Run heater off UPS?

[sen5241b]

Can I run an aquarium heater off a computer UPS?

 

My water pumps will not run off a UPS (they make an awful rattling noise) because the power is not sine-wave but my air pumps will and they provide some decent flow in the tank.

Edited December 7, 2010 by sen5241b

[extreme_tooth_decay]

Can I run an aquarium heater off a computer UPS?

 

My water pumps will not run off a UPS (they make an awful rattling noise) because the power is not sine-wave but my air pumps will and they provide some decent flow in the tank.

 

 

Couple comments:

 

1) I've never had any problem running heaters, power heads, mag drive pumps (size 18), or external sequence pumps off UPS.

2) Some UPS are supposedly "true/pure sine wave". I was not using one of those, just a cheapo best buy UPS.

3) Make sure you have enough UPS capacity to run all you are trying to run.

[sen5241b]

Couple comments:

 

1) I've never had any problem running heaters, power heads, mag drive pumps (size 18), or external sequence pumps off UPS.

2) Some UPS are supposedly "true/pure sine wave". I was not using one of those, just a cheapo best buy UPS.

3) Make sure you have enough UPS capacity to run all you are trying to run.

 

 

I tried running my Rio 6hf water pump off a UPS and it made a loud rattling noise and pumped little or no water. A electrical engineer said the water pumps and many other mechanical devices need sine wave power. That same water pump is running fine at this time off my wall outlet.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

I tried running my Rio 6hf water pump off a UPS and it made a loud rattling noise and pumped little or no water. A electrical engineer said the water pumps and many other mechanical devices need sine wave power. That same water pump is running fine at this time off my wall outlet.

 

 

That is odd...dunno what to tell you...I never had a problem, and I tried quite a few devices with a cheap geek squad ups....including a powerful sequence return pump with 15' of head pumping 1000 GPH.

[Coral Hind]

Can I run an aquarium heater off a computer UPS?

 

My water pumps will not run off a UPS (they make an awful rattling noise) because the power is not sine-wave but my air pumps will and they provide some decent flow in the tank.

 

Unless it is a small heater or a large UPS unit it will drain the batteries fast. What UPS unit do you have? What wattage is the heater. If it is an APC unit go to their website and see how long your total watts will last. An UPS is better used for smaller loads like air pumps to provide O2 and water movement. If it is going to me a long outage a generator will need to be used as back-up.

 

That is odd...dunno what to tell you...I never had a problem, and I tried quite a few devices with a cheap geek squad ups....including a powerful sequence return pump with 15' of head pumping 1000 GPH.

 

How long did you run that large pump on an UPS? How big is your UPS unit?

[Coral Hind]

I tried running my Rio 6hf water pump off a UPS and it made a loud rattling noise and pumped little or no water. A electrical engineer said the water pumps and many other mechanical devices need sine wave power. That same water pump is running fine at this time off my wall outlet.

The reason the pumps chatter is because there is not a smooth transition of the magnetic fields inside the motor.

 

Not all UPS units are equal. Many produce a stepped or square wave that will wear out most AC pumps in a hurry. Since AC pumps are meant to be run on a clean sine wave that is what you need to look for when buying a unit. Some makers will say "pure sine wave", APC normally just notes it as a "sine wave" and notes the stepped waves as "Stepped approximation to a sine wave". A stepped wave is better then a square wave.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

How long did you run that large pump on an UPS? How big is your UPS unit?

 

I don't have it any more, but I was using a 1500VA geek squad brand UPS.

 

At that head height, the wahoo pump was using 150-200W I think.

 

I think the UPS lasted about 30 minutes when the power went out. Might have been a bit longer. I used to have frequent short (<5 min) outages, so this worked well. I usually only had my return pump on the UPS, but did test it with other components with the UPS unplugged to see if it would work.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

How long did you run that large pump on an UPS? How big is your UPS unit?

 

I had my return on the UPS 24/7 for maybe 2 years. But of course most of the time there was AC power, so I assume it just passed through the UPS.

Edited December 7, 2010 by extreme_tooth_decay

[Coral Hind]

I went to the Tim Allen school for UPS units. "More Power!" I have a 500kVA system that uses 48 x 400Ah batteries, the La Marche A36D charger, and a La Marche A31 inverter.

 

 

[extreme_tooth_decay]

I went to the Tim Allen school for UPS units. "More Power!" I have a 500kVA system that uses 48 x 400Ah batteries, the La Marche A36D charger, and a La Marche A31 inverter.

 

Wowzers, you aren't messing around.

 

Do you have to replace the 48 batteries every couple years? I've noticed that the UPSs I've used only last about that long. Maybe a bit longer.

 

How long does your setup keep your tank powered?

[sen5241b]

It seems like even expensive UPSs just don't last very long. I'd be happy to run an air pump and my 150 watt heaters for couple hours. If you only get 30 minutes from a UPS, I'm not sure its worth it.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

It seems like even expensive UPSs just don't last very long. I'd be happy to run an air pump and my 150 watt heaters for couple hours. If you only get 30 minutes from a UPS, I'm not sure its worth it.

 

I guess if I was just targeting a couple hours, I wouldn't put the heater on the UPS, because the tank won't suffer at all from not having a heater for a couple hours.

 

If it was just an air pump, I would think a "normal" UPS would run a "normal" air pump for several hours.

[Coral Hind]

I guess if I was just targeting a couple hours, I wouldn't put the heater on the UPS, because the tank won't suffer at all from not having a heater for a couple hours.

 

If it was just an air pump, I would think a "normal" UPS would run a "normal" air pump for several hours.

I agree with that. Stick with air pumps for circulation and it will take some time for the tank to cool down. If you need it to last longer then an hour and half it might be more cost effective to get a generator then a bigger UPS unit.