Does anyone have a battery backup for power outages?

I looked a couple of years ago and no one even claimed to replace the BE750G. But after reading your comment I looked again and see some (some of which obviously won't work as they are for the "tower" type). But, I ain't shutting down the stove while it is -7* out to see what the actual dimensions and model are .

I need a UPS for both computer stations which presently just have surge protectors. Then I cam swap the old UPS' over to my office, after getting new batteries, and put the new UPS' on the stoves.

 

Like Joe Walsh crooned, 'The smoker you are, the player you think'

 

I believe* the UPS Harman recommends will put the stove in to shut down mode and power the unit while it completes that cycle. If you get a pure sinewave UPS it will not recognize that power was lost and keep going until the battery on the UPS runs out. I guess it would depend on what you want out of the UPS to determine which way to go.

 

Interesting! My intent with the one I ordered is to to help the shut down/cool down process, until I can get my generator going.

 

You are mostly correct. According to the link I posted, there are 3 recommended systems. All modified sine wave. The one that Cash Larue bought simply causes the stove to go into shutdown mode due to limited battery capacity. The other 2 are meant to be powered by a deep cycle battery. So you have the option on the Harman to select continued operation with the modified sine wave and not go into shutdown. I guess the theory with that option is that if you lose power, it should give you enough time to continue operation while you figure out if you want to shut down, wait a period of time for power restoration or hook up an alternate power source. Seems like a good option to have. But if your battery doesn’t have enough capacity for the time it would take to make that decision, you could end up in the same situation as you would without a UPS. I don’t know how much power the stove draws per hour and how many hours it would last on one deep cycle charge. That would be an interesting experiment.

 

That will do it. And if you are away from home during power loss, you won’t have to worry about the stove shutting down on its own.

 

I think I read somewhere that a stove could run up to 8 hours on the deep cycle battery (of course that might be the most optomistic estimate). I'm assuming that is only if the stove doesn't cycle on and off with the ignitor being worked. One of those systems would work well for those who WFH so they could get max heating time and then put the stove into shut down before the battery is fully run down. I suppose if you put enough batteries in parallel, you could get even more time out of them. If you run off those batteries, you have to mess with the dip switches on the control board. Don't know how much of a hassle that would be.

I suppose it would be smart of me to put one of those types on the P61a and I could really crank up the temp in the basement in the time I had, but I rarely lose power, and then not for very long (KOW) - and I'm not that smart so will keep with the UPS that shuts down the stoves gracefully.

 

In my humble opinion, having a system with an external battery could allow one to use a pellet stove as a primary heat source without having to constantly run a generator for an extended power outage. The two questions to answer are 1. How long can one run the stove on a full charge?, and 2. How long does it take to recharge the battery? Say you budget for 6 hours of generator use per day. So you can run your pellet stove for those 6 hours, perhaps spaced out into two 3 hour blocks. So for the other 18 hours (two separate 9 hour blocks) you’re either running on battery power or your house is dropping in temperature. Figuring out what an acceptable temperature drop is, would help you to determine how many batteries are appropriate for the system. The charge time for the battery would help determine how much fuel to store and how long the generator needs to run. It would effectively be a science project figuring it out. But once tested and proven, an effective plan for an extended outage as we see every 15-20 years with severe ice storms.
Running the temp up in preparation for an outage could have a negative impact on your frozen and refrigerated storage for sure.

 

I went with the setup I have because at the time I was still working and wanted something to keep the stove running for Lori in case it took hours for me to get home. This setup was suggested by a Harman owner on another forum, his had 1 battery and his test gave him 6+ hrs of run time. I went with 2 batteries as that would give 12+ hrs.
Now that I'm retired as well it's probably overkill but I like that if the power went out in a blizzard overnight the stove would easily last the night till daylight when I could go out and get the generator going.

IIRC it's dipswitch #4 on most Harmans to set it from shutdown to keep running. You shouldn't have to change it if you have pure sinewave backup power. I tested mine by unplugging the power to the charger/inverter and the P43 kept running normally.

We used to have a lot of power outages here from '05-12. Ice storms, heavy snow, high winds used to take down a lot of limbs onto power lines. Put the genny and transfer switch in fall of 2012. Naturally in the 11+ yrs since we've lost power for maybe 2 hrs total. Unitil (and most other power companies in NH) went on a extensive tree cut back program which has seemed to really reduced the severity of outages.

sam

 

My setup isn't cheap ($538 inverter/charger, $380 for the 2 batteries) but gives us great piece of mind.





sam

 

For the 1,500w Cyberpower PFC Sinewave UPS here:
--
1) 90 minutes from 100% -> down to 10%. * 30w draw on room / combustion fan: kicks up to 135-150w during the auger feed cycle.

2) 8 hours from 10% to 90%: or approx. 10-12 hrs. from almost depleted, to fully charged.
--
The Cyberpower (and most other) modern UPS units have an extended recharge time, to prevent overheat of circuitry in the unit, and battery.

Deep cycle: dunno: but would "guesstimate" similar recharge time or longer, depending on charger output ( 6amp, 10amp, etc.) and battery ( 80amp typical. )

 

Not having any type of refrigeration equipment in my basement, that isn't an issue. Sorry, I didn't explain, my main purpose would be to get the garage warmer (it usually sits in the 30's) and the FHW pipes warm enough to resist freezing for a while. Eh, I'm in town, it is extremely unlikely that I would go thru an extended power outage.

 

What I paid for




What was actually delivered last night - yeah, I immediately got on the computer and filed a return. Between the UPS guy placing a 30 pound box against by storm door so I couldn't get at it without going around the house (I have standing orders at My UPS to place deliveries in front of garage door), and the two below, I was pretty disappointed.


The delivery combined 3 orders for a total of 4 items (2 UPS, a box of a dozen saline and a bottle of vitamins). Imagine my surprise when a 4th item was in the box - these suckers weigh more than one of the UPS's



So, it looks like I wasn't the only one destined to be disappointed in my order.

 

Had another delivery snafu from Amazon on Sat. Looked out and saw a box sitting in the driveway. Then get an Amazon alert saying my package was delivered, with a pic showing it in front of a 2 car garage next to a plow blade. We have neither, I assume it was delivered to one of our neighbors who dropped it off.

sam

 

Uh, sorry buddy. But I couldn’t help but chuckle at your post. I got my UPS. It’s the 750 that I ordered. It’s big. I’m really anxious to get my new Harman stove set up. We’ve had a wicked cold snap lately. It was 22 below zero when I left for work the other day.

 

I would say that one is nice IF your location has a tendency to lose power often.
I wonder never say "everyone" needs one.
I have lost power once for a total of about 6 hours, in over 50 years..
Have had flickers, but nothing serious.
I have a very small generator, for the just in case scenario..
It really depends on where you are on the grid..
I would never consider spending thousands, "just in case"..
Here at least...

Dan

 

I agree. I lose power for a handful of hours every year. Usually when a tree blows over on a line. During those times, I roll the “geny” out of the garage and plug it into the interlock on the back of the house. Problem solved. I don’t have the money to buy an expensive standby backup system. Plus, I always have the wood stove to keep the place warm too.