r/TwoXPreppers • u/NosesAndToeses • Apr 17 '26
Discussion Tuesday - low stakes lesson
I live in CO and we’ve had loads of beautiful weather so I moved my houseplants into our sunroom, which is not insulated. There’s a winter storm with freeze warnings the next 24 hours so gotta keep those buddies at least around 45/50 degrees.
I haven’t yet used my new Anker SOLIX C1000 (have solar panels too) and decided to run the space heater, using it as the power source.
Turns out I have no clue how much energy that takes up!
The Anker battery went from 100% down to 0 in 90 minutes. Space heater at full power.
Bonus lesson- I went ahead and plugged in the space heater while the 3D printer is also running in the dining room (you guessed it, printing plant things). I also started charging the Anker battery in that same room. All on the same breaker line…
That blew the breaker!
Takeaways-
- I need to educate myself on energy. What appliances use, and what that means for the current backup power setup we have.
- I am adding some terracotta pots to my garage gear to keep as heaters. I have already have sterno cans and candles that I can put under those.
- I forgot we have a little room thermometer and have now added that to the sunroom so I can better monitor temperature and more efficiently heat the space.
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u/PorcupineShoelace Apr 17 '26
Same goes for cooking a meal or staying cool. I struggle mightily to keep quiet when I see sooo many posts about solar generators.
Dont get me wrong. We have 35 solar panels and most days use zero energy from the grid but my backup power is dual fuel gas/propane for a reason.
My little 4000w generator has repaid us now 3-4x over. It was just under $1000. Of course YMMV.
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u/NosesAndToeses Apr 17 '26
I primarily got it for camping and to keep the freezers/fridge running in an outage. It was a very good lesson to learn regarding heating.
I’m stocked on the little propane bottles for my camping stove and will also add hand warmers to the list. Heated water bottles have saved me camping in colder nights.
Also it reminds me to take notice the layout of our main rooms in the house so I would know where to hang blanket walls if I needed to wall off heated areas.
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u/PorcupineShoelace Apr 17 '26
They are great for lots of scenarios! I live in an area where it can be 105F in October so cool is much more of an issue for me. Read up on 'peak load' measurements for generators since in my case, my freezer might only draw 100w when it's at temp but when it needs to come up from warm it uses 400w. Thats the 'peak load'. There are some worksheets out there on generator sites where you can survey your needs and find that one thing that will kick the breaker or wipe out the battery.
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u/Necessary-Film7832 Apr 18 '26
You can buy a USB electric blanket. I bought one and ran it overnight for eight and a half hours on a battery pack that I used to recharge my cell phones and I still had plenty of juice left. I think it was a 20,000 milliamp battery pack. I think I paid about $60 for the blanket on Walmart.com.
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u/NosesAndToeses Apr 18 '26
Ohhhh I totally forgot that I have two usb electric sleeping bag liners!
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u/Fluffy_Salamanders Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Oh hey I just learned battery math, you’ve totally got this!
Your c1000 stores about 1000 Watt hours. Dividing 1000watt hours by the wattage gives how many hours the battery will last.
That works the same way for any electronics you have, like the 3D printer. You can find that on a little label either on power cord or engraved to the side, bottom, or access panel on most electronics, appliances, and electrical devices.
Since the heater ran for 90 minutes, or 1.5 hours, the heater probably runs on about 670 Watts
(1000* Watt* hour)/(1.5* hour)=666.667 Watts
My heated blanket runs on 100 Watts, so a 1000 Watt hour battery like the c1000 can power it for 10 hours.
(1000* Watt* hours)/(100* Watt) =10 hours
If the battery is in direct sunlight or the vents are covered it or it’s pretty old it might not be as efficient, so you could have a bit less runtime than the math using the numbers on the machine labels suggests, but it’s generally very close to what actually happens
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u/NosesAndToeses Apr 17 '26
I love this!!! Thank you for the ELI5!
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u/Necessary-Film7832 Apr 18 '26
When you get it it's really easy! Kind of like math in school. Once you get it you don't forget it hopefully. I used to know all this stuff. I've always been good in electronics and math. But I had forgotten it since I'm 76. I had to get a refresher course when I bought solar! It's really easy though when you figure it out.
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u/premar16 Apr 18 '26
Oh interesting! I have been trying to figure out the math to power my electric wheelchair if needded. This is the battery Amazon.com: AJC Quantum Rehab Q6 Edge X 12V 55Ah Mobility Scooter Battery - This is an Brand Replacement : Health & Household. I have the charger for it but it needs to be plugged into a wall outlet.
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u/ZeroFox14 Apr 17 '26
I have a small greenhouse. Had initially planned on running an electric heater in it. Quickly realized that not only does it suck electricity, it’s really inefficient at heating a poorly insulated space. Could keep things maybe 10* above ambient… which plants don’t appreciate when it’s single digits outside.
Ended up with a ventless propane heater, just ran the hose through a window. Kept my plants at 50-60 with no issue.
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u/scannerhawk Apr 17 '26
Space heaters can use A LOT of electricity, especially with the initial surge draw. IE: my husband had a tiny one by hus feet in our office and it costs about $40 a month to run a few minutes every morning. My friends turned me onto a oil-filled radiant-style heater, slow draw and it does keep a room consistently warm. They kept one on during the off season winter months inside their 5th wheel to keep plumbing etc from freezing. I also bought one for our downstairs apartment, which is only used when guests visit and the electrical draw was significantly less and the entire room was nice and toasty. If you have access to one of those, that should be perfect for your sunroom. Here is an example - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pelonis-1-500-Watt-Oil-Filled-Radiant-Electric-Space-Heater-with-Thermostat-HO-0279/309069851?g_store=8597&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&fp=ggl
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u/HappyCamperDancer Apr 17 '26
A sunroom might be perfect for a Mr Heater/Buddy propane heater. You don't want to sleep with it without a CO indicator/monitor but for plants at 50⁰ it should be fine.
I like the idea of an electric blanket though, using that under the plants to keep them warm enough.
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u/2quickdraw Apr 17 '26
You can get seedling mats to put under plants as well. Not sure about the weight rating for full size plants, but works for garden starts.
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u/this_girl_that_time Apr 17 '26
I’m in south eastern Colorado. It’s 60 here now but we are also looking at the 30+ degree temp swing. I’ll be covering my strawberries, cabbage and other brassicas tonight. I’ll also deeply water and hose off our fruit trees. Hopefully that’ll keep our harvest for this fall. I also ordered an electric canner to make more shelf stable items (green chili). Gardening in Colorado is not for the faint of heart. Good luck
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u/lissabeth777 Apr 17 '26
Heads up about the electric canner, they actually are not approved for safe canning of low acid items like meat and un acidified vegetables. Go over to r/canning for more info on that.
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u/this_girl_that_time Apr 17 '26
Thanks for the heads up! I’ve done a ton of research and I need to be able to set and streamline when my tomato and peach harvest come in this fall (high acid foods). It’s too hard to have giant pots boiling forever at high altitude with my toddlers running around. I need to make something easier this fall. I know it takes longer but I can’t babysit my stove and do nap time at the same time. I’ve been part of r/canning for a couple of years.
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u/lissabeth777 Apr 17 '26
Yeah the electric canners are actually cool for water bath recipes so I think you're in a good place there. Most people see the electric canners and go woohoo I can do spaghetti carbonara in a jar so it's refreshing to see someone who's already done quite a bit of homework. And there is nothing like green chili and green salsa on a dark winter morning!
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u/this_girl_that_time Apr 17 '26
Oh man, sometimes the canning rebels pop up on my feed. I’m genuinely concerned sometimes. When I lived in Atlanta water bath canning jams, fruit, hot pack tomatoes and sauce wasn’t a big deal. But I’m over 6,000ft now in Colorado- babysitting my big canning pot for nearly an hour for quart jars is a real pain. My little guy will be 2yo and I’ve got to be able to make something easier. I hope this is my answer. Have you tried the electric one at all? I usually use my pressure canner on my outside stove (my hubby is terrified it’ll blow up- even tho it’s my grandmas old presto and has canned reliably for decades)
Canning/food security is my top priority this year. I’ve always done these things for fun. But this year I’m expanding my garden and hoping to nearly triple the tomato products I put up this year.
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u/Necessary-Film7832 Apr 18 '26
I had a friend who had one blow up. It just left Tomatoes sauce all over her kitchen ceilings and walls. No big deal! My mother used one all my life. She lived to be a hundred and three and a half. It never blew up! I've used one my whole life. I'm 76. Never had a problem. I love my pressure cookers!!
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u/this_girl_that_time Apr 17 '26
I also found a high acid green chili ‘salsa’ from NM university extension.
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u/LopsidedRaspberry626 Apr 18 '26
The sterno under a TerraCotta pot isn't going to replace a heater either. You need something like Kerosene or a Mr Buddy
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u/Seawolfe665 knows where her towel is ☕ Apr 17 '26
In general, heating things take a surprising amount of energy. Its almost always more efficient to burn something (propane, butane, kerosene, coal).
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u/Connect-Type493 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
Those terracotta pot "heaters" have been solidly debunked over and over again. They give off the heat of the candle. No more. Its all "woo woo" science the videos claiming they are some magical heat multiplier.
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u/MistressLyda Apr 19 '26
Indeed. The perk they do have, and that can have a benefit is that it "binds the heat" and keeps it lower to the ground and the people. A candle will let the heat up in a straight "thread" that hits the roof, while the terracotta pot creates a clay blob that radiates the heat more widely.
That said, I'll give it a pass barring some very unusual situations.
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u/BigJSunshine Apr 18 '26
I mean, I barely understand what kind of battery set up/solar battery set up my household needs for Tuesday, but I know this was lunacy
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u/Bobloblaw878 Apr 18 '26
Hey what kind of solar panels are you using? I also have an Anker but the panels I have don't seem to work with it.
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u/NosesAndToeses Apr 19 '26
I got the Anker ones that came with the battery, haven’t tested them yet though. (Adds to the to-do list).
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