[carboy]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

We have an Amaron inverter battery which is ultra low maintenance. Going good for over 4 - 5 years now. It has been topped up barely twice till now... so its "almost" maintenance free. Exides reportedly require attention more frequently and may not last long. Base terminal should be good too... in fact the warranty seems better than Amarons.

I haven't topped up water in my Exide battery of my invertor for almost 1.5 years now - the water level hardly seems to go down. The battery is around 2 years old - it's the regular Exide battery I think, not tubular or anything.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by carboy

I haven't topped up water in my Exide battery of my invertor for almost 1.5 years now - the water level hardly seems to go down. The battery is around 2 years old - it's the regular Exide battery I think, not tubular or anything.

That is good, but have been told otherwise by couple of reliable sources. I guess the quality is not consistent. And also, it would also depend on the pattern of use.

Originally Posted by tj123

Thats too good. What is the general power failure frequency at your place?

Which make of inverter do you use ? Thanks

I'm afraid, its impossible to make a comment on the power outage frequency since the inverter+battery have been bought. At times it was extremely frequent and at times quite infrequent. As of now, outages are a about 1 hr to 1.5 hrs everyday with occasional shorter outages at any time.

Inverter is Su-Kam 800 VA.

[trrk]

Hi,

Originally Posted by ascertain

total cost 17K. Happy with the purchase. Switchover time is fast, battery is good too. The kid can't wander around the APC cabinet, so mind's at peace.

Breakup, please!

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Finally(Last week) I decided on buying Base Terminal "Basetuff 16000" 160 AH tubular battery which has a 24+24 month warranty.

How much?

[DieselFan]

I paid 9000 Rs all inclusive with bill and warranty (MRP - 10990) for the Basetuff 16000 battery.

[ghodlur]

I am interested in buying an Inverter for my home and looking for the following criteria in an Inverter.

Peace of Mind
Long lasting
Good service
Competitively priced

BHPians who have already having an Inverter at home or planning to buy one can share their thoughts on the same. The manufacturers which I can think of are Sukam, Microtek, APC etc.
I tried researching on net and the more I look the more I get confused. I am looking for simple layman type help as my list of equipments to run in case of power cut off is min say 2 fans, 2 Tube lights, 1 AC/1 Fridge + 1 TV w/Set top box.

[jinojohnt]

I am listing some of the things that you need to ensure when you buy an inverter:

1. It is better to buy a 'sine-wave output' inverter than a 'square-wave output' inverter, so that your equipments such as fans last longer.

2. The inverter should have surge protector (guard against voltage spikes) for the charger also, otherwise the batteries would get damaged quickly.

3. The output of the charger should be constant, regardless of the input mains voltage (Better for the batteries).

4. You should be able to select the voltage below which the output should start using battery power.
In my APC home inverter, the output doesn't change to battery power even when the input voltage is below 50 Volts.
This is quiet irritating, as the ceiling fan doen't even turn at this voltage.

5. The invertor sales guy should first come to your house, understand your needs, and educate you on what extra things (such as wires) you need to buy before he comes home with the invertor. My invertor salesman came to my house with the inverter, connected the input to the mains, and said the inverter is working (his job is done!), and demanded payment.

6. The output of the inverter should be connected to the fuse of the circuit for which you need backup power. Ask the salesman to do this for you before you make the payment. It is always better to have a separate wiring to connect the output of the inverter. My (old) house didn't have a separate wiring, so I connected the output of the inverter to 2 fuses that are connected to some lights and fans.

7. The invertor salesman should have a specific gravity meter, and show you the specific gravity of the battery electrolyte (compare this with what is mentioned in the user manual). My salesman said "I don't have the meter, but don't worry sir, the battery is fine". But my battery had spilled almost 2 liters of electrolyte while in transit, and the salesman said "Don't worry sir, I will fill distilled water to top up". Remember the warranty in most cases expires in 2 years, and most defective batteries die just after the warranty period.
Before you buy, you may need to confirm that these guys really store electrolyte, just incase you need it. During each service, they should check the specific gravity and add electrolyte/distilled water if necessary.

8. The salesman should show you the voltage of the battery and the voltage output of the charger separately, using a voltmeter.

9. My inverter had 2 years warranty, and the technician was supposed to come every 3 months to top-up the battery with distilled water during this period, free of cost. He never came (saying I never called him), and I also forgot. My batteries went dead just after the warranty period, due to lack of topping up. Remember, it's better for their sales if your battery dies early. Get these things clarified when you buy the inverter (It doesn't hurt to get in writing that filling distilled water every 3 months is their job without your reminders.) Best thing is to add distilled water yourself periodically.

10. The most irritating part about my service was that the guys who were very polite during sales ("Sir, I can come even on a Sunday") started turning arrogant for Service ("I can come for service only during office hours from Monday to Friday, so if you need to take leave for this, it's your problem"). This means that you need to research on the service BEFORE you buy.

11. If you want your batteries to last long, connect only the minimum load, and don't drain the battery too much. To give you an idea, Inverter Batteries that regulary drain only less than 10% are known to last even 15 years, provided you top up regularly with distilled water. Inverter Batteries that drain more than 50% are known to last less than 3 years.
Also remember that higher connected load means 'heavier' batteries that are costlier (My inverter is supposed to support 5 fans, 5 lights and a TV for 2 hours, and I need two 80AH batteries worth 15000 Rs. Now I feel I should have opted for half the load, and I could have saved half the price each time I buy new batteries.)

12. It is better to buy both the inverter and the battery from the same person (at least during Warranty). If your battery dies, to deny you warranty, the Inverter vendor may claim that the battery is defective and the Battery Vendor may claim that the Inverter is defective.


PS: Do you really need your A/C and Fridge running on the Inverter? Then the required inverter/battery capacity would be huge.

[Thad E Ginathom]

But my battery had spilled almost 2 liters of electrolyte while in transit...

2Ltrs of dilute sulphuric acid swilling around in somebody's truck! Nasty!

[jinojohnt]

True - When the battery reached me, the Cardboard carton was almost non-existent, I'll try to post the photo when I reach home.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

9. My inverter had 2 years warranty, and the technician was supposed to come every 3 months to top-up the battery with distilled water during this period, free of cost. He never came (saying I never called him), and I also forgot. My batteries went dead just after the warranty period, due to lack of topping up. Remember, it's better for their sales if your battery dies early. Get these things clarified when you buy the inverter (It doesn't hurt to get in writing that filling distilled water every 3 months is their job without your reminders.) Best thing is to add distilled water yourself periodically.

I was wondering if they do really top-up! Made then do it twice ( I didnt cross check the battery after they said they did it) but when I checked last week, the level was too low. I dnt think it might have gone down so low if they have filled it up one/two months ago.

Also wondering if they are fooling around to make me buy extended AMC wherein if I need to change battery, they will give better price in exchange of old one.

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by jkdas

I was wondering if they do really top-up! Made then do it twice ( I didnt cross check the battery after they said they did it) but when I checked last week, the level was too low. I dnt think it might have gone down so low if they have filled it up one/two months ago.

Also wondering if they are fooling around to make me buy extended AMC wherein if I need to change battery, they will give better price in exchange of old one.

1. Battery level going too low is a possibility, if you discharge the battery too much and then leave it insufficiently charged. But going by your comment, I guess there's every possibility that the service guy may not really have topped up. Just like a car service, it pays to be around when they do the inverter service too!

2. In my opinion, Annual Maintenance Contract is worth only if the inverter fails, but even then I think they'll try all possible ways to reject the claim (just like car dealers rejecting warranty claims saying that this is not covered, that is not covered).
For batteries, I guess you'd be better without the AMC, as you'll get almost the same exchange value for your old battery even without AMC, may be a hundred rupee less.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I am interested in buying an Inverter for my home and looking for the following criteria in an Inverter.

Peace of Mind
Long lasting
Good service
Competitively priced

BHPians who have already having an Inverter at home or planning to buy one can share their thoughts on the same. The manufacturers which I can think of are Sukam, Microtek, APC etc.
I tried researching on net and the more I look the more I get confused. I am looking for simple layman type help as my list of equipments to run in case of power cut off is min say 2 fans, 2 Tube lights, 1 AC/1 Fridge + 1 TV w/Set top box.

One stop solution for home inverter can be found on this link
Xenon :igital Inverters::

Just buy the one with the 'pure sine wave output' and you will be fine.

Also remember the Golden rule " When buying an inverter make sure that your battery comes from the same manufacturer/recommended by the inverter manufacturer"

Edit : I have no idea how that smiley got into the link.

[Raccoon]

Topping up every 3 months?! Which battery requires that? Our Amaron Shield does not require topping up even once a year!

We have a Sukam and Amaron Shield. The guy who fixed it vanished after he finished installing. Ever since then, all I'v needed to do is top up the water say once in 1.5 years and keep the terminals coated with petroleum jelly.

Do you really need an AMC for this?

The thing is about 4.5 years old now and going good. The MOSFETs in the Sukam did however need to be changed about 6 - 8 months back. So can't say its been totally trouble free.

[khoj]

Shield is a very good product and next only to fully sealed batteries for indoor use. It is also supplied with the Xenon inverter albeit under the Xenon brand. On the Sukam too 4 years for the MOSFETs is excellent considering they are working 24x7. Seems the inverters are not that much of a sob story as they were say 4~5 years ago.

[ghodlur]

Friends,

I am looking for some information about the inverters used as backup for lifts in case of Power failure. Ours is a 7 storied building and does not have the backup facility for lifts incase of power failure. The cost of back up generator is huge since we are an year old buildling. I was searching the net for alternative and could find that these days Inverters can be used to provide back up for lifts in case of power failures. At this stage all we want is to provide some kind of back up to allow someone trapped in the lift to reach the nearest exit possible since we had some senior citizens getting trapped in the lift and could have been a dangerous situation.
Any BHPins have any info on this requirement.

[tj123]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Friends,

I am looking for some information about the inverters used as backup for lifts in case of Power failure. Ours is a 7 storied building and does not have the backup facility for lifts incase of power failure. The cost of back up generator is huge since we are an year old buildling. I was searching the net for alternative and could find that these days Inverters can be used to provide back up for lifts in case of power failures. At this stage all we want is to provide some kind of back up to allow someone trapped in the lift to reach the nearest exit possible since we had some senior citizens getting trapped in the lift and could have been a dangerous situation.
Any BHPins have any info on this requirement.

Since lift has an large induction motor, it will draw heavy current in frequent start stop condition, in such case an inverter is not a suitable option..
Even if you get a reasonably large UPS systems then also it will be quite an expensive affair, for a long term solution better to go in for a DG-set.