Battery back up for heated night box

Achicoine

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2019
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
Fresno
Our 2.5 year old 17 lb sulcata has been living outside, in Fresno California, since early spring. We built a heated and insulated night box following plans we found here and it has worked well so far. With winter approaching we would like to add battery back up power in case we need it. I know some of you have built these as I remember finding threads about them but now that I am looking for them I can't find them. Anyway, maybe technology has changed and a new thread could be useful. So, I would appreciate any advice, pictures, or thoughts on building a battery back up system for heating. Currently we are running a Kane mat and a 24 x 36" 300 watt pro-panel RHP.

Any suggestions on how to design and install a battery backup system would be very welcome.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Our 2.5 year old 17 lb sulcata has been living outside, in Fresno California, since early spring. We built a heated and insulated night box following plans we found here and it has worked well so far. With winter approaching we would like to add battery back up power in case we need it. I know some of you have built these as I remember finding threads about them but now that I am looking for them I can't find them. Anyway, maybe technology has changed and a new thread could be useful. So, I would appreciate any advice, pictures, or thoughts on building a battery back up system for heating. Currently we are running a Kane mat and a 24 x 36" 300 watt pro-panel RHP.

Any suggestions on how to design and install a battery backup system would be very welcome.
Due to the wattage being pulled, you'd need a house sized battery system to do this. What I mean is, you'd need a battery system designed to run an entire house. This is not practical or cost effective in any way. Instead go buy a generator in case of power outage. I highly recommend Honda generators. They cost more for a good reason. My bil is an electrician and he explained this to me. You can also rig some types of thermometers to alert you if the temp drops below a pre-set level, but I'm not sure these would work if the power was out.
 

Achicoine

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2019
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
Fresno
Due to the wattage being pulled, you'd need a house sized battery system to do this. What I mean is, you'd need a battery system designed to run an entire house. This is not practical or cost effective in any way. Instead go buy a generator in case of power outage. I highly recommend Honda generators. They cost more for a good reason. My bil is an electrician and he explained this to me. You can also rig some types of thermometers to alert you if the temp drops below a pre-set level, but I'm not sure these would work if the power was out.
That's what we needed to know, thanks.
 

jcase

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Platinum Tortoise Club
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Jul 27, 2021
Messages
402
Location (City and/or State)
Pittsboro, NC
Cheapest option might be a small generator + an outage alarm. An alarm like this : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUQILCS/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

I agree with tom, a Honda is a good option. Champion is also a good generator brand, however I would avoid Harbor Freight generators for anything important.

If you have natural gas or LP, you can get a tri fuel generator for about the same cost, or go a whole house generator (which is what im doing as soon as the tortoise building is done).
 
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