You will need to get a battery backup that has a pure sine wave output, most battery backups and electric backup generators produce dirty power that sensitive electronics (like proportional thermostats and high end computers) can't handle.
Pure sine wave battery backups cost a fortune (i know because my computer required one :( ). You would be better off just getting a good surge protector and some 40 hour heat packs.
x2 ^this!
03-27-2012, 10:00 PM
The Serpent Merchant
Re: Battery backup
Quote:
Originally Posted by whispersinmyhead
I don't believe that is a pure sine wave. I was lookin at couple batteries to power a couple studio flashes and the cheap one started at $300 US. That is just battery power with a pure sine wave inveter. It will be more if it a battery backup I imagine.
I think the surge protection will be the best option. Your incubator should hold heat pretty well if you are without power for an hour or two. I hope that is the case. Better then having a dead thermostat. Correct me if I am wrong.
You are correct, a surge protector will save your thermostat and in most power outage situations the power is restored quickly enough that the cage doesn't cool off enough to matter. (This may differ in other parts of the world but down here in florida during the summer storms knock out our power all the time but the power companies are very well prepared for it) In Power outages that last longer something like the 40 hour heat pack that are used when shipping snakes are a good way to provide heat.
03-28-2012, 12:02 AM
kitedemon
APC even the pure seine wave units will not work they are designed to allow for short time use age of a computer not a heater. I have investigated a battery backup they are as suggested not cheap. I was looking at 4 deep cycle marine batteries and a transfer switched pure seine wave inverter. The system would run about 1200-1800$ and give maybe 20 hours.
A other idea is a secondary system (duplicated heat and a new tstat (on off) on a battery system. A regular inverter, and a set point of 80ºF it should provide heat longer and keep animals in a decent temp for a few days maybe. It also is not a cheap system either, a full duplicate heating system and a battery bank.
03-28-2012, 08:01 AM
Jabberwocky Dragons
Interesting, thanks for the information. I had no idea and will pass on the battery backup. I'm sure my incubator would be fine for a couple hours but I'm always looking for improvements.
We lost power for almost a week last summer/fall during one of the major hurricanes but fortunately the ambient temps were hot enough that supplemental heating wasn't necessary (not fun for the people/dogs though!). A battery backup would obviously be worthless in this situation but it got me looking more at my backup options for different scenarios.
03-28-2012, 10:46 AM
Adam Chandler
Re: Battery backup
Quote:
Originally Posted by whispersinmyhead
I will just get a good surge protector and leave it at that.
If you are looking to buy a good surge protector for you thermostat then you are going to want to make sure it has at least an 1000 joule rating in order to get adequate protection from power surges.
Also you should go with a company that stands behind their surge protectors such as Belkin, APC or Tripp Lite.
