UPS to run Rinnai heater?

[garandman]

The point where the well feed enters the house is central and about 18 feet from the Rinnai. There is a two foot electric baseboard near it.

I got some expert advice and the bottom line is the bottom line. A UPS big enough to run the Rinnai for days would cost what a whole-house generator would cost: $3-4,000. He recommended either draining everything or getting a genset, and getting a "freeze warning" system that will alert us when the temp drops below a setpoint.

Still waiting on the plumber, he's on "Vermont Time" apparently. "Sometime next week" means he will call me Saturday morning to explain why he hasn't showed up yet.....

 

[clr8ter]

Well, I see what you're saying. Theoretically, your basement shouldn't drop below freezing, if enough of it is below the frostline. Ours will go to about 50 or so. We heat mostly with a wood stove, and the house stays pretty cool. There have been a lot of instances around here of the power going out for a week or more, and no one's basement really gets to the point it's freezing. I know a lot of people who don't even drain their systems if the power goes out. I do suppose those people are just lucky. So, is the well pipe that's exposed in your basement insulated? That would help a lot, I'd think. Particularly if the water's being used.

 

[Prepper]

A freeze warning could be good if it can dial out to you and let you know somehow.

You might still want to consider an additional wall heater unit that doesn't require electricity; $1000 is better than $4000.

 

[garandman]

Spoke to the plumber this morning and he opined on several items.

1. He's going to install an air tap so we can open faucets and blow out the system when we leave. The well feed has been installed to prevent freezing and shouldn't be a problem unless the house is well below freezing for days.
2. He recommended a freeze warning that will dial out when the temp goes below a set point.
3. NH Electric Coop has "smart" line meters that can tell when there is a power outage.
4. He said that battery backup is common for Rinnai's and he'll get the info for me.

 

[Kevin_NH]

some disasters will take out the phone line along with the power

2. He recommended a freeze warning that will dial out when the temp goes below a set point.
3. NH Electric Coop has "smart" line meters that can tell when there is a power outage.

You can get a small freeze warning alerter, possibly power it from the same UPS as the Rinnai. Check the reviews carefully, some of the sub-$100 "FreezeAlarm" type products have very poor failure modes (false positives and false negatives).

 

[garandman]

I want to find out how I can be notified from the electric meter, since they already have the capability. Also have to find out who "owns" the utility feed from the street to the house, which is around 700 feet.

 

[nmcbrid]

I want to find out how I can be notified from the electric meter, since they already have the capability. Also have to find out who "owns" the utility feed from the street to the house, which is around 700 feet.

What did you end up doing? I'm looking a picking up one of these freeze alarms myself, http://www.absoluteautomation.com/power-alarms/temperature-alarms.html

 

[Kevin_NH]

I want to find out how I can be notified from the electric meter, since they already have the capability. Also have to find out who "owns" the utility feed from the street to the house, which is around 700 feet.

That can be an important question. In most areas, for a single-family home the line from the last transformer to the house is the homeowner's responsibility.

What did you end up doing? I'm looking a picking up one of these freeze alarms myself, http://www.absoluteautomation.com/power-alarms/temperature-alarms.html

Which one? Some of those look pretty expensive for a consumer product. Once you're willing to spend +$199 you can start looking at datacenter gear like "IT Watchdogs", this plugs into your network and can do multiple alert types and transports, and also makes nice graphs.

If you already have an alarm system, many alarm systems can have a flood and freeze alarm added as an advisory zone to the alarm, piggybacking on the monitoring/alerting/battery backup already installed.

 

[nmcbrid]

That can be an important question. In most areas, for a single-family home the line from the last transformer to the house is the homeowner's responsibility.


Which one? Some of those look pretty expensive for a consumer product. Once you're willing to spend +$199 you can start looking at datacenter gear like "IT Watchdogs", this plugs into your network and can do multiple alert types and transports, and also makes nice graphs.

If you already have an alarm system, many alarm systems can have a flood and freeze alarm added as an advisory zone to the alarm, piggybacking on the monitoring/alerting/battery backup already installed.

I'm looking at this one - http://www.absoluteautomation.com/freeze-alarm-intermediate-model-fai/ -. Seems inexpensive, reliable and doubles as a power out alert.

- - - Updated - - -

That can be an important question. In most areas, for a single-family home the line from the last transformer to the house is the homeowner's responsibility.


Which one? Some of those look pretty expensive for a consumer product. Once you're willing to spend +$199 you can start looking at datacenter gear like "IT Watchdogs", this plugs into your network and can do multiple alert types and transports, and also makes nice graphs.

If you already have an alarm system, many alarm systems can have a flood and freeze alarm added as an advisory zone to the alarm, piggybacking on the monitoring/alerting/battery backup already installed.

I'm looking at this one - http://www.absoluteautomation.com/freeze-alarm-intermediate-model-fai/ -. Seems inexpensive, reliable and doubles as a power out alert.

 

[WanMan99]

Forget UPS. Go with Fedex.

I saw what you did there...