Blackouts?

[pipeman]

you could look into a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) basically its a big rechargable battery that plugs in between the power point and appliance. when power goes out, battery cuts in. but they only run for short time. commonly used to allow computers to be backed up and shut down properly in power failure. they maybe cost a few hundred bucks.

 

would be good to prevent temporary blackouts like you are describing exploding your ballast and burning your house down.

[Luke Skywalker]

I was just about to suggest the same thing. Although I really fail to see why it would be a real disaster unless you have got a vulnerable system to short term shutdown. IMO, and I don't want to sound wanky here, but IMO if your system of growing can't stand up and keep the plants alive for a couple of days if the thing is without power, then you've got problems. They'll live, even without light, for quite a while. Water is a problem, and I keep a small reserve in the base of all my recirculating pots for just such problems. Watering systems are one of those things you should consider most closely when designing your hydro system, as it is essentially the lifeblood of the plants.

 

You could always just have a couple of large battery flouros, like camping lights, if you're really that desperate to keep light up, or you're likely to be out of power for a long time...

 

I think there is some kind of protection device out there which could help you there fossil, I'm not too sure of the name tho... perhaps another member could point it out...

 

Anyway, I hope that post didn't come out too stupid. *waits to be flamed*

[SweetJane]

Good thinking Pipeman, cheers dude I'll have to find out how long they run for and if it's a reasonable amount of time I'll have to look into getting one, a few hundred bucks is cheaper than a housefire