On 11/28/2014 1:33 PM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
We live in a similar situation - propane for heating, electricity for everything
else including well. Average power out situations more than 15 minutes maybe
once a year. Longest power outage in the past 8 years has been 24 hours, with a
few that were 1-6 hours.

We keep a 50 gallon potable water storage tank in the garage along with a couple
of filled 8 gallon jerry cans. Add a small amount of chlorine per EPA guidelines
and storage isn't an issue. The storage tank and jerry cans have faucet valves
on them, so taking smaller amounts isn't an issue. That more than covers
drinking water, flushing toilets and the occasional navy shower.

We have an advanced septic system with pumps and an air compressor. That has a
certain amount of buffer (maybe a few hundred gallons max) before it needs power
to process, so more storage water isn't a good solution.

An inverter/battery/charger based system is going to be expensive to get any
kind of wattage/duration. I think a portable generator is really the correct
answer. Costco has a nice dual fuel (gas / propane) portable genset for around
$700 last time I looked. You can't run it off a BBQ grill tank for a long time,
but if you have larger tanks for your house it should work quite well. They
don't show it at Costco.com, but it looks like this one:

http://www.generatorsales.com/order/...sp?page=P03888

Make sure you get a transfer switch wired into your house. Cheap manual ones
work just fine. Running a suicide cord to a dryer outlet (or worse) is not a
good idea. Maintenance isn't that big a deal. Run it for 15 minutes every month.
If you use gasoline, add Stabil and replace or burn it dry once a year.

I've seen no reports for how well these work, but if you can get by with 900W,
they look interesting:

http://www.generatorsales.com/order/...1000iS_Bi_Fuel

Keep in mind that well motors (or any motor) have a significant surge/startup
draw that can overload your generator if not sized properly. And if you do an
inverter, make sure it's a true sine wave inverter. They are more expensive than
the square wave inverters, but a lot easier on your devices (if they work at
all).

Or just go to Costco and buy a 100 cases of water in 1/2 liter bottles.


HerHusband wrote:

I'm curious what backup systems other water well users have come up with.

I am only looking for a backup for a day, not outages lasting a week or
more.

I'm not a well user, but my backup power is a
gasoline generator. I've got a gascan for the
mower, etc, so have some gas on hand.

Generator oversized by a bit is good idea, and
also to check the amp draw of the motor, if
you've got those skills.

Another option to discuss, is a power inverter
to put on your car battery with the car running.
Extension cords to the well.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..