Quote:
Originally posted by Dudester
My plan was to plug this into an APC device. In the event of a power outage, the return pump would remain on, which would provide ample circulation and oxygenation to the tank. I was considering this APC unit which would provide over 2 hrs of power to the pump, which should cover most power problems we have here in Austin. .
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Mike,
Your run time calcs look right on, so the other thing you need to know is if your pump will run on the output waveform of the APC's inverter. The APC puts out a stepped (modified) sine wave, rather than the nice smooth sine wave it expects from the wall socket. Depending on the quality of the output waveform and the design of the motor, it may or may not run under load on the APC's power. The motor may run OK, it may run without a load but won't pump water, it may run if it is already connected to the APC when the mains power goes off but not start if it stalls, or it may run very hot.
The only way to be sure is to try it. I would try to borrow a similar unit and test it on your pump in operation. Remember, the pump must be under load (pumping water) and not just running in air at no load.
If you can't borrow a similar APC, see if the pump will run OK (under load) on a simple Radio Shack or Autozone 12VDC => 120VAC inverter. The cheap automotive inverters also produce a simple stepped sine wave output waveform. If the pump runs OK on it there's a good chance it will run on the waveform produced by the higher quality waveform of the more expensive APC. If the pump won't run, or runs raggedy and hot, you'll have to find a true sine wave output APC ($$$) or go to the autostart genset.
The genset will also be $$$$ but will be useful for other things when the power goes out. And yes, it is true that our power outages around here are short and rare, but that's not good to count on. Most lightning induced faults are cleared pretty quickly, but a car accident taking out a power pole going to your neighborhood, or a transformer failure in your 'hood can take several hours to fix. We had a transformer failure here last summer that put us without power for almost 3 hours. I had to manually hook up and run my genset. Think how much your tank is worth.
Give me a call if you have questions. You still have my cell #?
Bruce