bensanders Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 This build will be for a cheaper alternative to the $170 Vortech Battery Backup. Should be a simple project.....the only parts inside Vortech's backup are a battery, trickle charger, fuse, and 1.3mm DC power plug (size H). Parts: 12V (18ah) Sealed Lead Acid Battery 12V Float Charger 1.3mm DC Power Plug (size H) 5-Amp Inline Fuse Holder Fuses 20 AWG wire Soldering Iron/Solder Electrical tape/heatshrink tubing Stay tuned. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 sweet When I built mine I remember I had trouble finding the polarity of the backup plug online (because the power was out lol) and ended up taking the vortech driver apart to find out; it is center positive and sleeve negative. Also the DC jack is/was a pretty common size for cell phone chargers so you can also find one of them at goodwill or wherever and cut the cord off. Those DC plugs are always such a pita to solder on properly so I usually try to do it that way instead. Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Yeah I made sure to check on that, center pin is positive. You're right about the commonality of the DC plug, I need to search around the house for one. If I can't find one at home I'll just grab that 2-pack from RS (i'll be making two of these for my two tanks). edit: cpt, were you the one I PMed awhile ago about this? If so, you're getting some credit Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 yep that was me. don't give me credit though, ecotech hates me enough already Link to comment
DaveFason Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Would you not want to use a float charger? -Dave Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 I think a float charger is the same as a trickle charger. right? lol, I got confident with electronics after doing my LED build and look at me now edit: Well, I found this on Wikipedia: Float charger A float charger differs from a trickle charger in having circuitry to prevent overcharging. It senses when the battery voltage is at the appropriate float level and temporarily ceases charging; it maintains the charge current at zero or a very minimal level until it senses that the battery output voltage has fallen, and then resumes charging. It is important to note that the appropriate float voltage varies significantly with the construction of the battery and the ambient temperature. With the appropriate voltage for the battery type and with proper temperature compensation, a float charger may be kept connected indefinitely without damaging the battery. With a 6-cell (nominal 12V) lead-acid battery the correct float voltage drops by about 0.15 V for a 5°C rise in ambient temperature. Not compensating for this will shorten battery life either by over- or under-charging. Trickle charger A trickle charger, on the other hand, will charge no matter whether the battery is fully charged or not, so it needs to be connected and disconnected periodically. Trickle chargers will work to keep the battery charged, if used once a month or so for a day or two, but the float chargers can be left connected indefinitely without potential harm to the battery. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 After reading I think so as well. I thought a trickle would keep charging while a float will cut off. Or heck they both may do it! I may have to get in on this project, seems super simple. -Dave Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 I think I should go with a charger that specifically has a "float" mode, just to be safe. I'm going with the Battery Tender Junior because it can fully charge the battery after an outage, float charge when the battery is full, and it has excellent reviews. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Looks good. Check ebay too. They had charges for ~15-20 and batteries around 33 shipped. You maybe able to get away with this only costing ~60-70 in parts! -Dave Link to comment
Rcplain123 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Why not just buy a small APC unit? It would work well enough, no? Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Why not just buy a small APC unit? It would work well enough, no? Don't think so. Although I did find this little tidbit at ReefBuilders: CaliReefer [Moderator] Yup, cheap UPS will do as you say. I researched that and why I picked up the APC Smart UPS 1500 RM2U, it has 60z and true sign wave. mpedersen [Moderator] 3 hours ago in reply to CaliReefer $720 at Best Buy. WOW. All in all, it seems that IF you find a UPC/UPS that works for a Vortech, it's probably way more expensive and not nearly as satisfying as building your own. Plus if I experience a really long outage (3+ days) I can always put another 12V in parallel and keep the pump going. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 the vortech pump runs on DC power, that's why the backup battery circuit can be so simple. using a UPS doesn't make sense because then when the power goes out there will be multiple power supply circuits between the battery and the pump driver, probably losing 30-50% of the battery charge to heat in the supplies. also the vortech runs in a low power mode when running on battery, if you are using an UPS it won't do this Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 OK my shopping cart contains the following: 12V 18AH SLA Battery (this thing is only 7"x6.5"x2.3") Battery Charger (Bulk and Float) Inline Fuse Holder Fuses 18 AWG Wire I couldn't find a Size H DC Power Plug on Amazon, so I'll have to grab that at RadioShack. That should bring my total to around $79. I'm not trying to pinch every penny here. I'm opting to get a nice charger that has several different functions, and I'm buying 100' of wire because I need some for other LED builds. Obviously this project could be done for around $60 if one did some more leg work. Last thoughts from anybody before I place my order? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Plus if I experience a really long outage (3+ days) I can always put another 12V in series and keep the pump going. I think you mean parallel, right? Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 I think you mean parallel, right? lol, I guess I do. Somebody had written somewhere that another battery could be put in series, so I just regurgitated that. Parallel is obviously the correct way. Here's a quick wiring diagram. Not much to it: Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Well, that was quick. This build took me all of 30 minutes to complete and it works perfectly. I encourage anybody with a Vortech to build one of these. sidenote: I went with 1 Amp fuses instead of 1.5 Amp. Not sure if this makes a difference but considering it's working flawlessly, I'll assume it's OK. Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 There is really nothing to take a picture of, it's identical to the wiring diagram. Another note: I'm really glad I spent a few extra dollars for the Battery Tender Junior. The charger leads have a quick connect that can connect to either the nut/bolt leads or the typical alligator clip leads (both sets are supplied). I cut off the nut/bolt leads from the set that was supplied and simply soldered the wires directly to the battery terminals. This is nice because if I need to use the charger for something else, I can just disconnect it from the hardwired leads, and use the quick connect to attach the alligator clips. Link to comment
olemanwinter Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Thumbs down for an internet DIY thread without pictures. Sorry. Link to comment
tako Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 The reason the person mentioned wiring them in series is because the vortech will run at half power if it's 12V. You can put two batteries in series and run it at full power with 24V. I made one of these from two leftover 7AH batteries. There's really nothing to take a picture of for this DIY, but here's mine. The only thing that could be remotely difficult for some people is soldering the DC connector -- if they put down gigantic cold solder blobs like some of the LED builds I see. Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 Thumbs down for an internet DIY thread without pictures. Sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have started this thread because there's no way it could possibly help somebody else without pictures. How could I go through the trouble of drawing a wiring diagram and posting links to all the necessary parts and NOT take pictures? You should be sorry, jerk. Anyways, thanks for the explanation tako. I"ll definitely have to pick up another battery, a half-power MP10 doesn't cut it in the 40br. Link to comment
tako Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Test it out and see how it does before you get another. It might work ok for a couple days of a power outage. The other thing to remember is the pump stays at a constant output on the battery. So if you were running on reefcrest 100%, you now be running the pump at full power all the time with the batteries in series. For some tanks this would be too strong and make a sandstorm. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 i'm not sure what good it will do to run 24v into the backup power jack, i admit i haven't read the manual etc but i don't believe it is correct to assume it will give "twice the power" unless ecotech specifically designed it to work that way. i made my backup battery from a bunch of prismatic lithium ion cells and during testing i ran it at 8.4v, 12.6v and 16.8v and from the current draw i measured it seemed to be running the thing on a switching dc-dc supply. ie at higher voltages it just drew less current but ran the same speed. Link to comment
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