Coping with long power-cuts: ideas for battery back-up, recharging etc.

gterr

Hello,


We've just had power restored after a 58 hour power cut. Since we are in a remote area of the Highlands we are fairly used to this and have some resilience built in: Woodburning stove for heat and cooking, portable gas ring for boiling kettles etc., wind-up lanterns.


However, what we really miss during long power cuts is decent light to read by, and also the means to get online (especially nowadays when emergency updates tend to be given out via FB and Twitter.) Once the power's gone the broadband router's dead, and we have very poor mobile signal so smartphone isn't a viable alternative.


I've considered a generator but we've tried one and we can't manage the pull cord (recoil): just haven't the strength to pull it hard enough to start it. Electric start models are very expensive, and we're not too keen on messing with petrol/diesel, or venturing outdoors in a storm to tend to it.


We are now wondering about getting one of those car jump start/power pack things with a 12v DC output and maybe an inverter. My router runs of 12v DC, and I'm guessing if we used a DC supply rather than running it through the inverter it wouldn't exhaust the power too quickly.


Then for light we were wondering about getting a couple of rechargeable work lights (10W LED), but we've little understanding of how well suited these would be for reading.


I dare say we could achieve a good result using a leisure battery and maybe an inverter and a charger etc., but we are getting on, not strong physically, and would prefer something that could live in a cupboard and be brought into use as and when required, with little fuss and very little maintenance in between times.


I'd appreciate any comments or ideas. Many thanks.

I_have_spoken

Assuming a wide-spread power cut doesn't knock out the exchange too (at least the networking, not 999 calls) what about a computer UPS?



Your router could be plugged in all the time to get the benefit of surge protection ib the phone line; laptop charger and a light could be connected as needed.

A 700VA UPS should let a 10W router run for 15-20 hours in total. Once you add 60W lamp, 300W PC etc. you'll be talking minutes not hours.

WestonDave

In terms of light, if its just to read by or do basic tasks then I'd look at either these sort of LED camping lights - http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/103025-silverpoint-daylight-x400-lantern-grey.html - there are a lot of variants on this basic design - higher lumens, different brand names on the outside, but they give off a good level of readable light and because they run on LED's, they last for ages off a set of D cells. We have one for camping and it has done at least two weeks on the same set of batteries - obviously we only use it in the evenings and as we tend to camp in summer the nights are less. The other thing I have is a Petzl LED head torch (get one that takes AAA batteries not the button batteries) and again that has done a lot of work on one set of batteries. You can either use that for reading or for things like cooking etc because your hands are free.

For the routes I agree that a computer UPS might be ideal - you'd need to work out the power rating of your router which will give you a steer as to how long any particular size of UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) will last you but they are an off the shelf solution that would happily just sit between your normal socket and your router and kick in automatically when the power shuts off.

Mankysteve

Have a try of some on the LED mains connected reading lamps and see what you like. They usually have an external Transformer you can by pass.

If you don't like any then any light than uses a MR16 blub will be easily switched to running on 12v as the bulb is 12v.

The key is to avoid the use of inverters as they inefficient, ie use car chargers for touches, batteries mobile phone recharge.

There's loads of free calculators for calculating what size battery you need.
One example off a quick google.

http://www.batterysizingcalculator.com/ that calculator will work out the inverter loss unless you tick the box.

While sealed batteries can be kept inside I would advise against it.

Also a reasonable electric start gen might be a more cost effective option try and get a 4 stroke petrol if you do, then you can us the fuel in your car(presuming you have a petrol), you don't want fuel stood around doing nowt for long.

Furts

Something for gterr to ponder over...I bought a cheap, poor quality, torch at the wholesaler. It has only one LED, said to be a "Cree". I bought it out of curiosity to see if it was any good for use around the house. The reality is staggering. It gives out 120 lumen, produces a beam distance of 120metres and runs for ten hours off two normal alkaline batteries. So for emergencies a couple of these with some rechargeable batteries would be handy.

I suggest a Google search to see if these Cree LED, or anything similar, are available as reading lights. If not, then my torch could be put on a shelf, switched on, and it will light up a small room sufficient to read by.

Owain_Moneysaver

Bear in mind you probably have a fairly effective generator / battery charger already - your car.

Ordinary car batteries aren't suitable for deep discharging, though, but you can run the engine to recharge the battery whilst running the inverter, or some of the 'power packs' may be rechargeable from a car battery so you could charge it up from the car then take it inside for a day.

gterr

Many thanks, folks. Lots to think about!

jm2926

Kindle paperlight

Ups for the router, wind up charger for smartphone to use wifi tothe router

Hedgehog99

I have a good lantern that runs off D-cell batteries (rechargeables last well) & keep a radio charged (one has own powerpack, other runs on rechargeable Ds). Also have a LED light from Sainsbury's - it's blue rubber/neoprene outer with a long rectangular bank of dazzling LEDs - bought it for looking in narrow gaps down the side of the washing machine etc, but it has a hook and magnets on it as well, so could be hung/stuck up as a reading light.

onomatopoeia99

A big UPS would sort out the router and other low power mains devices for an extended period. There's a chap called ups-trader on ebay that does refurbished ones at very reasonable prices.

As noted above, your car is capable of charging up 12V cells, which if you get a UPS that's capable of having external batteries connected would provide a way to continue to supply 240V. Use "leisure batteries" for this rather than normal car batteries.

saveallmymoney

Table lamp with an LED bulb and your broadband router plugged into a computer UPS, should do just fine.