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hey ppl..i just bought an air pump...any1 knows how to change it from electric power to battery powered?any suggestions?thank you in advance

Hi,
Unless you have a piston driven air pump, it is the
vibrating type.
The vibrating pump consists of an electomagnet over which
an armature is mounted that holds a magnet. As the
alternating current (AC) flows through the coil it produces
an alternating magnetic field that in the US forces the
magnet to be attracted and repelled 60 times a second.

Attached to that armature is a bellows type rubber diaphram
that contains a one way check valve. As the armature
vibrates it expands and contracts the bellows forcing air
out the exhaust port (the tube where you attach the air
line) and pulls air in from the pump enclosure.

To convert that air pump to battery power, you will have
to make an inverter. That is an electronic device that
takes Direct Current (DC) and through switching transistors
( transistors that are designed to alternate between on
and off at a 60 cycle rate) and turns it into psudo AC
current.

Purchasing a air pump from any bait store or sporting
goods store will be considerably less expensive.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

oh..so,getting a new air pump would be cheaper?im planning to get one which can operate on battery power so that i can use it when there is no electricity..

How many tanks to you have? If only one or a few, it would be just as well to go to a bait store and purchase one of the battery opperated air pumps for each tank. These usually will run for about 16+ hours on a new set of batteries. As for changing one over, I don't see how it could be done, unless you build a battery back up system for the outlet that you will be using. This is not a cheap way to go. I know of several people that have done just this and have up to a couple of thousand dollars invested in their back up systems. The other way to go, is to purchase a generator. Or, if you have natural gas, or propane, you can purchase a complete back up system for your entire house, that will turn on automatically after a short period of time. And will actually provide your entire house with electricity untill the power comes back on.

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There is always a bigger fish...

im planning for 1 of my tanks only..my jardini wouldnt use as much oxygen as the clown loaches and hillstream loaches.how much would a battery operated air pump costs?thank you.

They run between a cheap one for about $10, to an expensive good one for about $30. They will push an airstone at about 1-2 feet deep very well. You can also find them at K-Mart stores and the likes. Just look in the fishing section.

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There is always a bigger fish...

well..i'll try to find it out..thanks for the info!really appreciate it.

an inverter works great
i bought one at walmart that has alligator clips and hooked it to a marine deep cycle battery
i ran 2 power filters 2 air pumps and 2 heaters for 3 days while my juice was out with hurricane rita al fish were fine and just knapped alot since i did not power the lights
total cost 30.00-35.00 for inverter and 55.00 for walmart marine battery
just remember with batteries it is all about the cold cranking amps and reserve capicity


you get what you pay for
and you pay for what you get