What is the maximum storage time before needing to switch over to a generator to maintain power/charge the system?
1694643
Depends on your use, what is plugged in etc. We only have lighting circuit (wattage varies) and computers (they draw a constant 50 watts) Works for our needs. Also depends on Batteries - we have six 12 Volt batteries. More batteries more storage
1694644
that would depend on the number of batteries storing the power and how much power you use. For my 37 foot camper, I use 8 batteries and it lasts till bed time unless I use power tools. Runs lights, fridge and tv without issue.
1735065
Yes it does but you must understand KWH. The cumulative usage is dead when you un-plugthe POWER SOURCE, the USE SOURCE can bechanged but that does not effect the cumulativeusage through the device ie, if no power-failuresoccur then it could run until 9999 KWHs is reachedand that would turn over to 0000 KWH, and thecycle goes on. At MAX current that would be17,998 hours before roll-over, or about2.05 years in normal time.
1808234
1875 watts is the maximum load you can put on the transfer switch. The switch doesn't care about the generator size only the load that it will be controlling...hope that helps.
1087999
if you are talking the central AC - not a good idea for a 5500 running watts gennie. If it doesn't trip the breaker on the generator in the first place (which is what happens when you exceed the wattage), it's going to suck the gas tank dry in no time. A smallish window unit you may be able to use in a backup capacity. (If the generator is working through a transfer switch, may be it's prudent to make sure the portable AC is not plugged into the same circuit as the other essential appliances, again, not to overload a single circuit)
616539
Not to be too vague, but without knowing the "load" that is on the system, there is no way to predict the amount of time that the battery will supply power. The battery will run a nightlight much longer than it will run an entire entertainment system, for example. I should think that the APC website may be of some help with this.
1276514
I realize this is an old question, but maybe somebody else will still wonder (that doesn't already know, or maybe even have better information than I do). In any case..., I run my FM-65G mostly on solar (I use it mostly in/around or in transit to/from my trailer which has 1,200 watts (rated) worth of solar panels mounted on it - and which is the only electrical power my trailer has - I don't even own a (gas powered) generator and I regularly spend weeks camping `off grid'). Whynter will tell you one thing on their site, but I haven't found it to be especially accurate with its DC current requirements. According to my DC meter, when the compressor is on it generally takes about 6-7 amps (at 12 volts - I haven't tried running it on 24 volts, but supposedly it will, I'm a little leery to try it, even though the off grid solar on my house runs on a 24v battery bank so I easily could). Of course that is when the compressor is running, which it doesn't always, depending on the ambient temperature and the temperature the cooler/freezer is set to. In my experience so far, generally with daytime highs about 70-80 and nighttime lows in the 50's or so, and the temperature on the unit set at 37 degrees, it has averaged just over 0.5 amps per hour at night and just under 1.5 amps per hour during the day, for a typical total daytime average usage of about 24 amps (honestly, despite the inaccuracy in the information from Whynter, I'm impressed). If it's sunny enough, yes, an 80 watt panel probably will run it, barely, but there again is another variable - how much sun is there? Under the conditions I have run it, and based on my experience, 2 fully charged -6 volt golf cart batteries have a theoretical capacity of about 200+ amps which would theoretically run the cooler for over a week (probably overkill, at least for just running the cooler in the conditions that I have tried it so far). My AC meter reports similar, but probably slightly worse, performance (not including the (potential) inverter loss).
1325076
Well if you want it to take an INSANELY long time, at about .... what's the spec for USB? 2.5 watts? yeah that would take way way way too long, probably 7 or more days, 24 hours plugged in. You can go get a 28 watt solar panel ( I learned very recently that if you multiply volts and amps, you get watts, so that's cool) I think this thing takes about 30 watts to charge at it's rated speed, so 2 or 3 watts below that won't hurt anything unless it's like a really critical situation and this is desperately needed to be charged in that situation, in which case it should have already been charged prior to this situation! Well if you want it to take an INSANELY long time, at about .... what's the spec for USB? 2.5 watts? yeah that would take way way way too long, probably 7 or more days, 24 hours plugged in. You can go get a 28 watt solar panel ( I learned very recently that if you multiply volts and amps, you get watts, so that's cool) I think this thing takes about 30 watts to charge at it's rated speed, so 2 or 3 watts below that won't hurt anything unless it's like a really critical situation and this is desperately needed to be charged in that situation, in which case it should have already been charged... » Read More Well if you want it to take an INSANELY long time, at about .... what's the spec for USB? 2.5 watts? yeah that would take way way way too long, probably 7 or more days, 24 hours plugged in. You can go get a 28 watt solar panel ( I learned very recently that if you multiply volts and amps, you get watts, so that's cool) I think this thing takes about 30 watts to charge at it's rated speed, so 2 or 3 watts below that won't hurt anything unless it's like a really critical situation and this is desperately needed to be charged in that situation, in which case it should have already been charged prior to this situation! « Show Less
1692297
There isn't a time limit. It holds about a week's worth of food for me. You might want to set up a battery backup, though, because it will lose the programming if it loses power.
234037
That is a much more difficult question to answer and depends on how much power is being pulled from the generator. The generator is rated for a capacity 50Ah (600Wh); if one did the math dividing those numbers by the 8 hr solar charge time, then charging would supply 6.25Ah (75Wh) per hour. So, is the use during those 8 hours more than 6.25 Amps or 75 Watts per hour? Chances are there are times when use would exceed incoming charge and times when it would not.
409909
I run 2 Servers in my home office (I am an IT Consultant), plus the rest of my home on this unit. About 5 months ago we lost power for 48 hours and we ran the generator using Natural Gas. I had a couple of hiccups with some of my UPS's due to voltage fluctuation. I think it has to do with the sensitivity of the units. My older UPS units did not have an issue. I have found out from others in my field that this is common with newer units. I have APC older units and they did beep every once in awhile, but the equipment stayed on all 48 hours. The newer units did not and once the battery was used up, the equipment turned off. I don't want to give out model #'s because just because mine worked, I can't guarantee it will work for you. Once it gets warmer around here I am going to try and put surge suppressors in front of the newer units to see if that helps. If not I would try to put cheap UPS's in front of the High Capacity units. Hope that helps. BTW, I have my generator connected using a manual transfer switch and when I lost power, I was able to be on generator power in under 3 minutes.... Power went out... I went outside, removed the cover, turned on the Natural Gas, turned the key... That was it. I use a battery tender always connected to the unit so the battery is always fully charged. Total install including the generator was under $2600.
53380
depends on usage. I have found it takes about an hour of hard use before I need to place on charger to regain maximum power
877325
Bob,Unfortunately I do not have any usage/experience that would help you out. I use this unit as a back-up for a total off-the-grid solar system.The unit functions(ed) well when we tested it through my system and seems to be quality construction but I do not have any long term or constant use to make a solid review.Ron
1342189
You will not have a problem with storage..battery will run out before space is used up.
1357641
A generator is not designed to permanently replace utility power. Although you can run it for extended periods of time, it should not be "always on" as a replacement for power from the grid.
1157682
If you plan to use this with an inverter attached to the solar charge controller, the amount of current being drawn from the battery is dependent on the solar charger and the inverter. the solar charge cotroller i use does not allow for more than 20 to 25 amps (300 ac watts). If you run the inverter directly off of the battery, you can use larger wattage inverters. The simplest way to use these panels is to hook them to the solar charge controller and hook the batteries up to the charge controller. Then hook the inverter of your choice up to the batteries. I use a 2000w samlex sine wave inverter. This covers refrigeration and recharging sensitive products. If you plan on running these to your electrical panel, you need an electrician to figure that out. I used these panels for my solar generator project. They worked great. The 2 panels combined give you about 10 DC amps of continuous power (about 120 watts of continous power). Without getting technical, It would take about 8-10 hours to charge a 100 amp hr deep cycle battery. How long that battery lasts depends on how much power you draw. Definitely can't run central Air conditioner with 120V. You can run a fan, lights, refrigeration. Your limitation will be the alternate current 120V inverter and the max continous wattage.
958858
It draws a max of 40W of 110V, so an ups will keep it going for a few hours if sized correctly. Otherwise, when the power fails the unit will not operate at all.
2172215
Nothing. You should be able to hook that stuff up directly to the power outlets of the generator.