From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
    wrote in message   
   news:ctou9el1ukkqbdhitif2i3u7o4pkq5j1l3@4ax.com...   
   > On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 09:11:06 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"   
   >  wrote:   
   >   
   >>"Jim Wilkins"  wrote in message   
   >>news:q7aur1$n7r$1@dont-email.me...   
   >>>  wrote in message   
   >>> news:q9pg9ehihsbjl9ut7e8jahp51v3pg7130s@4ax.com...   
   >>>> On Sun, 24 Mar 2019 23:34:35 -0400, RS Wood   
   >>>>    
   >>>> wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>>As a society depends more on energy sources for its daily   
   >>>>>functioning, it   
   >>>>>becomes more vulnerable if the supply of energy is interrupted.   
   >>>>>This obvious   
   >>>>>fact is ignored in current strategies to achieve energy security,   
   >>>>>making them   
   >>>>>counter-productive.   
   >>>>   
   >>   
   >>Here in New England USA we suffer power outages from summer   
   >>hurricanes   
   >>and winter ice storms, typically lasting up to a week or so. What   
   >>have   
   >>the rest of you experienced?   
   >>   
   >   
   > We're supplied by a co-op here in north-central Georgia, USA. Short   
   > outages are frequent and no planned maintenance announcements have   
   > been made in the 14 years we've been here.  However, the longest   
   > we've   
   > been without power was 16 hours (70mph straight-line winds taking   
   > the   
   > tops out of trees in a July thunderstorm) with the next longest   
   > being   
   > 12 hours (7" to 12" of snow in December in a county that rarely sees   
   > more than 3"). We've had some slightly shorter winter outages from   
   > freezing rain.   They do keep the lines in good condition, having   
   > been   
   > in a replacement program for aerial distribution cable (40+ year old   
   > lines) for the past two years.   
   >   
   > The power the co-op delivers isn't as clean as that delivered by the   
   > 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter on my solar-charged "Wait until   
   > daylight" backup power system that can provide 10 to 24 hours of   
   > limited power (fridge, furnace, some LED lights, internet) depending   
   > on the season. The  AC waveform was checked with a battery powered   
   > scope in an all-plastic case so it's totally isolated.  The co-op   
   > power has a slight jog on the trailing edges of the peaks (positive   
   > and negative).   
   >   
   > With the co-op's history of fast power restoral, having a little   
   > power   
   > available overnight is usually adequate.  I also have an inverter   
   > generator and 20 gallons of treated fuel available.  If there's sun,   
   > we'd have limited solar power for multiple days.  Without sun, the   
   > inverter gen can run for about six hours on a gallon of gas and that   
   > would cover cooling down the freezer along with running the fridge   
   > and   
   > furnace and charging the battery bank enough for another night.   
      
   I've been experimenting with a DC-powered refrigerator/freezer as an   
   extended outage substitute for the inverter and compact refrigerator,   
   since the always-on sine inverter consumes nearly twice the battery   
   energy of my fridge. Being a UPS it's perfect for nights when the   
   power may go out, but it won't last 24 hours.   
      
   The result so far is that the DC compressor-type cooler runs about 3   
   times longer on a battery charge but is inconvenient to live with   
   since it's small and doesn't have a separate freezer compartment,   
   28~30F isn't a good long-term setting as both frozen food and liquids   
   slowly become slush. However it works pretty well in the car on trips,   
   running from a jump starter pack when the engine is off.   
      
   The datasheet shows that my East Penn batteries should last 50 deep   
   discharges so I don't think the occasional run time test and immediate   
   recharge hurts them excessively.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)