less than 50% of output max. House plummeted to 62 degrees over night so here's what I did: 1. I set up my new 2300 watt generator and ran both 250 watt heaters on at full tilt. 2. Didn't want to keep halides on indefinitely to shock corals and fish from a possible 24 hour photoperiod. 3. Because I custom made the stand, I broke the entire wall behind the sumps under the stand into the garage when I set up the system. There's an insulated box/room that I built on the other side of the wall which is my garage. This houses the skimmer, calcium reactor, return pump, and halide and T5 ballasts which add heat to the system. There's a vent I open and close based on time of year and how much heat I want to store up in the box. A door can flip in the summer and bring the halide ballasts out of the box in the summer which takes ballast heat outside into the garage. In the winter it helps heat the tank at night when the halides aren't on. I ran the ballasts with no bulbs for the extra heat they can provide. 4. Because tank temperature was plummeting fast, I wrapped the tank in down sleeping bags but could not keep temperature from falling. When the tank hit 70 degrees.... I had another idea. Don't try this at home kids!!! I shoveled my way to my van (I'm in construction) and pulled out my high btu torpedo propane heater. Now if you've never used one before, they can generate an enormous amount of heat in a small area very fast. After shoveling my way to the grill on the back deck, I hijacked the full propane tank and set it up in the garage. Since I didn't want the heater set up in my home office where the tank is, I had to come up with something else that would allow me to keep the heater and propane tank in the garage, supply enough heat to the system, and keep the insulated box I built intact because opening it in freezing temps to blow heat in would have been counter productive. After measuring the diameter of the heater's exit port, I found my way to my crawl space opening and dug my way in through freezing rain and snow. With flashlight in hand, I disconnected my drier vent and it was a perfect fit to the end of the torpedo heater. I connected it, and used my jigsaw (attached to the generator of course) to cut the perfect sized hole into the insulated box. With a little temporary rigging I was able to get a snug fit and directed the drier vent hosing to the top of the sump. I closed my office door, and within 45 minutes the room was at 74 degrees and tank temp was climbing steadily. I was dozing in my office chair (wife and kids were at my mom's house) when the power kicked back on around 4:30 this morning. I checked tank temperature and it was 77 degrees. The system worked so well that I'm going to figure out how to make it look more presentable. Long story short...everyone's fine. Came out of this one unscathed. Lesson learned. Don't wait until your power goes out to have a plan. Even if you have a small and mediocre system. Forget the money for a minute. Think of how much time you have invested in your tank. What you've gone through to provide a stable, mature environment for your animals. To me, it's worth it. When my wife called me on my cell to tell me I was crazy, I equated it to locking a dog in a closet, turning off the heat and slowly pulling oxygen out. To me, that sounds like a fair analogy. Luckily, I had these things on hand. It's the one part of my system that I never gave much thought until I had to. I think if one seeks longtime success in this hobby, you need to consider "what if's". To me, the scariest thing happened...a silent tank.

02/11/2010, 01:00 PM	#2
hul kogan On a surface interval Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: NW Ohio Posts: 330	Wow, glad to hear that you were able to get through the outage. Great emergency ingenuity! I really need to look into a generator, especially when I get my 180 up and running. Where are the best places to purchase these? __________________ Chris [127G Caribbean Biotope Shallow Reef In-Wall] [40G Breeder]

02/11/2010, 01:09 PM	#3
Chupakabra-King Mmmmmm Goats ! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 408	I have a 4500 watt generator. I never thought about how cold the house would get and that the heater would not be able to keep up with the cooler temps . I wonder if wrapping the tank in an electric blanket would give a good result? Has anyone tried that before? __________________ If I get more obsessed with reefkeeping I will be divorced, living in the back of my LFS ! Been keeping fish (salt and fresh) since the 1970s. Started reefing in 1998 . 40 Breeder Club AP24 Club Current Tank Info: AP24 soft coral tank & JBJ Nano 12DX, 40 Breeder

02/11/2010, 01:10 PM	#4
ChadTheSpike Reef Engineer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,526 Blog Entries: 1	hah! Yet another example of the amazing resourcefulness of reefers! Thank you for sharing that great story! __________________ ~Chad "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Current Tank Info: 195 gallons of fun

02/11/2010, 01:11 PM	#5
reefbro Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: central arkansas Posts: 71	Good job man. We have a wood burning stove and i have to keep a fan on all night just to keep the tank cool.

02/11/2010, 02:38 PM	#7
Alex T. Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,803	Hul Kogan, Home Depot has good generators but Ifound them a bit pricey. Picked this one (2300 watts) up at Pep Boys for $299. In the scheme of things, it was worth every penny. I couldn't believe how fast water temperature was falling.