Incubator Backup Power.."The Eliminator"..update, and sale price

Stockwell · 06-07-04, 01:47 AM

I thought I would bring your attention once again to the Motomaster(canadian tire) Eliminator inverter and powerpack.
This is a continuation of the first post by Ryan of Scales Zoo.
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showt...threadid=43625
I recently investigated these units found out there is a special offer right now and the units can be had for 129.95, which is a heck of a good deal.
Here's a link to the product page..
http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortmen...=1086588427934

These units contain both a 20amphour battery, and a 400watt inverter. They come with a battery charger, and with booster cables. Along with providing 120VAC output, these units can also be used for boosting batteries or powering 12 VDC equipment. They can also be charged from your car cigarette lighter. It also features an LED readout to display the battery charge status and the wattage being drawn, when in the inverter mode.
If that isn't enough they also have automatic shut down to save the battery, and alarm first to tell you the battery is almost discharged, and it has a built in flashlight on the end.
The battery in these units is a newer technology
non spill AGM (absorbed Glass Matt) battery which has a longer life than normal Lead acid batteries, is shock resistant, and has very low loss making it suitable for stand by use, without deep cycling. It requires charging only every 3 months.
Bottom line...these are a good value for keeping your incubators running during power failures.

They of course will power TV's laptops, and pretty much any other load under 400watts. They are a handy thing to have around the house even if you dont have incubators.

In the other thread we discussed if it was possible to make these automatically switch from line to inverter power, in the event of a power failure. Well it isn't unless you have electrical training. You'll need to turn them on when the power fails, so hopefully most of you will be home when it happens.

Ryan, icefire and some of the other herpers with electrical backgrounds,below is a photo of the setup I just completed tonight. My unit is now fully automatic and will switch from line to inverter power by itself when power fails. I put it on a shelf on the wall outside my incubator room and it feeds the receptacle that powers all my incubators.
The wires coming out the front are paralleling the on switch. In addition to the DPDT relay logic discussed in the other thread, I use a separate relay to provide the remote on function which is necessary to make it start on its own.(we forgot that little snag) I can't really say I recommend opening these... There was a ton of screws, the battery must be removed, and it voids all warranties, and kinda falls apart. For very patient qualified electrial workers only

!!!

Slannesh · 06-07-04, 04:46 AM

Very good idea! And a very cheap way to insure some very pricey eggs i'm sure

Scales Zoo · 06-07-04, 11:32 AM

Yeah, I guess you wouldn't want to just leave it on until a power failure.

Speaking of which, I have to charge mine up.

Ryan

Lisa · 06-13-04, 10:19 AM

We have the model down from that. doesn't have the inverter or flashlight, but we have an inverter kicking around anyways... It's been a great thing to have

Reptile Kings · 07-04-04, 10:07 AM

We have the model up from that. Has a built in 60ah battery. Runs 4x longer than the 20Ah one, just incase we have another blackout like we did last August

sheeshh...

-Sam

Stockwell · 07-04-04, 10:38 AM

Yup, that is not a bad choice at all and you're not the only member that has recently bought one of those.
The other option is simply adding an extra battery to the smaller unit.
The AGM batteries are expensive to buy extra however and having the extra inverter power in the larger unit that you have, would also allow you to run a freezer to keep your frozen feed from thawing.
The smaller 400watt units like I have, will not run a freezer.( I tried, but trips out on overload)

I just wish Canadian tire would make a unit with automatic switchover because it doesn't really take many components. Not everyone is an electrician, and being able to plug them in and forget them would be a fantastic option, as even with those bigger inverters with lots of battey reserve, You still need to turn them on manually, and if you're away when the power fails, you're still in big trouble.

Reptile Kings · 07-06-04, 02:14 PM

Quote:

[i]I just wish Canadian tire would make a unit with automatic switchover because it doesn't really take many components. Not everyone is an electrician, and being able to plug them in and forget them would be a fantastic option, as even with those bigger inverters with lots of battey reserve, You still need to turn them on manually, and if you're away when the power fails, you're still in big trouble. [/B]

I absolutely agree. I don't even know where to begin to make the unit automatically switch over. Thankfully though, one of my cousins has a lot of knowledge regarding this, relays etc. and will be coming by one day to do this for me. Otherwise I'd have to rush over from work everytime there was a power outage.

-Sam