I'm not 100% sure if this is the best place to post but here it goes.

What should I look at when gettin a generator? I need one that will power a fish tank and maybe a small heater.

Reason is every year we get a power cut in the winter, last year we nearly lost all our fish, this year the winter is meant to be worse.

Any recommendations or advice?

Thanks

Mike

look at all the items you want to power and add up the power consumption in watts and amps, add about a 10% margin on top and then use that as a guide to the specification of generator you want to purchase. also look at the size of the fuel tank, its not fun having to fill it up every half hour in the cold!,

PXH Black magic

I'd say allow a 25% margin, and if you can get a 4 stroke.

cheers guys, any make to avoid or go for?

Decide the essentials you want to run - need to run - and get a generator with sufficient output. We used to live in a country district of Shetland and power cuts were common. I bought a 1.5kVa Honda 4-stroke. With the help of a friend who worked for the Hydro Electric Board I rigged up a big changeover switch with an exterior socket. When the power went off I dragged the genny out of the peat shed, plugged it in and flashed it up. It would happily run the central heating boiler and pump (oil fired), the telly and the video. We had a gas cooker so were sorted!

I'm considering a genny too for the same purpose as they say here in NI there will be phased power cuts over the winter.

My 3ft fish tank maximum load is about 220 watts (when the heater is running) but i'd preferably also want to have enough power to run my combi boiler, a portable tv, Sky box and a few energy saving lamps. C'mon I need my Sky. What else am I going to do. Rememeber if you use your genny to get the boiler going, the ambient temp in your house will be much higher. If you can maintain 21 or 22 degress in the room you have your fish tank, the tank water will also be at this temp so your fish may be ok without using the electric heater although filtration is importatant if you are likely to go days without power.

I've got a gas hob and fire too so these should help.

Things to consider:

How much racket it makes when it is going

Regulation and loading - no 400V if the genny is revving like mad! Do you want just resistive (bulbs) or reactive loads (pumps, motors) or both?

Type of output - square wave likely to cause problems with switch mode PSUs in Sky boxes, computers etc. Sine wave is much better.

Browse here for info: http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/gencho.asp

Honda are very good.

Maff - indeed Honda are good I used to work for a dealership, if I still got discount I'd buy one for sure. I was hoping to get a slighty cheaper one

Johnny, I know the heating will help keep the tank warmer but like you said filtration and air might be an issue

Hi

I can't help on generators, but perhaps consider getting some of that thick bubble wrap that they sell in garden centres to insulate greenhouses? This because, you can cut a couple of strips to size and Sellotape them into a jacket that you can pop over (around) the tank to conserve the existing heat for a while.

Also, is your tank standing on 3/4" polystyrene to begin with, since that helps prevent heat loss through the base?

Best

Mo

Avoid Briggs & Stratton - go for something like Honda as already mentioned.

The Kva thingy is the rating - We hire 3.3kva gennies for our work use, which can happily power several power tools and heaters, etc.

For a fishtank I recommend not getting anything that beefy, unless you want to watch TV and power the electric oven on it as well.

For a fishtank I recommend not getting anything that beefy, unless you want to watch TV and power the electric oven on it as well.

(extracted)

That thought brings a tear to my eye - after buying a new (apparently faulty) thermostat which didn't cut out as it should after reaching temperature... :nopity: :mecry:

Mo

I have a mate with a huge 5 ft marine tank, who had the same problem.

He came up with a 2 level solution. Level 1 is a big second hand computer UPS, which will power everything but the heaters for an hour or two. The water cools down fairly slowly, so he's OK for that period.

Level 2 consists of a 1Kw inverter and a trolley full of leisure batteries. This will run the whole lot for 5 hours.

More hassle, but less messy than a genny!

Phil