So - what if the power goes out?

[Stealthboat]

Should I invest in a generator in the off chance my power goes out? How much darkness can a plant handle before something 'bad' happens? I haven't had this happen to me yet but I'm concerned about the what if's

 

[c526]

If you are a home owner,you should have one anyways,Id rather have one sitting and waiting to be used for 10 years, over getting one in a time of need. I have portables in the 3500-5000wt range that run about 500$ and they work well,a bit noisy but do the job

just a few months ago i had a 20k generator installed in the back of the property,now at power interruption it is instant on.Well worth the money for family piece of mind.

 

[Stealthboat]

Ok so I have an idea of the pricing and stuff, what about the darkness should the lights go out? How long before the plants react negatively?

 

[Richard Richardson]

Darkness is not so bad, they would probably be ok for a good few days. Lack of ventilation may be more of a problem.

I have a portable generator, but It would take a full (small) tank of gas to run a grow room for 12 hours, which is at least 3 times more than I spend on electricity.

 

[c526]

I cant give you a solid answer on that,it would depend on what stage the plants are in.Veg VS flower, how high will the humidity/temps get,,stuff ya really cant answer till it happens

 

[RWTucker]

Shouldn't be a problem if it's one, two, three days. Turn off the light and prop open the door so they can get some air circulation.

If you're talking a power outage for a week, yes, that will be an issue, though I doubt it will completely murder the plant, especially if you can get some indirect light by leaving the door open.

 

[MikeTbob]

If you are running any kind of hydro setup then the problem can become much larger and much sooner and in my opinion you'll only have 6-12 hours before the plant decides to go into shock. You can hand water them for a long time if you need to but that's a major PITA.

 

[Stealthboat]

Good info guys. I'd be terrified if the power went out and I was running hydro, luckily I'm just using soilless medium now.

 

[Stealthboat]

If I had to venture a guess, I'm probably never going to encounter a blackout longer than a day, so I think I'll survive for now.

 

[businessman]

generators are also dangerous to run inside. Make sure you vent them as you will kill your self and your plants