Battery back up for power outages

[dkatz4]

Apparently we had a short power outage this morning, I don't know how long it lasted but the power had been back on for about an hour and a half (the blinking clocks read 1:24). I went to check on Irwin just in case, I saw that he was out and about in his tank, which of course was good – but I also noticed that none of his heating apparatuses were running, I can't believe I haven't noticed it but the outlet that his power strip is plugged into must be some sort of GFI because I had to manually reset it. The temps in his tank only gone down to the mid 70s, thankfully, and like I said he wasn't acting any worse for the wear but it got me thinking. Obviously I am going to have to find a different outlet to plug into but I want to be more prepared as well. I always assumed for a long-term power outage disposable chemical heating packs would do the trick but I hadn't really thought about the power going out in the middle of the night without my knowledge and so I'm wondering if anyone uses UPS battery back ups like you would usually use in an office for computer equipment.

[Ba11er]

I would think they would work for power outages especially if it's just for heat tape. Problem with them in my experience is they don't last too long. I had a few over the years and they only seemed to last about 3 years or so. I don't know if usp's have gotten better in the last few years but I would look for a better battery source.

[dkatz4]

I would think they would work for power outages especially if it's just for heat tape. Problem with them in my experience is they don't last too long. I had a few over the years and they only seemed to last about 3 years or so. I don't know if usp's have gotten better in the last few years but I would look for a better battery source.

Thats my issue as well. I used to work in a computer store and we would surreptitiously advise customers not to buy them unless they has known recurring power problems b/c the batteries went dead before they were actually used. But that was, literally, 10 years ago so they may have improved since then.