Talk:DIY Emergency Power Backup

Comments welcome... :) --Quatermass 03:58, 9 May 2011 (CDT)
 * Excellent, thanks for posting this! We should "see also" between the two articles I suspect.  Oh, and "Charging SLA batteries give off hydrogen which can be toxic and highly inflammable in a closed area!" the whole point of using SLA is not to have gas discharge into the house.  They are sealed, and don't/can't give off gas. I love the "project box" you chose for the auto-switcher! Don't they sell electronic project boxes in the UK? Huw Powell 20:46, 9 May 2011 (CDT)

Good idea about the 'see also'.

All batteries give off gas when in use. The SLA do as well. They have gas permeable seals which allows gases in/out but no liquids of course. The main point of a SLA is you can position it any way up you wish.

Sure we have project boxes here. :-) But after looking at the prices, I decided a food box was much cheaper!

My next project is a water alarm detector. Maplin sold one last year (they've stopped) and I bought one out of curiosity. But it uses a tiny A23 (12V) battery for goodness sake which needs constant replacement every 2 months even though it's not been activated. So a pp3 9V battery, 2 wires close together outside a small box and a musical piezo buzzer inside should be enough and will not drain the battery until used. Should last 2 years with a decent alkaline (8-10 if I use a lithium). --Quatermass 15:34, 10 May 2011 (CDT)


 * Water level? Anyway, um, you have all the 12v you need in your backup battery, don't you?  Just run the thing off your 12v bus!  I did not know the SLAs had gas permeable seals.  Interesting. Huw Powell 21:35, 11 May 2011 (CDT)


 * Spilled water inside my cabinet. Yes I could do that with the battery. But the engineer in me is shouting, "make something more efficient". ;) --Quatermass 03:04, 12 May 2011 (CDT)
 * Water on the floor is the embarrassing clumsiness of our hobby... I get mad at myself, then I say to myself "it's only a few stinky cc.s from those hoses I should have drained!" Luckily, or sadly, there is no SWMBO to opine differently. Huw Powell 21:29, 13 May 2011 (CDT)