Ice Storm!!!

[Dustin1231]

I live in good old kansas, and over tonight were forcasted to get over a inch and a half of ice. Lasttime this happen i lost power for days. Now that i have a couple tanks, im really worried. Does anyone know of anything that could power by pumps and heaters if the power does go out. I looked at some generators, but cant spend that kind of money. Im hoping to be around 200 bucks.

Any ideas or experiance would be great.

Thanks
Dustin

[DiazE]

Try a portable battery charger ac/dc. At least you can keep some pump circulation or air pumps going. The charge on these things is between 20-40 hrs. power.

Just a suggestion I was considering as an emergency back-up in case it happens where I live.

[matttaylor]

Last time i lost power i plugged all of my pumps into a power inverter i had in my truck. As long as i kept gas in the truck, i was able to keep the tank going. The inverter was only 70 watts and cost around $30 if i remember correctly.

[seapug]

get a the biggest battery backup system you can find-- they are used with computers. Look at Staples or office depot. A couple hundred bucks ought to get you a really good one.

[LockeOak]

UPS systems built for computers are not going to keep your system going for very long... even if you're just running air pumps and heaters it probably won't last more than a few hours, they're meant to dodge small outages or give enough time to save and shut down your computer. You can buy small air pumps that are battery powered, that's probably your best bet there. As for the heaters... I'm not sure. As a last ditch effort you could heat water for water bottles on a gas stove.

[dcombs44]

I would say for the cheapest bet, a power inverter is the way to go. You can probably pick one up at Wal-Mart or an Auto Zone type store. You'll obviously need a pretty good extension cord to get the power from your car to your tank, but it'll be enough to power a heater and an air pump or powerhead I would guess.

Or you could buy a kerosene heater and leave that in the room with the tank, and buy a battery powered air pump for oxygenation.

[raskal311]

If you go with the inverter buy extra fuse for it and the car incase you blow it out. Also remember that even though you have x watts for the inverter your car can only handle so much if you plug it in to the cigarette lighter. I suggest making sure your inverter is able to tap directly in to the cars battery. And last of all have a backup plan if the inverter fails. I suggest a batter operated air pump and plenty of batteries.

[nanoDude]

I just got in from scraping an inch of ice off my front steps and am watching the new storm pretty closely. Last year I went to Wally world and bought a pretty heavy duty inverter. If I remember right I paid about $80 for it. Get one that hooks directly to the battery as well as the lighter socket. Most sockets can't provide enough power. I plugged in a 100 foot 12 gauge extension cord and ran it off my wife's New Beetle. It worked great and kept my pumps and heaters going until the power came back on four hours later. I'm off to haul some more firewood in. Good luck!

[Dustin1231]

found a 1000 watt generator for 99 bucks.. that should be enought to keep the tank running.

[acrohead500ppm]

i live in kc and i found out the hardway a few years back
i have a 4000 watt gen. full of gas just waiting for the power to go out.

[Playa-1]

If i lived in a place where ice storms or huricanes were likely then i would spring for a generator. It could also save a freezer full of food, provide lighting and communication during emergencies.

[rickh]

Originally posted by Playa-1
If i lived in a place where ice storms or huricanes were likely then i would spring for a generator. It could also save a freezer full of food, provide lighting and communication during emergencies.

It's also nice to be able to flush the toilet

Get a generator.