Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thank you Amacafish,

I'd like to run the pump constantly no fiddling with timers that way and DH will be happy. He just told me today that he likes the constantly running water of my goldies but couldn't stand it if it stopped and started. Pleased I found out now and not later.

Have to work on the non mains air, I'm home most of the time so a battery powered one is OK but if it went out while no one was home it would be a problem.

I'd have to look into the standpipe, hadn't thought about that.

Someone here has a normally open plug on his air pump, as long as the mains are on the air pump doesn't start, if the power goes off, it starts the air pump with a battery. Can't remind who it is tho.
Maybe you could plug a light bulb on the back up power system and have it in the house or a siren, would tell ya fast if the things all right or not.
Maybe that the DW wouldn't like it?!

I'm not worried about when I'm home, I have pumps running in the house 24hours a day so as soon as the power goes out I know 'cause the water stops running. Just need to hook up something that can come on automatically when I'm not here.

The longest we have gone without power here is about 4 hours when someone drove through a main power pole in our area, apart from that it's only been the occasional 1 or 2 seconds in a thunderstorm. It shouldn't be a problem but I wouldn't want to go away for the weekend and leave it.

Anybody played with solar power for back up?

Check this thread, Jamie has got all his system on solar power.
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... .php?t=666

I was at Harbor Freight tools the other day and saw a float charger for a battery. I was thinking that a 12 volt air pump hooked up to that battery with some sort of switch or relay that would only allow the connection if mains power went out. So the battery is hooked to the float charger so it stays charged even when sitting for a long time and then the air pump hooked through some sort of switch that only lets it connect when power goes out.

I would have to figure out the exact details of said switch though I've heard some of the others on the forum speak of such a thing as if they know.

A DPDT relay with a mains coil would do it, then you could also run the pump on a 12v transformer and have it automatically switch to the battery in the event of a mains failure.

The mains holds up the relay coil connecting the optional 12v dc transformer to the pump. If the mains fails, the coil drops out and the contacts switch over to the 12v battery output.
When the mains returns the coil re-energises and switches the relay back to the 12v transformer output.

Simpler backup. Use 12 volt pumps run from a battery hooked to a battery charger. When the power fails it just keeps running, no relays even..

Are there issues with running from a battery hooked to a charger? Or is it just an issue of slight loss of efficiency or battery life? Or is it more to do with the particular battery charger in question?

Tc, you can get 3 stage(or more) chagers that are designed to be permanently connected to a battery.

The stages are
Boost - give the battery full throttle, if and when the battery has been used for a period of time and needs to get an quick charge

Top up - boost brings the battery to ~80%, top up then keeps slowly charging for the next 20%

Float - charger tests battery level at predetermined intervals and keeps it at full charge.

I then got a deep cycle battery and ran a 12volt pump as my backup with a relay (DPDT as stated by Hex) - the system will run for ~24 hours (in a power outage) before battery is flat

Thanks all, it's taken me a while to update this thread.

I now have the relay (thanks to KP, I'd have no idea if I'd had to get it myself ) just need to get the battery and charger and put it all together.

Still waiting for word on the IBC's so not much happening till they get here.

DH's temporary interest in AP has dissipated, he's back to complaining about costs.