DIY workshop

[thedogofwar]

Well thanx to a 5 hour power outage Wed night, I lost Max and my BTA.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/36585mini-bta001.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/36585mini-maxima001.jpg

So needless to say, I dove into backup power source ideas. I located a a post I had read previously here on RC about a DIY backup that is cheaper and outlasts any puter backup. He built his for around $150. I believe it can be done for closer to $100 with planning and price shopping. My parts are in the mail and I'll have it built by next weekend.

Anyway, this lead me to an idea about DIY workshop.

Those that would be interested in the hosted projects could sign up and we could purchase the materials as a group and assemble them together.

Any interest here? I know we have a couple DIYers, like myself and surely others that don't have the knowledge but would love the satisfaction and savings from DIY.

Brandon

[Dionaea]

Sounds good.

[Scuba Dog]

Sorry to hear about those loses.....I have always had the same fear of power outages, since arkansas is real bad about ice storms, so I broke down and bought a generator. Later on in the year when I have the extra cash Ill have it wired up so when the power goes out the generator automaticly kicks in......as far as the work shop Im game...and I have acess ro magnetic stirr bars and stir plates as well.....

[jerryc]

ME to but I am suprized you lost the Max in that short a time
not surprised about the BTA

[saltaddict]

count me in, with the ever rising cost of this hobby, I try to save as much as possible. Wouldn't mind having one of those stir bars, been looking for one locally with no luck.

[lil'salty]

i love diy stuff i am going to be making a mh pendant soon
and custom returns for my tank as well

[jerryc]

DIY is good

[jeff967]

DIY for power outage= old push mower & old chevy altermator, 2 pulleys,1 belt and a cheep auto zone invertor
sorry about the spelling
Jeff

[Scuba Dog]

jeff967
Hey jeff long time no see.........

[thedogofwar]

Originally posted by jeff967
DIY for power outage= old push mower & old chevy altermator, 2 pulleys,1 belt and a cheep auto zone invertor
sorry about the spelling
Jeff

Thats pretty cool. I need something that comes on by itself. The unit I'm building will automatically switch on in the event of a power outage. The unit itself should last a good 5-6 hours for what I'll be running, but more batteries can be added.

I think I'll start looking into that DIY generator when I'm done. chevy parts I have. :)

[lil'salty]

cool dog,
post some plans i too worry about power outages
had a brief one about two weeks ago
but only like an hour or so
i didn't notice anything bad
but still scary

[thedogofwar]

Heres a link to the project that inspired me. http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64918&highlight=diy+power+back+up
I've got a couple variations to mine. You'll find that the inverters can be had for much cheaper, I got a 300W with 90%+ efficiency for like $35 shipped. Your inverter size depends on what you plan to run off the back-up.

Just for an idea, I'm going to run a 150W heater, two PH's and a mag 1.9. I'm at just about 200W. it's best to keep it at least under 75% of the rating.

[headhawg7]

Sounds very interesting. I would be willing to try this also. Will you keep this thread updated?

[thedogofwar]

Originally posted by headhawg7
Sounds very interesting. I would be willing to try this also. Will you keep this thread updated?

This was actually suppossed to be a generic example of the idea. What I'll do is start a new thread specific to the project.

Brandon